Trailer brakes

[SmokinM]

I have 2 different trucks that i am having the same issue on. When you hit the brake pedal the brake controller only goes up a couple of volts no matter where you have it set. If I simultaneously push the lever on the box I get full power to where I set it. They both do it no matter what trailer i have it hooked to. One does it intermittently the other is constant.

Both trucks are 00' model Fords but two different brand brake controllers. If it was a ground i wouldnt think pushing the lever would get you full power. I have been tinkering and trying to figure it out but it has me stumped. Could both controllers be bad? One is 10 yrs. old i know. Thanks for any ideas you have.

 

[kenny thomas]

It's a Ford, trade trucks

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

It's a Ford, trade trucks

You're in time out.

 

[SmokinM]

It's a Ford, trade trucks

One thing about it, if i had a Dodge i wouldn't be worried about stopping, keeping them rolling is the problem.

 

[Dave]

My I broke off that little cover on the truck plug in. Ever since that happened I have to play with the trailer plug a lot to get a connection. A couple weeks ago I forgot to play with it. A very short haul. We put 10,000 pounds of calves in the trailer. I got to the stop sign which is a slight downhill. I am going whoa baby stop this thing. It was pretty easy to tell the trailer brakes weren't working.

 

[kenny thomas]

One thing about it, if i had a Dodge i wouldn't be worried about stopping, keeping them rolling is the problem.

Your in flat country, why do you need brakes.

 

[SmokinM]

Your in flat country, why do you need brakes.

I know you Dodge guys aren't used to being able to pull enough weight or get up enough speed that slowing down is a problem but for a Ford it will pull enough weight fast enough you need a little help. Especially when these damn Yankees around here dont know how to drive no better than they do. Plus like you I am a rambling man at times, no telling where I might be tomorrow!

 

[sstterry]

My father always told me that it really makes little difference what the towing capacity of a truck that matters, it is the stopping capacity that counts.

About 25 years ago we had an old dump bed grain truck that we used to haul some rock on occasion (the truck was old even back then). I was driving and we had just gotten a load of gravel and as we were coming down a hill into a Y intersection the brake pedal went all the way to the floor. I told my dad to hold on and pray nothing was coming from the other direction. Luckily nothing was and I limped the truck into the driveway of the next farm we saw. We asked an old man that was there if he wanted a load of rock. He asked how much and I told him it was free, I just wanted to get the truck back home.

That is one day that my butt could have pinched a 20 penny nail in two.

 

[Atimm693]

On the same trailer or different ones?

 

[SmokinM]

Several different trailers. Like i said one truck will do it only 50% of the time the other does it all the time. The fact that they put out full power off of the lever but not off the brake pedal is what throws me for the loop.

 

[damengineer]

Are your controllers connected by hydraulic line to the truck brakes or are they one of those electronic that increases with the length of time you have the pedal depressed. Just my $0.02 I have one on the air brakes on my C8500 Chevy. If I really want to stop I pull the lever. The gain can be set on those and there is another setting I think on some. There are some yutube videos on connecting and operating and troubleshooting trailer connections and brakes at etrailer.com here is one for a 2000 F250.. Maybe it will help..https://www.etrailer.com/tv-brake-controller-2000-ford-f250-superduty.aspx

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

There's 2 styles of electric controllers time based and inertia based. Which style do you have?

A time based one waits a certain period after the pedal is pressed and ramps up the voltage to the max you have it set at. Often they are very jerky and abrupt in operation.

Inertia based is just that the harder you push the pedal and the faster the truck decelerates it swings a pendulum and applies increasing more voltage until it hits your max setting.

 

[showcattle]

If you have the time delay controller, throw it away. I've been happy with the Prodigy inertia controller I put on my 05 Ram, after I threw the Draw Tite time controller away.

 

[SmokinM]

I dont think either is a time delay controller but not 100% positive. Both ramp up to set voltage both on the lever and off the pedal. My thinking is the inertia switch is shot in one ( i have no idea how old it is) and going bad in the other but wanted to see if there were other ideas. Thats the only reasoning i can come up with for it to work off the lever but not the pedal.

 

[simme]

I think some of the pendulum/inertia controllers have a "leveling" adjustment in addition to the "gain" adjustment. Mount the controller so that it does not move and then make the "leveling" adjustment. If the leveling adjustment is not done, it won't work correctly. Others are "self leveling".

 

[cfpinz]

I think some of the pendulum/inertia controllers have a "leveling" adjustment in addition to the "gain" adjustment. Mount the controller so that it does not move and then make the "leveling" adjustment. If the leveling adjustment is not done, it won't work correctly. Others are "self leveling".

That's correct, some are self-leveling and some require manual leveling.

My all time favorite controller is the Prodigy P2, self-leveling and a pretty robust unit. Had a P3 one time, really liked it but was overly complicated and the extra buttons didn't like dusty environments.

 

[SmokinM]

So far y'all are hitting on what i have checked. Guess i am gonna buy one new controller and put on the truck that does it constant and see what i get.

The best one i ever had was a Valley that was an inertia box with hard and soft setting. You had to know what you were doing to set it but it was smooth and constant.

 

[Dusty Britches]

I've seen this thread come across my email notices several times and have been wanting to read it. I'm glad I did. I learned something today. Thanks.

 

[Nesikep]

So far y'all are hitting on what i have checked. Guess i am gonna buy one new controller and put on the truck that does it constant and see what i get.

The best one i ever had was a Valley that was an inertia box with hard and soft setting. You had to know what you were doing to set it but it was smooth and constant.

Find the manual for the controller you have, most of them have a "max braking" setting which is easy to access, but sometimes on a different button or something there'll be a "gain" setting, sometimes called trailer size, or so, and that makes them more sensitive on the inertia based controllers.. I think all modern controllers are self levelling except the worst pieces of garbage... The fact that manually applying brakes works leads me to think it's a setting issue

 

[SmokinM]

So here is the update. I was messing with it yesterday and if i move the controller as i have the brake pedal pressed it will work sporadically as i change the angle. It is an auto adjusting box and it will not keep working no matter the angle it only works as you move it.

I have come to the conclusion that it has to be the self leveling pendulum switch in the box sticking/ malfunctioning. Looks like i am buying a new controller.