This bonehead needs some trailer brake electrical suggestions/advice please.....

[Mark Rios]

My big trailer/mobile shop has set for the past 5 or 6 months. I hooked it up yesterday to go to my customers house and I had a little trouble with the trailer brakes. Today the controller just stopped working. The drive back to my house was a little concerning but I made it back without incident. I have had a Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller, brand new in the box, for about a year now but I haven't put it on. Well, I did today. Incidentally my truck has a full trailer tow package including a 7-pin plug for the trailer.

However, after installing it, via direct factory pigtail connections (no splices), I set the sensitivity/power per the instructions and, once satisfied, I went on down the road. But, after about a mile, the digital display started to give me readings that went from no connection to an overload condition to standard operation and back and forth randomly and intermittently. When the normal readings were displayed, the trailer braked accordingly (and it was very nice BTW). However, sometimes I would apply the brakes and the trailer brakes would not engage and an overload reading would display. Then, after a second or two, the normal readings would come back and the brakes would engage. Sometimes the brakes would just not engage.

Every once in a while, the display for "no connection" would come up and again, the brakes wouldn't engage.

Does this just sound like a dirty connection to you? I stopped by a Kragen Auto Parts store and picked up some electrical connector cleaner but I haven't sprayed it on yet.

Anyone have any advice or suggestions or experience to pass on for/to me?

And would someone be so kind as to remind me of the type of grease to use inside of my 7-pin connector? For the life of me I can't remember the name of the type of grease.

Thank you very much for your time.

BTW, If anyone knows of a forum for RV trailering that wouldn't be too hard on this bonehead I"d appreciate the web address.

Thanks again.

[Brian Hale]

Most of the electrical problems i've had (like 98% ) have been due to a bad ground. I fight this all the time with my boat. Not that that does you a lot of good, i know.

The fact that it's been sitting for a few months sounds like rust to me. I'd crawl under the trailer and jiggle all the connections and grounds i can find. If a wire is bolted to the frame, break it loose and tighten it back up.

I never use any grease on my connectors, seems to invite dirt and it's a pain to get out.

Here's an RV forum.

http://irv2.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?a=cfrm&s=8076099152

Good Luck! I hate elect rial troubles so you have my sympathy :(

Brian :)

[Frank Chaffee]

Mark,
Dielectric grease.

[Roger Everett]

I had a brake problem similar on my travel trailer. It started out intermiten, and progressed to where I drove for a whole day, comming from New mexico, without trailer brakes. Found a place next day in Tenn., where after a while they cleaned up the ground connections to frame and bingo.
Roger

[Frank Chaffee]

….where after a while they cleaned up the ground connections to frame and bingo.
Roger
The contact of the dissimilar metals copper and steel create galvanic corrosion when wet. This is a good place to use dielectric grease.

Thanks for bringing this up right now Mark… week after next I need to rewire my truck for a long haul with a trailer…. Gets me thinking of what I have to gather for the job.:)

[EDIT] Darn good thing for me you brought this up Mark!!! Just realized my ground connections are crimped on eyes. I’ll have to cut them off and replace. I know just which box they’re in too. …No idea where that box is tho.:o

[Joe Tonich]

Mark........

I have a PRODIGY electric brake control and it was the blue wire that was causing all the trouble of intermittant braking. I'd have to look tomorrow, but I think it was the ground wire.

[ken straby]

get a brush for cleaning a 22 cal rifle bore & chuck it into a small cordless drill & run it in & out the trailer plug
after that use the electric grease
i do this everytime one of mt trailers has sat for any length of time, in fact i keep a spare brush in my truck just in case