I have an 04 F-150 and use a Prodigy brake controller. I tow a Trail Bay Travel trailer. When I hook up to the camper everything does as it is supposed to. I test the brakes and I get voltage reading on the controller. The brakes actuate and all is good. Now for the problem.... when I pull out I was getting an error code on the Prodigy of short, and overload then no camper. I checked all the wiring on the brake system and replaced 2 connectors that Trail lite used. I just took the camper out again this weekend. I no longer get the no camper code but I still get the overload and the short code. The brakes work fine while towing in a straight line and work properly when going through the campground. I have checked all the grounds and all the connections in the j-box on the frame. Is it possible that the breakaway switch could be causing these problems? One lead is wired to the trailer brakes and the other is wired to power. On the pigtail side the brake wire is wired to the brakes along with the breakaway switch wire. The other wire for the brakes goes to ground. I am completely stumped. I cannot pull the trailer and hang under it at the same time to find out what it is doing. When it does read short or overload all I have to do is let off the brakes and reapply them. This is ok providing it is not a panic stop. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

I understand that where the wiring goes into your wheels under the trailer is a problem spot for most trailers. I suggest that you quit trying to find the short and rewire that area on each side. It's faster then hunting. It should only take you a few minutes to do each wheel. Even if it doesn't fix it, you aren't out that much time nor money.

If you wish to really find it, hook up an ohmeter to the front and have someone watch it while you go under and wiggle connections. It should show up fairly quickly that way.

 

I have already done that. I cut off all factory connections and replaced with soldered connections. It took a little longer to solder them but I know that they are tight and will never loosen up. Do you or anyone else know what the ohm reading is supposed to be for the magnets on the brakes? This is a brand new trailer and it was a left over 06 on the lot. I am thinking that I might have an intermittent problem with one of the magnets. If I run a continuity check on the wires at the front I do get continuity. I then disconnected each wheel and checked all the main wires from front to back and they were good. I get about 2 ohms if I go to the first wheel and check all 4 brakes at the same time. Any other input?

 

How about your grounds? Hook up the electric plug to your truck, but DO NOT drop the trailer on the hitch. Do all of your lights/etc work okay now? If they don't, you were getting your ground through the ball on the hitch. This is a very UN-dependable ground. Check for continunity on all your ground wires in the brake circuit. I had this happen to me with the 5th wheel front jacks. I didn't even try to find problem, just installed a new ground wire straight to trailer battery.

 

Bryan -

How old is your Prodigy? Tekonsha had a bulletin awhile back about false indications until they made a software change; try tekonsha.com and see if any of their sales or tech bulletins apply to your serial number.

Steve

 

Thanks for the info on the recall Steve. Bud, I already tried that. As a matter fact it was the first thing I thought of when this happened. Everything works fine hooked or unhooked. The bad ground would cause the lights to flicker while going down the road also. They don't flicker at all. There are actually 2 grounds on this trailer. They are about 10" apart on the same frame rail and they have good continuity also. I was thinking the same way you are. I did notice that when this happens if I give the trailer time to catch up with the truck or if I give the truck some gas this does help. I am beginning to wonder if it's in the truck wiring? It is really odd. Hey Steve I'll check on that recall for the prodigy. Thanks for the info again.

 

It sounds a lot like somewhere there is a wire harness passing through something that has chafed the insulation away.

I would do a visual inspect along the entire length of the wires to see if you have any exposed conductors.

Is this a 5th wheel or a travel trailer?

 

It is a 31' Travel trailer. I have inspected all the wiring from front to back. Everything is red jacketed brake wire. I disconnected all the brakes and did a continuity check and all checked out good. I also continuity checked the wire going to the 7 pin plug. All checked out good there also. I then did a continuity check of the wiring going through the axle tubes. All was good there also. The thing that has me totally baffled is that the brakes work fine when going down the road. When I get into town they start acting up. It really doesn't make any sense. I was getting a no camper signal on my prodigy. I replaced the connection at the first wheel and I eliminated that. I also re-did all the connections on the left side of the camper. I have not done the right side because they looked tight and well insulated. I am going to cut them off tomorrow and re-do them as well. I even went as far as to remove the wheels and check all the magnets. They ohm out at 2 ohms. I don't know what the readings are supposed to be but that is what I have. It is getting to be a real pain in the butt. I try something and then have to hook up and drive down the road to see if it's fixed. Then return and repair some more and then drive again. This isn't exactly the shortest thing in the world to be getting in and out of a sub-division about 6 times in one weekend. If I just plug it into the truck, unhooked from the ball everything works as it's supposed to. If I hook up the camper everything works as it's supposed to. I have checked all the pins on the back of the truck and all is good. Did I miss anything? Am I losing my mind? By the time I get this fixed I just might lose it!

 

What you can't test while in motion is the brakes, so you could consider disconnecting them. I.e., disconnect ALL the brakes by just not connecting that line. If the controller isn't looking for a load on the brakes and the error messages go away, you'll at least have a clue where the problem is.

Otherwise, you could try inserting an appropriate resistance to fool the controller, to the same end. Should be worth a try.....

 

I am using the Pridigy Brake control. It is smarter than that. It will tell you when you have no brakes or no camper. If it doesn't sense load then it will tell you no camper. If you have a short it will tell you SH if you have an overload it says OL. ECT ECT
Sitting still and activating the trailer brakes I can hear them engage on all 4 wheels. They don't sound strange and they are locked up when I try to spin the wheels. (yes I actually jacked up the camper and did this to each wheel) Like I said in an earlier post... I was getting a NC code. I replaced all the connections on the left side of the camper. This is where all the wheels are tied into the main wire that runs to the tounge. I have since cleared up the no camper code by doing this. I still however have an intermittent SH followed by an ol code. If I let off the brakes and re-apply them it acts like it should, sometimes. Keep the ideas coming. Maybe one will hit me that I haven't tried yet. THanks for all the help and info.

 

have you hooked your truck to another trailer or another truck to your trailer?

 

The dealership hooked thier truck to the trailer but they didn't pull it. They said nothing was wrong. I haven't hooked mine to another trailer but if I still have problems after this next trip I just might try it. I can hook to mine and it is fine as long as I don't tow it. It is also fine about 85-90% of the time while towing. It's the 10-15% of the time that they don't work correctly that has me worried. The controller does not show any thype of error without the trailer. If you flip the manual switch on the Prodigy it shows nc or no camper. I was getting this code even when hooked up before and I fixed that.
What I did find however is that the wire going through the axle tube has a red covering on the copper conductors. If the factory didn't strip it off before termination then that may be the problem. I did re-do the right hand side of the camper this afternoon. I cut off the factory connections and striped the wires and re-connected them with outdoor wire nuts for now. They have dielectric grease in them. I will solder them if it fixed the problem. I will find out in Oct if it worked or not. I might get a wild hair this weekend and hook it up and pull it down the road to see how it is. I'll keep you all posted. If anyone else has any ideas let them fly! I am still scratching my head on this one.

 

OL and SH might just be a bad magnet on one of the wheels.

Since they are connected behind the backing plate with wire nuts, you may be able to disconnect one at a time to see if the problem vanishes with a particular one.

If so - you'll have narrowed it down some.

 

I was thinking the same thing. I wonder if I disconnect one wheel at a time how it will affect the braking? Will the trailer tend to pull to one side or not? I might have to try it this wekend. I have 2 more trips planned this year so far. Both are pretty close by but I would like to go to a certain campground in the mountains and I want to make sure the brakes are perfect before I go there. If it were only one wheel, why would it only do it once in a while?

 

Well - I was also thinking disconn them all, and try one brake set at a time...

You can safely terminate the hots with the wirenuts that are on them.

There's no telling what is going on inside the drums without a VISUAL INSPECTION of what really is inside them.

Frankly I would want to jack up one side at a time, and pull the wheels & drums to see what the heck is going on in there.

REPACK your wheel bearings at the same time, and use LITHIUM grease.