Prodigy Brake Controller Problem
I just got my 5th wheel from storage to go on trip, we returned from a previous trip 3 weeks ago. When I tested the rv brake there wasn't any. Two problem indicators came up. One was 5.H which is dete...
Forum Discussion
Not a Prodigy, but some related info to add here. ( I will update my old thread on my controller problem once I have completed testing)
My Voyager 9030 was showing all proper lights including the red orange green for gain so there was nothing apparently wrong. However when I tried the manual slider with no truck braking, no braking from trailer. ( I had not been doing this test often enough, so it seems I had been going for months with no trailer brakes, just the truck's.)
Note this truck's manual says over 2000 lbs trailer you must have trailer brakes (The Law may have a different weight, so go by the Law of course.) The trailer is near 10,000lbs so the truck actually can do another 8 thou over that 2 thou and I didn't really notice, including on steep hills. Good thing too, when you might need that extra if your trailer brakes/controller go out on you.
OK, so trouble shooting story. Went over everything several times and decided the trailer brakes must be ok since the breakaway system engaged full braking ( Trimetric showed 12 amps for brakes and it would not move when towed a little with the 7-pin disconnected)
Checked both ends of the trailer 7-pin and after some confusion (more on that) it was ok, so now we are into the truck. Much back and forth trying things with the controller wiring and truck 7-pin, very frustrating, turned out to be intermittent low 12v power to the controller.
By this time I had bought a replacement controller which was not as good but was on sale so I grabbed it. Hopkins "Impulse" time based, has a digital readout. So wiring that I had to check the adapter wire set that goes from the controller's four wire plug to the truck's socket (different adapters needed for Chev, Ford, etc) so I had the Chev one already for the Voyager. I cut and spliced the four wires at the controller end to the adapter and plugged in, no joy. Got the controller fault code SC which means the brake wire is bad, or bad magnet or 7-pin connector bad on blue wire. Checked all that again, no joy. Also it chattered and buzzed badly when manual pushed.
Undid the four wire splice on ground and 12v pos wires and jumpered to battery direct with standard jumper cable set. Bingo! It all worked properly. Tried it with only the ground jumpered, no joy. So the 12v pos was guilty!
More snooping at the truck's end where the controller adapter plug goes into a "Trailer 6 Pin" socket. Turned out there was only 2 volts on the positive pin in the 6-pin socket (of which only four pins are used) plus that was intermittent.
Could not figure out from the truck's diagrams in the manual which fuse works that 6-pin's positive and all fuses checked ok. Very frustrating all round.
Fix chosen was to take out the whole thing on the floor (by left foot) which has that Trailer 6-pin socket and on the back of the whole thing is a fat red wire I tapped into and jumpered to the black controller wire, and still used the 6-pin plug for the other three wires. Ta da! The Hopkins now acts right while parked.
I have not taken it for a test drive yet to see how well it controls and I will also swap the Voyager back in to see if it works now too.
I did have a reply on the old thread that the Voyager has a weakness where over time it loses its gain oomph due to a part wearing out, so that might also have been happening. (it is ten years old) We'll see when I get a chance to do that testing and I will update that old thread then.
Meanwhile for this thread, my lesson is that it might not be the controller or the trailer but the truck and that might be hard to find. Hate to have to pay somebody to do that--it took me hours of several days to chase that one down where it was intermittent and in an obscure place. :(
My Voyager 9030 was showing all proper lights including the red orange green for gain so there was nothing apparently wrong. However when I tried the manual slider with no truck braking, no braking from trailer. ( I had not been doing this test often enough, so it seems I had been going for months with no trailer brakes, just the truck's.)
Note this truck's manual says over 2000 lbs trailer you must have trailer brakes (The Law may have a different weight, so go by the Law of course.) The trailer is near 10,000lbs so the truck actually can do another 8 thou over that 2 thou and I didn't really notice, including on steep hills. Good thing too, when you might need that extra if your trailer brakes/controller go out on you.
OK, so trouble shooting story. Went over everything several times and decided the trailer brakes must be ok since the breakaway system engaged full braking ( Trimetric showed 12 amps for brakes and it would not move when towed a little with the 7-pin disconnected)
Checked both ends of the trailer 7-pin and after some confusion (more on that) it was ok, so now we are into the truck. Much back and forth trying things with the controller wiring and truck 7-pin, very frustrating, turned out to be intermittent low 12v power to the controller.
By this time I had bought a replacement controller which was not as good but was on sale so I grabbed it. Hopkins "Impulse" time based, has a digital readout. So wiring that I had to check the adapter wire set that goes from the controller's four wire plug to the truck's socket (different adapters needed for Chev, Ford, etc) so I had the Chev one already for the Voyager. I cut and spliced the four wires at the controller end to the adapter and plugged in, no joy. Got the controller fault code SC which means the brake wire is bad, or bad magnet or 7-pin connector bad on blue wire. Checked all that again, no joy. Also it chattered and buzzed badly when manual pushed.
Undid the four wire splice on ground and 12v pos wires and jumpered to battery direct with standard jumper cable set. Bingo! It all worked properly. Tried it with only the ground jumpered, no joy. So the 12v pos was guilty!
More snooping at the truck's end where the controller adapter plug goes into a "Trailer 6 Pin" socket. Turned out there was only 2 volts on the positive pin in the 6-pin socket (of which only four pins are used) plus that was intermittent.
Could not figure out from the truck's diagrams in the manual which fuse works that 6-pin's positive and all fuses checked ok. Very frustrating all round.
Fix chosen was to take out the whole thing on the floor (by left foot) which has that Trailer 6-pin socket and on the back of the whole thing is a fat red wire I tapped into and jumpered to the black controller wire, and still used the 6-pin plug for the other three wires. Ta da! The Hopkins now acts right while parked.
I have not taken it for a test drive yet to see how well it controls and I will also swap the Voyager back in to see if it works now too.
I did have a reply on the old thread that the Voyager has a weakness where over time it loses its gain oomph due to a part wearing out, so that might also have been happening. (it is ten years old) We'll see when I get a chance to do that testing and I will update that old thread then.
Meanwhile for this thread, my lesson is that it might not be the controller or the trailer but the truck and that might be hard to find. Hate to have to pay somebody to do that--it took me hours of several days to chase that one down where it was intermittent and in an obscure place. :(
