Ram integrated brake control

Me Again wrote:

otrfun wrote:

Me Again wrote:

otrfun wrote:
Five pages of discussion about brake controllers (defective or otherwise) with no mention of voltage/current readings from realworld rigs? Maybe I missed it.

My two cents:

If your brake controller is capable of producing 12v and 3a (per brake assembly) then it's designed to work safely with the vast majority of trailer brakes. Anything less correspondingly reduces the number of trailers it can safely stop.

If 12v and 3a (per brake) doesn't stop your rig satisfactorily, don't blame your brake controller, blame your wiring or brake mechanicals.

On the flipside, just because your Ram IBC "works great" doesn't necessarily mean it's capable of producing 12v and 3a (per brake), it just means your Ram IBC's voltage/current output is probably a good match with your trailer (which may need considerably less than 12v and 3a per brake to brake properly).

Guess you failed to read the thread and the fact that in 2015 RAM shorten up the pulse width modulation to the brakes. Amperage may be fine except for the fact that they greatly reduced the amount of time the pulse it sent to the trailer brakes. Chris

Not the case with my 2016 Ram 3500 IBC. The voltage reading with a standard VM was directly proportional with the current reading using a clamp-on ammeter. With gain set to 10 on heavy electric/hydraulic with max application of the IBC slider, overall voltage was ~8v, current was 2.0a - 2.2a on each brake.

A volt meter and clamp on current meter are not giving you a full picture of what is occurring with the pulse modulation. That takes an oscilloscope.

I know what PWM looks like on a scope. Looks similar to a square wave except PWM never changes polarity like a square wave---typically PWM transitions to zero. FWIW, I used to use PWM to adjust the heat output on my heated vest while cycling in sub-freezing weather. Much more efficient than using a variable resistor/rheostat.

Bottom line, it doesn't matter what PWM looks like in terms of the point I'm trying to make:

If a brake controller is not capable of producing 12vdc (as read by any standard VM) and/or 3a (at each brake, as read by any decent clamp-on ammeter), then it is not performing up to the generally accepted industry standard.

Me Again, curious, can you explain why the voltage and current readings on my 2016 Ram IBC increase at the same proportional rate until reaching the following maximum values? V = I x R.

2016 Ram IBC:
~8 vdc, 66% of 12 vdc.
~2 amps, 66% of 3 amps.

Here are the maximum voltage/current readings I observed after disconnecting the Ram IBC and installing a Tekonsha P3 on the same 2016 Ram truck (connected to the same trailer):
~12 vdc, 100% of 12vdc.
~3 amps, 100% of 3 amps.

Thanks!