if it trips without a trailer attached, it isn't a problem with the trailer...

 

Is there a way to connect an aftermarket brake controller to the system while "bypassing" the factory brake controller without causing the TBC Fault message to come up in the message center all the time? I think this may be your best bet. I am having the same problem with my factory unit in my '05, so I am interested to find out.

 

Subscribing- I want to know how this works out.

Francis

 

Duh!!!! Guess who makes the Ford brake controller?????

 

I have one of the low voltage ones ,wouldnt work with my Jayco RL 31 so I spliced into the wires and unpluged the ford controller .Hated the TBC Fault every time i started the engine .today while putting on a new FICM the tech turned off the fault for good. just a matter of programing.

 

I'll go for the simple diagnostics here. Do you have the same problem if you pull a different trailer and does anyone else have the problem pulling your trailer? This will at least tie down the culprit and get you spending your money with the right folks.

 

So, what was the end result of all this ? I have a 2005 Super Duty with the same issue. I'm leaning towards a bad connection under the bumper, as the Tekonsha emulator says a bad ground either on the controller or the socket under the bumper. I'm going to run new 12 ga. wire under the trailer, solder the connections, and heat shrink. The original was house hold red wire nuts. I have to use some pretty rough roads, and when the problem first started a week ago, I got the infamous "check trailer" message, and alarm beeping every 20 seconds or so. Then it worked for a day or so, then started again. Then stopped altogether ( blown battery charger fuse, #107 ? I think). Fixed the fuse, inserted the Tekonsha tester, ground LED didn't light, nor did the BK LED.

Probably the ground wire, or connection, or a problem with the ground wire between the socket and the controller.

Who sells the battery harness assembly for the + terminal ? Looks like it has a diode/ resister, and a blue wire to the brakes, and a black to charging source. It doesn't seem to be listed with the break away switch, or the battery, or as a loose part. I really do not know if it's good/bad, but it was installed with Scotch locks which seems mickey mouse to me, like it was swapped once before. Thanks !

Dave

 

Dave, I have a 2005 superduty that was made in Sept 04.when I purchased my 5Th wheel later that year that's when I found out the problem.If you do a search on this forum you will see several articles about this.From my understanding the company that made the controller told Ford that they were wrong but Ford had a better Idea.I ended up putting on a 2006 /2007 controller plug and play and corrected the issue I have posted a few post and what I did.I just got back from a trip to and from south Texas to Mich 4,000 miles pulling a fifth wheel with the 06/07 controller and it worked great. it just took a while to correct the issue with the early models.also sounds like you have a short that that has to be corrected no matter what version of controller you have good luck

 

Claytonc

Thanks, if the weather clears any time soon, I'll be out there. I doubt the problem is with the trailer, but the stupid way the connections were done underneath just adds doubt. I make my living with the use of this trailer, (24 ft. and about 6,000 lbs), so I need to solve this.

Oddly enough, it worked great for a month ? It could be a socket issue with either the ground or the BK connection, as it seemed to start acting up right after washing the truck. Once the trailer wiring is done, I'll try to come up with the special battery wire harness, and double check the trailer's male plug end (although this is new, and already checked again).

I know from experience, that the ground connection is critical. My other trailer had surge brakes, but to keep all the lights working, I had to add a separate ground cable from the trailer tongue to the truck chassis.

I'm banking on the socket under the bumper. I know it's factory original, and I've NEVER gotten 6 years on any other trailer male/female connectors, no matter how much I spent.

Worse case, I already have a brand new Tekonsha controller on the shelf, I'll just install that ( but first I still need the good ground and power to the socket).

Thanks again.

Dave

 

Dave,
I was having the same issue with the controller losing the connection and getting the beep tone. What I did was simply bend the connecting prongs inward to make better contact and applied dielectric grease to the contacts. All of my connection problems have since gone away.
Every couple of weeks I just reapply some more dielectric grease and I have not had a problem since. Hope this helps.

 

I'm going to go ahead and change the socket under the bumper. The truck's an '05, so it's one less thing to go wrong in a blizzard ! Also, I found a 2 wire, #6 awg, harness from a snow plow switch ( with a quick connect ) that I'm going to solder a copper lug on each pair of ends. One lug bolted to the frame of the truck, and the other to the trailer. I did this with my other trailer just to keep all the lights working. That should ground the heck out of everything.

The socket I'm going to use is a Bargman. It has a pretty well designed connection side to attach the wires. Once the supply wiring is installed, a small dab of silicone will keep anything from getting in there.

That trailer 7 wire cord is pretty heavy. I can see where something as simple as gravity or rough roads could break the connection ( and the last time the brakes failed on the trailer, that's exactly what it felt like). I thought the snap cover of the socket was suppose to lock the male end into place ? Maybe that's just on metal male/female parts.

Dave