brake controller problems - Montana Owners Club

MAMalody · 07-31-2011, 03:01 PM

Does anybody know a good shop in Grand Prairie (next to Dallas) or Oklahoma City for brake controller work. Maybe there is a mobile tech that can come to me, so much easier for me. I have a Prodigy brake controller and it keeps going between, C, NC and nothing but the power lights. I have checked the fuses, made sure the blades for the umbellico (sp) cord were a tight fit, made sure both ends of the connection were clean and dry. I had the pu in to make sure the pu end was okay (couldn't take trailer with it at the same time). Tech said the pu was okay. I am thinking of redoing all the connects where the trailer and umbellico join together. They all appear to be good connections with a visual connection.

Maybe you live close to where I am and could bail me out. I plan on being here in Grand Prairie until departure time on Thursday. I am getting frustrated and dislike traveling with only intermittent brakes. That is not cool.

noneck · 07-31-2011, 03:33 PM

Hi Mike...yeah brakes are essential to have when you need them. It does sound like a connector is opening up on you and typically its the trailer plug and how well it fits into the truck socket. Maybe have DW watch while you wiggle it to see how sensitive it is to movement?

jimcol · 07-31-2011, 04:30 PM

Mike, Also pull your emergency breakaway switch and reseat it. Not sure it is relevant to your exact problem but had a guy at a trailer shop tell me that is the first thing they do when people come in with intermitent problems. Jim

HamRad · 07-31-2011, 07:39 PM

Mike,
We had a similar situation with our brake controller. It turned out to be a wire had rubbed all the insulation off and was shorting out on the axle. This was the wire that was routed through the axle. We cut it off and replaced with new and no more problem. But it took me a couple of years to figure it out! Good luck and let us know what you end up doing. Dennis and Mary Kay

MAMalody · 08-01-2011, 03:55 AM

Well, got an update. When I had the pu checked out, I did notice that the brake lanyard had pulled out. I did reseat it. Did not seem to solve anything. Last night I did pull the junction box cover in the pin box, undid each wire nut, made sure the connection was tight and put the nut back on. Did the one at a time to make sure I did not get the wires mixed up. Of course, they are color coded, so I probably would not have had a problem anyway. There are two sets of wires that are a three wire combination, not a two wire. One of them had a stripped wire not solid color like all the other wires. When I pulled off the wire nut, I noticed it seemed warm, also the stripped wire did not seem well connected to the other two wires. I stripped the insulation off a little more, made sure a good connection, put the wire nut back on. When I went to push all the wires back in the junction box, I noticed again that that three wire combination seemed warm. Figured since I just disconnected them, that they should be okay. Resealed the junction box. 3 1/2 hours late my wife woke up and said something is not right, I smell insulation burning smell. I went bailing out the door, about knocked over a neighbor coming to tell me there was a fire in my pin box. Turned out the emergency brake connection where the lanyard comes out was on fire. Put it out. The think was all melted. Pulled off the cover to the pin box, all the wires were cool, including the ones that were warm the night before. Guess where I traced the stripped wire to....you got it....the emergency brake switch. Now, how could that have happened? I didn't do anything except make sure the wires had a good connection and did not have more that one wire nut combination open at the same time. Tech coming out to park today to put a new assembly. I will check the wires coming out of the axles also. Thanks for the hint.....but the biggest thanks goes the the Lord for protecting my wife and myself.

noneck · 08-01-2011, 03:55 PM

Wow...too much excitement...good to know your all Ok.

richfaa · 08-02-2011, 06:32 AM

We have been having a problem with our Ford OEM brake controller as it will indicate a trailer wiring fault when I hit the brakes without the Montana attached. There is a TSB 09-9-1 on the issue.

the good news is the entire system including the wiring harness is covered by my Ford ESP plan and they will be replacing it. the bad news is that the power plug in the bed installed by a local dealer although Not a cause of the problem was not installed in compliance with the TSB or Ford spec's had it been properly installed it would also have been covered.It was a sloppy installation job and a problem waiting to happen. I am having Ford do it right and that will cost me @ 100.00.

So the ESP IS covering the OEM controller and harness but I will have to pay for the correct wiring of the after market power plug. We will be going to that loacl dealer and having a chat with them.They should have known better.

richfaa · 08-03-2011, 10:46 AM

The problem was as others advised, water intrusion in the 7 pin barrel connector.Note this truck has never seen snow, ice, salt, etc but it was a corroded mess inside there.I could not repair it. My ESP plan covered the entire repair less the 50.00 deductible. They replaced the entire wiring harness and new barrel connector. The bad news is the local Rv dealer that did the in bed power connector did a poor job.It was showing signs of water intrusion. It cost me 107.42 to have that rewired to Ford specifications. The barrel connector is also a upgraded version and we will not have water intrusion again.

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