Brake control problem
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Elder User
Joined: May 2004
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Brake control problem
I have a draw-tite activator 2 brake controller and recently i noticed when towing my heavy toy hauler it flashes OL on the display. I never noticed this as most trailers i tow dont have brakes. The ol means Over Load in trailer brakes or short. I checked all wiring and coulnt find anything. It doesnt happen all the time occasionally but it is very unsafe and is pissing me off. I think it has to do with the controler itself. Is there anything I can do to make sure because im really looking into buying the Tekonsha Prodigy because i hear it is the beast of the best. Is switching to this controller the smart thing to do reguardless?? Trailer has 3 axles and are all braking. Draw-tite says its rated for 2,4,6,8 brake systems. Also stopping is jerky no matter how i adjust it seems to be jerky. What would cause an overload in the braking system. Under light braking it does it and i have no brakes not even manual when this happens. Trailer weighs 12k dry and I cant have this happen on a hill, my truck brakes will be toast!!! Please help.
Elder User
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 797
Likes: 0
From: Wickenburg, AZ
Tekonsha says the Prodigy will work on 1 to 4 axles. I couldn't find the limit in pounds.
The site, by the way, is:
http://www.tekonsha.com/prodig.html
The Prodigy is a good unit, though, no doubt about it.
You say you can't even get the brakes in maual mode? I would make sure your output from the controller is OK by hooking up a testlight at the truck's plug and having someone work the manual lever on the brake controller.
My other ideas for you to try with that trailer would include making sure that you have a good, solid ground from the trailer to the truck. That means having a good wire from the trailer frame to the trailer's plug, clean pins on both plugs, and a decent wire going from the truck plug to the truck's frame. If your ground wire is no good, it will try and ground through the hitch gear and that is not good enough. If you have too much resistance, the controller could overload just on that.
Along the same line, a wire with lots of broken strands can haunt you, too. Usually that sort of thing occurs on the trailer end of things.
Good luck with your problem. I hope this helps you out.
The site, by the way, is:
http://www.tekonsha.com/prodig.html
The Prodigy is a good unit, though, no doubt about it.
You say you can't even get the brakes in maual mode? I would make sure your output from the controller is OK by hooking up a testlight at the truck's plug and having someone work the manual lever on the brake controller.
My other ideas for you to try with that trailer would include making sure that you have a good, solid ground from the trailer to the truck. That means having a good wire from the trailer frame to the trailer's plug, clean pins on both plugs, and a decent wire going from the truck plug to the truck's frame. If your ground wire is no good, it will try and ground through the hitch gear and that is not good enough. If you have too much resistance, the controller could overload just on that.
Along the same line, a wire with lots of broken strands can haunt you, too. Usually that sort of thing occurs on the trailer end of things.
Good luck with your problem. I hope this helps you out.
