Brake Controller Problem
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 223
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From: Yelm,Washington
Brake Controller Problem
Just hooked up my new brake controller. And it works great...That is until I actually put the tongue on the ball...If I just back up close and plug the seven prong into the plug with out touching the trailer with my truck it stops the wheels fine when I apply the brakes and all the lites indicate a correct connection...(got one wheel on the trailer jacked up). The minute I actually hook up,it stops working....The red "short" lite on the controller comes on when I apply the brake peddel and the wheel spins freely. Any ideas...I hate to tear it all apart.. I took my time and did a really good job installing everything.Man I'm close...Any help appreciated..
My truck is a '70 f100 and my controller is a simple one where two wires go directly to the batt. One for pos. one for neg. one wire goes to the cold side of the brake lite switch and then a blue one goes to the trailer...
My truck is a '70 f100 and my controller is a simple one where two wires go directly to the batt. One for pos. one for neg. one wire goes to the cold side of the brake lite switch and then a blue one goes to the trailer...
New User
Joined: Mar 2006
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I think I'd start looking for broken wires on the trailer that are grounding out. Clamp an ohm meter to the tongue and test each contact on the connector to narrow it down quick. Quick check might be to hook the truck to a buddies trailer to eliminate it or .........
HD
HD
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 223
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From: Yelm,Washington
Originally Posted by packlet
sounds like you may have the trailer brake leads shorted to the trailer frame somewhere...
Last edited by markjw; May 5, 2006 at 12:06 AM.
Elder User
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 797
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From: Wickenburg, AZ
Hey, you know, the fact that it needs to be on the ball for the problem to show up might mean that your trailer is not grounded properly with the truck's frame. I'd double-check and make sure you've got a good ground wire from the truck frame to the truck-side plug and from the trailer frame to the trailer side plug too.
You wouldn't want the main ground to be through the hitch ball, because the resistance goes up and down all the time and could make the brakes jittery when you put more demand on them.
You wouldn't want the main ground to be through the hitch ball, because the resistance goes up and down all the time and could make the brakes jittery when you put more demand on them.
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Tuned
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 455
Likes: 3
From: Berkeley
right. the reason it worked disonnected is that the trailer frame was not grounded at all (rubber tires, plywood under the jack, etc...)
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