trailer brake controler
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trailer brake controler
Hi. I have an 86 F250 With 460, it has a brake controler that has a steel brake line to the back of it. I just got a 2004 fifthwheel camper with bouble axle about 7500# with electric brakes. It is the first thing with brakes I have tried to tow with the truck. When I apply any brake pedal pressure the trailer brakes lock up The **** on the front of the controler seems to adjust but makes no difference. Under the hood on the inner fender is a board with a wire that looks like 2 coil springs with a metal clamp that will slide up and down the coils (which I thought were resistor wires to control brake pressure). Moving the clamp up and down on the coils or removing the clamp makes no difference. The hydrolic controler should still control electric brakes I think, or is that old tech that won't work with newer equipment?
Any help is greatly appreciated, It is not fun to stop the truck with locking trailer brakes.
Thanks
Any help is greatly appreciated, It is not fun to stop the truck with locking trailer brakes.
Thanks
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 259
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From: Uniontown PA USA
I don't know anything about the controller you have, but I would just spend $100 on a new tekonsha prodigy brake control. It is arguably the best on the market and for the price well worth it considering its purpose. Pretty easy to install.
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Joined: Jan 2001
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From: Virginia
If I had that old type controller, I would try and get it working if I could, it actually adjusts the trailer brakes depending on how much braking pressure is in the truck's brakes. But I know it's old and it might not be fixable.
The other newer controllers all have some sort of "work around" to try and do the same thing. Some have pendulum's inside that swing forward to try and determine how hard you are braking. Some have fancier gizmos inside and then you have the cheap ones like I use that just work on time. The longer you hold the brake, the more braking you have on the trailer.
That's one of the great features of the new trucks. They can be ordered now with intergrated brake controllers. It already knows the braking force in the truck's brake system, and will adjust the trailer brakes accordingly.
The other newer controllers all have some sort of "work around" to try and do the same thing. Some have pendulum's inside that swing forward to try and determine how hard you are braking. Some have fancier gizmos inside and then you have the cheap ones like I use that just work on time. The longer you hold the brake, the more braking you have on the trailer.
That's one of the great features of the new trucks. They can be ordered now with intergrated brake controllers. It already knows the braking force in the truck's brake system, and will adjust the trailer brakes accordingly.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jan 2007
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From: Martinsburg, WV
+1 for fixing it if you can for the brake pressure. There are far better electronic versions than the pendulum style ones, Not a big fan of those. The P3 that I have is nice, uses an inertial sensor much like the cell phones have these days, incorporated along with a time delay. It also will tell me how much the brakes are drawing, signalling an issue if there is one.
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If this controler should work then I am going to see if I can take it apart and clean the electrical connections and get to work, then I will go get a new proportioning type, when I finish breaking the old one.
Postmaster
Joined: Feb 2011
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i have one of the cheap electric ones on my rig, which has the time-based system. i usually end up operating it manually by the slide thingy on top of it so i can get the braking i want - otherwise it starts way too late and is locked up before i'm ready to stop - then i pull up on the brake pedal, its timer resets, and we repeat the same game. i can make it work, but if you get to choose, something like the other boys were describing would be better
Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,408
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From: Parkesburg PA
I've got a P3 and I love it. Since I've got a couple trucks I've got them wired with the mount. It takes a minute or two to swap it out. I haven't had any issues with it telling the difference between normal, light and panic braking.
The mechanical ones are nice if you can get it working but the P3 is great too.
The mechanical ones are nice if you can get it working but the P3 is great too.
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Sep 2012
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From: Georgia
We had one of the hydraulic ones on our '77 F-150. It worked fine, but would always lock the (empty)trailer brakes until I installed a rheostat under the hood.
That said, the Tekonsha P3 is a very nice controller, if you end up needing to replace yours.
That said, the Tekonsha P3 is a very nice controller, if you end up needing to replace yours.
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From: Virginia
i have one of the cheap electric ones on my rig, which has the time-based system. i usually end up operating it manually by the slide thingy on top of it so i can get the braking i want - otherwise it starts way too late and is locked up before i'm ready to stop - then i pull up on the brake pedal, its timer resets, and we repeat the same game. i can make it work, but if you get to choose, something like the other boys were describing would be better
But on a loaded trailer, if it's locking up the tires, the adjustment is set too high. Turn it down a little bit till it quits doing it.
When I am pulling something heavy, I am more alert and put my foot lightly on the brake earlier. This starts activating the timer and it will start applying the trailer brakes. As I feel the trailer brakes kicking in, if I do not need it to keep increasing I let up on the pedal a little bit and then start riding the brake lightly again to start the timer again. I can add or subtract the truck's braking.
I know it's not the best, but it was cheap, and it's predictable, and I am used to it. I would not mind having one of those P3 boxes, but I don't have $150 to spend on one. If I hauled more than I do, I would consider it though.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Sep 2012
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From: Georgia
Our hydraulic one would lock the brakes even on dry pavement, with the adjuster set to the lowest setting. But like I said, only when the flatbed was empty. The rheostat was cheap though. It was just two parallel bare coiled wires about 6" long with a metal "bridge" that you could slide forward and back depending on how much current you wanted going to the brakes, installed between the controller and trailer brakes.
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Joined: Feb 2011
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When I am pulling something heavy, I am more alert and put my foot lightly on the brake earlier. This starts activating the timer and it will start applying the trailer brakes. As I feel the trailer brakes kicking in, if I do not need it to keep increasing I let up on the pedal a little bit and then start riding the brake lightly again to start the timer again. I can add or subtract the truck's braking.
because of this, i usually have the adjuster turned up a little farther than ideal so i can get some braking before i get it stopped, but then it often resets the timer when i try to ease up on the truck's braking.
because of all this, i usually control them manually, though i shouldn't have to. i only tow things with brakes a couple times a year, so its not the end of the world if i have to mess with it
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From: Virginia
that would probable work for me IF i were to swap out brake light switches so it reads pedal position not pedal force - my rig is set up where the brake lights don't come on until its braking enough to feel it. i can actually stop without turning the brake lights on if i'm real gentle and have like a mile to do it...
because of this, i usually have the adjuster turned up a little farther than ideal so i can get some braking before i get it stopped, but then it often resets the timer when i try to ease up on the truck's braking.
because of all this, i usually control them manually, though i shouldn't have to. i only tow things with brakes a couple times a year, so its not the end of the world if i have to mess with it
because of this, i usually have the adjuster turned up a little farther than ideal so i can get some braking before i get it stopped, but then it often resets the timer when i try to ease up on the truck's braking.
because of all this, i usually control them manually, though i shouldn't have to. i only tow things with brakes a couple times a year, so its not the end of the world if i have to mess with it
Postmaster
Joined: Feb 2011
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its the switch between the pedal arm and the booster pushrod. the one that takes maybe 5 or 8 pounds of linear force to turn the brake lights on. its on my 87 econoline. it frequently happens that when i'm approaching a stop and raise my foot slightly, the brake lights turn off (as indicated by the light on the brake controller), which is no big deal driving empty but raises hell when i'm using trailer brakes.
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