I pulled a wildcat 5th wheel home for a friend...3/4 of the way home I noticed my factory controller was putting out a "trailer disconnected" error...had the green trailer displayed(everything's ok) when we started our trip. So we stopped at a rest area to make sure brake lights & turn signals were at least still working...they were. Went on to her house & dropped the trailer off.Moved my 5th wheel last week & noticed that my electric over hydraulic brakes that are on my trailer are now surging...as in...step on the trucks brake pedal & no immediate assistance from the trailer brakes...after a couple of seconds of nothing...then I get a surge of too much brakes from the trailer...enough to move you forward in your seat a little bit when it happens...Think maybe the Wildcat trip blew a fuse somewhere in line & it's now affecting the workings of my system? Mine is the factory controller in a 2008 Ford 250.Any ideas of what to look for, when I tear into things?

Is your controller really alright with Hyd brakes. My 2011 chev will not work with factory control. Had to add some resistror or something. Got Titan Brake Rite.Oh, the factory controller tried to work but all over the board. Didn"t know if it was working and if you where going to stop or not.

My 08 F-450 built in controller in the truck would not run the electric/hydraulics in my trailer. The owners manual in my Ford warned that this would occur. After trying a bunch of things I eventually bypassed the Ford integrated controller and added an aftermarket controller.

Yes...my factory controller has always worked properly with my electric over hydraulic brakes...well over 6 years of pulling all over the US...No recent updates for the trucks computer from Ford...I feel like something happened while pulling that Wildcat...truck put out a "trailer disconnected" error message & it wasn't...checked the plug & as I said, all trailer lights on the wildcat worked, before the error & after.Never felt that the Wildcat trailer brakes ever worked during the trip...but the trailer sat a long time in one place...so that didn't bother me, as 99% of the trip was interstate.

The symptoms you describe are exactly what I experienced with my 08 and my 5er. The "trailer disconnected" would show up on the dash and the brakes would occasionally (but not always) not work at all and then grab. Had Ford check the truck and trailer folks check the trailer (many times) and both would report that everything was fine. I eventually found a trailer shop that had experienced this before. They added the aftermarket controller in the truck and everything was solved. Like I said there is a section in the Ford owners manual that warns that the controller is not meant for use with electric/hydraulics.

I've carried a spare controller in my truck's toolbox ever since I bought my trailer, just in case any funkiness ever occurred...never had to use it. The main reason is that I ran into an ol' timer first thing after buying my truck & trailer, that told me to wire in a brake magnet, somewhere...anywhere...in line...he said it(the magnet)offers the resistance the factory controller is looking for...Guess the magnet could of gone bad...tho, I don't see how...it just hangs on a wall in my basement. Still wouldn't explain what happen on the Wildcat trip...being as, I feel that is where the problem occured...

Hydraulic trailer brake problem | Good Sam Community

jcrawford
Explorer
Jul 03, 2013
I'm kinda partial to the idea that rbturner suggested...a bad/intermittent ground on the truck somewhere...that would bring both brake systems together & suggest why they may not be/been working properly...

...starting to get a short list of things to check out!...
cimac
Explorer
Jul 03, 2013
Did the Wildcat have have electric over hydraulic brakes. If not, and with the magnet in the line for electric over hydraulic, that may have caused the problem with the Wildcat brakes. I think I would check the magnet in the line for problems and then the controller.
jcrawford
Explorer
Jul 03, 2013
It very much may be coincidence...

Thanks to both of you guys for your well wishes...
rbturner
Explorer
Jul 03, 2013
Mr. Crawford, is there any chance that this surging just started coincidentally after towing your friends trailer? I understand that a guy would normally think that whatever you just did would be related to a new problem. But, I was thinking maybe you have just developed an intermittent ground issue or something like that with your rig's brake system.

Good luck.
jcrawford
Explorer
Jul 03, 2013
Anybody know if something going wrong in a factory tow system (i.e. like a sensor) would put out an error code that Ford could diagnose?
netjam
Explorer
Jul 03, 2013
The magnet trick is a good one. I've heard that before. Carlisle sells a device that does essentially what you describe just for that purpose. I tried it on mine but it didn't work but others have had great success with it. Good luck getting your problem sorted out.
jcrawford
Explorer
Jul 03, 2013
I've carried a spare controller in my truck's toolbox ever since I bought my trailer, just in case any funkiness ever occurred...never had to use it. The main reason is that I ran into an ol' timer first thing after buying my truck & trailer, that told me to wire in a brake magnet, somewhere...anywhere...in line...he said it(the magnet)offers the resistance the factory controller is looking for...Guess the magnet could of gone bad...tho, I don't see how...it just hangs on a wall in my basement. Still wouldn't explain what happen on the Wildcat trip...being as, I feel that is where the problem occured...
netjam
Explorer
Jul 03, 2013
The symptoms you describe are exactly what I experienced with my 08 and my 5er. The "trailer disconnected" would show up on the dash and the brakes would occasionally (but not always) not work at all and then grab. Had Ford check the truck and trailer folks check the trailer (many times) and both would report that everything was fine. I eventually found a trailer shop that had experienced this before. They added the aftermarket controller in the truck and everything was solved. Like I said there is a section in the Ford owners manual that warns that the controller is not meant for use with electric/hydraulics.
jcrawford
Explorer
Jul 03, 2013
Yes...my factory controller has always worked properly with my electric over hydraulic brakes...well over 6 years of pulling all over the US...No recent updates for the trucks computer from Ford...

I feel like something happened while pulling that Wildcat...truck put out a "trailer disconnected" error message & it wasn't...checked the plug & as I said, all trailer lights on the wildcat worked, before the error & after.
Never felt that the Wildcat trailer brakes ever worked during the trip...but the trailer sat a long time in one place...so that didn't bother me, as 99% of the trip was interstate.
netjam
Explorer
Jul 03, 2013
My 08 F-450 built in controller in the truck would not run the electric/hydraulics in my trailer. The owners manual in my Ford warned that this would occur. After trying a bunch of things I eventually bypassed the Ford integrated controller and added an aftermarket controller.

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