Brakes

[Socal-Paul]

I think the problem is with the 2023 Ford 250. I get a gain setting but no output when the levers are squeezed. The the breaks lock up when the breakaway cable is pulled. I'm 3000 miles from home and not really interested in spending a week in a Ford dealership. I'm new with trailer and electric brakes, my thought is to buy a aftermarket unit and splice it in so I'm looking for recommendations from those more experienced

Thanks

 

[Oregon_Camper]

do you have disc or drum brakes on the RV? Make sure the truck has the proper one set. Then check under hood fuse box to make sure you have the fuse to active the brakes? Do the brake lights come on (on the RV) when you apply truck brakes?

 

[CharlieO]

I think the problem is with the 2023 Ford 250. I get a gain setting but no output when the levers are squeezed. The the breaks lock up when the breakaway cable is pulled. I'm 3000 miles from home and not really interested in spending a week in a Ford dealership. I'm new with trailer and electric brakes, my thought is to buy a aftermarket unit and splice it in so I'm looking for recommendations from those more experienced

Thanks

FYI
Drove from Washington state to Florida without problems. Ten miles from Camp Margaritaville in Auburndale and got a “check break wires” warning. Happened intermittently which meant that I didn’t have trailer brakes. Pulled over and checked 7pin plug. Seemed to work for a while but error came back. Replaced plug and it seemed to work. Headed out a few days later and things were good until I hit rough road just outside our stop in Savannah Georgia. Error returned. Got settled in at RV park and rechecked all connections. Everything looked fine. My next step was to bring my Ram 2500 to the dealer to check it out. Researching on YouTube and I can across one that sounded like my problem. I got 12 gauge wire and other supplies to replace the brake wiring that runs through the axle tubes. What the YouTube showed and what I found was the wiring rubs over time and exposes the wire which caused a short and in turn gave the error. Problem is fixed!

 

[2 Allies]

Anyone with 2024 GM HD trucks and you are having trailer brake warnings, (trailer brakes disconnected) and reconnecting, there is a TSD from GM. It is caused by the solar panel charging the RV battery voltage above that of the truck, it then backsfeeds to the brake controller shutting down the connection. Good news is that GM has a fix with a new module under warranty. When it happens it is a bit scary as you are without trailer brakes and they can reconnect at anytime like while braking the tow on truck brakes only, quite the jerk if that happens.

 

[Austin Alliance]

Anyone with 2024 GM HD trucks and you are having trailer brake warnings, (trailer brakes disconnected) and reconnecting, there is a TSD from GM. It is caused by the solar panel charging the RV battery voltage above that of the truck, it then backsfeeds to the brake controller shutting down the connection. Good news is that GM has a fix with a new module under warranty. When it happens it is a bit scary as you are without trailer brakes and they can reconnect at anytime like while braking the tow on truck brakes only, quite the jerk if that happens.

So what was your fix? What did GM do? I have a 2022 GMC 2500HD, and that concerns me....

 

[2 Allies]

Bulletin # 23-NA-149, you can Google this bulletin # and it will explain. Apparently only affects some 2024 and 2023 models. The fix was putting a new trailer brake module on my '24 Silverado 3500hd. I assume that the new module does not allow backfeeding from the RV battery. Took a trip this past week and problem solved.
Hope this helps,
Bruce

 

[DanNJanice]

I think the problem is with the 2023 Ford 250. I get a gain setting but no output when the levers are squeezed. The the breaks lock up when the breakaway cable is pulled. I'm 3000 miles from home and not really interested in spending a week in a Ford dealership. I'm new with trailer and electric brakes, my thought is to buy a aftermarket unit and splice it in so I'm looking for recommendations from those more experienced

Thanks

You should be able to measure the output of the brake controller with a multimeter set to DC volts.
I attached a diagram that show the pins as viewed into the trucks connector. It looks like pin 1 is ground and pin 2 is trailer brakes. You should measure a voltage across these two pins if you have someone manually activate the controller.

 

[Fishfnatic]

I talked to another alliance owner at an rv park and his 1 ton Chevy dually did same thing. He wired in separate cutoff switch for solar and trailer brakes worked every time afterwards. He said the truck read too much voltage from solar system and shut off trailer brakes. when he installed cutoff switch brakes worked every-time afterwards. His alliance did not have solar cutoff switch.

 

[2 Allies]

I used the solar shut off switch on our 385fl to get home when it first happened. I just did not want to loose the option to solar charge while moving and GM fixed under warranty.

Isolating the solar does stop the issue.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

Wow...Chevy needs to fix this is for sure. Having to turn off your solar, while driving, is not a solution. Drive time is a GREAT time to have the solar panels working.

 

[Socal-Paul]

I went back into the trailer setup in the truck this morning and deleted the original setup I had made replacing it with a new trailer. We only traveled 120 miles today but had brakes the whole way. Hoping this has solved the problem. Thanks for all the information I will keep it all in mind.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

I went back into the trailer setup in the truck this morning and deleted the original setup I had made replacing it with a new trailer. We only traveled 120 miles today but had brakes the whole way. Hoping this has solved the problem. Thanks for all the information I will keep it all in mind.

Excellent news!!!