[Engineer Ed]

I purchased a new 23' enclosed trailer earlier this year.
Had a brake booster installed in tow vehicle.

Since I have been moving (house-hold stuff) I have noticed that my trailer brakes are not working.
I have the 7 pin "hidden hitch" on the rear of tow vehicle but no clue as to the pin-out.
Anyone have the "generic" pinout for this connector. I am going to assume it's wired the same for all trailers to make it accept any tow combination.

First things first, I noted that the 12 volt battery on the trailer had gone dead. I put it on the charger for an hour before a road trip.
Brakes still did not work.
I have the supply voltage to the brake controller and the ground is good.
Brake controller LED does not come on.
The input from the brake pedal checked out OK, and there is +5.23 volts out from the controller (blue wire) when the brakes are applied.

Anyone have any ideas as to what may be wrong?

I am going to assume that the output voltage on the blue wire may vary depending on the brake controller soft/hard brake setup??? Is this voltage pulsed depending on hard/soft brake setup?

Need help. I am not going to attemp towing my Cobra until this is sorted out.

Ed
FFR1997K

 

[danelam]

Your cable is wired incorrectly. Unfortunately, there is no single 'standard' connection, although there are some configurations that are more common than others. You can take it to a trailer place or you can use a volt meter to track down the circuits from the truck to your trailer. All you do is rewire the plug connector on your cable.

 

[weendoggy]

Ed, normanl wiring on a seven pole switch is: 1-ground, 2-clearance lamps (side), 3-left turn signal, 4-brake/stop lamps, 5-right turn signal, 6-tail/clearance lamps, 7-auxillary (trailer brake).

These are industry standards. However, you need to find out what your tow vehicle has in the way of output through your connector, and match them to the trailer. NO, they are not necessarily wired all the same.

Your trailer brake circuit should produce current to the rear of your vehicle and then to the brake circuit of the trailer. Check the harness with a battery alone to test the trailer. This will tell you what is what. You can also check the trailer brake at the wiring on the rear baking plate. One is the ground side and the other hot. If you have current there and they still don't work (lift with jack and turn wheel while applying), then you should pull the wheel and check the magnet and plate for rust. This is the biggest culprit we find. Non use for a long period of time will do this.

The voltage output is dependent on the resistor setting on the controller. This you already have.

Also, a lot of cars/trucks now have separate wiring for tail/brake/turn lights and need the "box" to correct this if the trailer is wired for industry standards. This is true in a lot of foreign vehicles.

Good luck.

 

[Engineer Ed]

Thanks guys.
I made an appointment with the company I purchased the trailer and brake controller from.
They will check it out for me.

With the lamp on the controller not illuminating leads me to believe it could be the controller.

Ed

 

[TAZ]

Ed,

BTW, on some pre-wired trucks (I've got a 2001 GMC Sierra 1500 w/ Heavy Duty Trailering Package.) It's all wired up except the power to the auxillary pin. Mine came that way, but they gave me a module that I wire in to provide variable power to that auxillary pin (when applying the brakes.)

This may be the case with your truck.

I hope this helps.

TAZ

 

[wnstwolf]

I am with Taz. same set up.. If your led's are not lighting that is the first issue.. Good luck at the shop..

I have power to the trailer connector brake lead but no brakes so my issue at the moment is different. Bought the trailer brand new and have had nothing but grief with the lights and brakes.. super trailer with piss poor electrical.. ANd I thought the $500 discount was because I was a nice guy.. ahahaha live and learn..

 

[cobraman]

If you charge the battary on the trailer and have power pull the pin on the brake away switch and see if the brakes go on this will at least tell you the trailer end is working.

 

[wnstwolf]

Thanks Mike.. I will try that next....