F350 - how does your Trailer Brake Controller behave?

[deonb]

Trying to diagnose whether an issue is with my Truck (Ford F350 2017 DRW), or my 5th wheel (RW427).

Problem is: If I pull the manual Trailer Brake switch, let's say going 3 mph in neutral, the trailer brakes will engage for about 1 second, then let go again and the trailer free wheels again after. It can't even stop from 3 mph. Thereafter the truck reports "Wiring Fault On Trailer". If I stand next to the trailer while my wife does this I can hear when the brakes engage and then let go again. The Ford manual for this message says that the brakes may be drawing too much current?


On the blue status bar however, if I hold the brake controller switch, I can see the status bar going to e.g. 10.0 and then back to 0 - while I'm still holding the switch. The thing is - I don't know if this part is normal or not. It definitely would not have been normal in my previous GMC truck - it stayed at the pressure until you release the switch again. I THINK however, my Ford always did this momentary going to 10.0 and then back to 0 again - even when I briefly towed my previous Travel Trailer. But the brakes still appear to work though, and no fault message.

So how is a Ford supposed to behave if you hold down the brake controller switch? Stay at 10.0 until you let go again, or go to 10.0 and then down to 0 by itself? (Or is it now just going back down to 0 since it faulted out on the trailer side?).

 

[Alan_B]

I have not seen this behavior.

I don't use the manual trailer brake switch very often. I last used it when adjusting the gain for the fifth wheel and it worked as expected.

 

[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

Mine stays on as long as I'm holding the lever over. The more I squeeze it the more bars I get

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[rhodies1]

My F350 works as follows,if I set it to 7 and pull the manual lever it will fill the bars to 7 only and stay there until I release the lever and the brakes stay engaged as long as the lever is held.
I say you have an issue,maybe poor ground on trailer or loose connection in the wire harness on the trailer.It is possible it is being caused by the truck but this is a tough one,what year is your truck.

 

[deonb]

The truck is a 2017 model.

My F350 works as follows,if I set it to 7 and pull the manual lever it will fill the bars to 7 only and stay there until I release the lever and the brakes stay engaged as long as the lever is held.
I say you have an issue,maybe poor ground on trailer or loose connection in the wire harness on the trailer.It is possible it is being caused by the truck but this is a tough one,what year is your truck.

 

[Bob&Patty]

Could it somehow be working through the anti-lock truck brakes. Some one posted something about this a while back and I think it was a Ford.

 

[TexasTraveler2017]

Have you made sure it is selected for the correct trailer brake type? Electric and not electric over hydraulic? Not sure what issues that could cause.

 

[budman229]

Haven't had a problem with our 2016 F-450 yet.

 

[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

Mine stays on as long as I'm holding the lever over. The more I squeeze it the more bars I get

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This is a 2017 F350 also

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[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

Do you by chance have another Trailer you could plug into it and see if it still does it ?? That would tell you if it's the truck or the trailer ?

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[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

Do you by chance have another Trailer you could plug into it and see if it still does it ?? That would tell you if it's the truck or the trailer ?

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For some reason I think there's a chance that it could be a wire in the trailer.


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[deonb]

Could it somehow be working through the anti-lock truck brakes. Some one posted something about this a while back and I think it was a Ford.

You may be onto something here. I looked up the trailer brake controller that comes with the F350 and it is integrated with ABS:

"The controller adapts output based on the status of the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)When the ABS module senses the towing vehicle’s brakes are approaching lockup, the controller’s trailer braking strategy changes to compensate for traction conditions, reducing the risk of trailer brake lockup"

I would however expect ABS to lock/grab/lock/grab intermittently, which this doesn't do. It just locks->release.

BUT, if the truck senses that the brakes lock up and as a result release it again, this would certainly explain it. I don't think it should be displaying "Trailer Wiring Fault" as a result though, but alas.


So today I tested the theory and set my brake controller very low (well, I set it to 6.0 and "High" on the brake level settings - whatever that means) - and it seemingly started working. The brakes started to hold. Thereafter I went back to the old setting (9.0) and it held there as well! (WTF??). First time in days. And it now holds it ever since. It even holds at 10.0 now and though the brakes squeak (without locking up), they engage and the Ford does a continuous output of e.g. 10.0 and doesn't release the brakes anymore until I let go of the button.

Not sure what would cause this - it's as-if when I went to 6.0 and then back to 9.0 something in the system "reset" itself. Any ideas?


Oh, I had the RoadWarrior tested on another vehicle. It worked fine - so the fault isn't with the RoadWarrior, but with the F350.

 

[cookie]

On my last trailer I had a problem with a magnet on the trailer brakes.
When the magnet shorted my controller showed a trailer wiring fault and the controller shut down.
You could have an intermittent short in your trailer wiring since it is now working.
If the problem comes back, check the trailer wiring as well as replace the brake magnets.

Peace
Dave

 

[Wmnmy]

Check to see if your brakes are adjusted mine weren't I had to do it myself works great now....

 

[deonb]

Check to see if your brakes are adjusted mine weren't I had to do it myself works great now....

Can you define: "Adjusted"?

 

[Wmnmy]

Can you define: "Adjusted"?

I have drum brakes and I lifted all four tires off the ground and they spun with no drag I used a brake spoon and spun tire until I got a lil drag . And now when I squeeze the brake control even at 7 I get the trailer to stop and hold on a incline. Before I couldn't get a lock up on the trailer brakes at 10 on the control in my ford .

 

[BigGuy82]

I'm probably missing something here, but I would eliminate the truck as the source of the problem by taking it to a Ford dealer - they can probably figure it out just by plugging into the diagnostic port. If it comes back clean, then troubleshoot the trailer. Since it's brakes we're talking about here, a trip to the dealer doesn't seem out of line.


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[Jamersons]

I have a '17 F350 SRW and have not had any issues. I've applied manually, etc. and had zero problems as your describing.


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[travis_g]

Mine is older 2012 but I did have a wiring issue in the plug in the truck. Dealer fixed it.


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[BusManRG]

We were getting that warning on our 2013 F350. It ended up being a wiring issue in the brake assembly causing the short. Had the whole assembly replaced last week. So far, so good!

Sandy