Factory Trailer Brake Controller
Mountain Pass
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 110
Likes: 14
LED lights
Does your boat trailer have LED lights. The 12V power needs to sense a trailer back there before it will send power to that circuit. Have the running lights turned on before you plug in the trailer. Then see if it works. If not....and you have LED lights, you might not have enough AMP draw to me the minimum. There is another thread where they mentioned the min amount. I quick way to check this is a a temporary non LED bulb in the circuit and try everything again.
Our trailers have LED lights and I needed to turn on the lights the first time to get the 12V to power up the on board air ride. Since then it seems to fire up the second I hit the key.
jjw
ND
Our trailers have LED lights and I needed to turn on the lights the first time to get the 12V to power up the on board air ride. Since then it seems to fire up the second I hit the key.
jjw
ND
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 471
Likes: 4
Someone mentioned somewhere on this site that they could not get power and recognized because of the LEDs on the trailer so he went get an inline plug adaptor to make it recognize the LEDs. Good to know there is a part.
Super Moderator
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 25,479
Likes: 742
From: Isanti, MN
Originally Posted by K A M
Someone mentioned somewhere on this site that they could not get power and recognized because of the LEDs on the trailer so he went get an inline plug adaptor to make it recognize the LEDs. Good to know there is a part.
Cargo Master
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,225
Likes: 63
Back to my post above regarding the blinker and trailer miles storage.
Would be nice if a Ford engineer could come on here and explain why something so simple is not.
Would be nice if a Ford engineer could come on here and explain why something so simple is not.
New User
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
I have a boat trailer with electric over hydraulic brakes (EOH) and they will not work with my 2017 F350. Worked perfect with my 2011 & 2015.
I have researched this forum for hours, made two trips to the dealer, found and installed the missing fuses/relays, added, deleted and added trailer numerous times. Pulled the trailer, put it in drive and then park, etc, etc, etc. Tried every trick that I have read. Still no power to the 12v charging pin on the seven pin connector.
Tested brakes with an older Ford that had an after market brake controller. They worked perfect, so not an issue with the brakes.
Brake controller works great with straight electric brakes. Better than previous trucks due to being able to set power from low to high. No complaints there.
Titan BrakeRite SD EOH brakes require a constant 12v power supply to run the brake control module. Braking effect is controlled by variable voltage through the brake controller. Not sure about other EOH brakes.
I am at wits end. Dealer says truck has to "see" trailer. Truck shows trailer connected. They have no service bulletins about the issue. First time they have "seen it".
Beyond the brakes, no power to charge the battery on my RV or the battery that runs the pump for the ramps on my gooseneck flatbed.
1. Is anyone else having this problem?
2. Does anyone know of a solution?
3. Is there a Ford rep that monitors this site that can offer a solution?
I am either going to have an after market brake controller installed or run a hot wire direct from the battery to the 12v charging pin.
Ford screwed the pooch on this one. Why does the charging pin need to see anything to work?
I have researched this forum for hours, made two trips to the dealer, found and installed the missing fuses/relays, added, deleted and added trailer numerous times. Pulled the trailer, put it in drive and then park, etc, etc, etc. Tried every trick that I have read. Still no power to the 12v charging pin on the seven pin connector.
Tested brakes with an older Ford that had an after market brake controller. They worked perfect, so not an issue with the brakes.
Brake controller works great with straight electric brakes. Better than previous trucks due to being able to set power from low to high. No complaints there.
Titan BrakeRite SD EOH brakes require a constant 12v power supply to run the brake control module. Braking effect is controlled by variable voltage through the brake controller. Not sure about other EOH brakes.
I am at wits end. Dealer says truck has to "see" trailer. Truck shows trailer connected. They have no service bulletins about the issue. First time they have "seen it".
Beyond the brakes, no power to charge the battery on my RV or the battery that runs the pump for the ramps on my gooseneck flatbed.
1. Is anyone else having this problem?
2. Does anyone know of a solution?
3. Is there a Ford rep that monitors this site that can offer a solution?
I am either going to have an after market brake controller installed or run a hot wire direct from the battery to the 12v charging pin.
Ford screwed the pooch on this one. Why does the charging pin need to see anything to work?
I am having the exact same issue.I have a 2018 F350 with a three axle boat trailer using a Titan EoH actuator. My trailer works fine with a 2012 Ram 3500 and a 2005 F350.
I cannot claim to be a Ford engineer, but I know several, and could like pass inspection as an equivalent.
After a bunch of possible root cause elimination, I have the symptoms isolated to the "trailer disconnected" message (and all the associated systems shutdowns) upon stepping on the brake pedal or closing the manual control on the in-dash control. This is behavior is repeatable every time at this point.
I think folks in the thread have guessed at the parameter of how this fault reaction/diagnostic works. I have not been able to get an OEM documentation though. I think adding resistance to one of the trailer circuits is the answer, but I am not sure which one or how much.
Does anyone have any new revelations on this issue (beyond the incandescent light bulb addition idea)?
Freshman User
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 43
Likes: 6
https://www.putco.com/pub/media/prod...274/92009I.pdf
See the "additional wiring instructions" at the end of this document. You can run a jumper wire at the trailer module that will supply constant power to the 12V wire.
Hope this helps.
See the "additional wiring instructions" at the end of this document. You can run a jumper wire at the trailer module that will supply constant power to the 12V wire.
Hope this helps.
New User
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
https://www.putco.com/pub/media/prod...274/92009I.pdf
See the "additional wiring instructions" at the end of this document. You can run a jumper wire at the trailer module that will supply constant power to the 12V wire.
Hope this helps.
See the "additional wiring instructions" at the end of this document. You can run a jumper wire at the trailer module that will supply constant power to the 12V wire.
Hope this helps.
Have you tried this jumper modification and been successful?
Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 206
Likes: 1
From: Snoqualmie, WA
This is a big deal, this how the battery on my trailer gets charged, and the tongue jack will run when the battery is too low from sitting.
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Cross-Country
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 87
Likes: 3
From: Prairieville, LA
https://www.putco.com/pub/media/prod...274/92009I.pdf
See the "additional wiring instructions" at the end of this document. You can run a jumper wire at the trailer module that will supply constant power to the 12V wire.
Hope this helps.
See the "additional wiring instructions" at the end of this document. You can run a jumper wire at the trailer module that will supply constant power to the 12V wire.
Hope this helps.
After trying every combination of e-brake, engine running/off, door open/closed, etc, I finally did this and it solved the problem of having no power to the tongue jack.
The engineer that designed the "smart" trailer controller needs a swift kick in the ***.
New User
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
The design of this thing is fairly ingenious in that there is potentially some great functionality that is not hardware intensive……… However, I'm afraid the resistance/voltage range required for this monitor to work in all situations, might make this functionality less useful than one of those fuses that lights up when it fails.
I am guessing that this thing is going to need a software update from Ford, but I have not figured out how to research that...…….. I have an inquiry into the dealer and the folks I know at Ford.
Junior User
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 57
Likes: 0
From: Kentucky
How would the "smart trailer tow connector" sense an electrical draw if you have the lights off?
I know that whatever switches the blinker from 3 to 5 blinks needs the trailer to have brakes, and it can be fooled by putting a bulb on the brake activation circuit.
Same with the menu showing you the attached trailer and trailer mileage.
My addition to get 5 blinks
I know that whatever switches the blinker from 3 to 5 blinks needs the trailer to have brakes, and it can be fooled by putting a bulb on the brake activation circuit.
Same with the menu showing you the attached trailer and trailer mileage.
My addition to get 5 blinks
Junior User
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 57
Likes: 0
From: Kentucky
That seems like it might functionally solve the issue...…… I am concerned that the diagnostics on the trailer module will still be active, thus resulting in the trailer lighting and brake signal shutting off as soon as I apply the brakes for the first time since connecting to the trailer.
Have you tried this jumper modification and been successful?
Have you tried this jumper modification and been successful?