Trailer brake not working

[Canuqq]

I took my truck in to my local dealer on Friday and they replaced the trailer module to see if that fixed my brake controller problem. I have hooked up and unhooked my trailer 4 times since then and no brake controller problems so far. I am going to keep hooking it up and unhooking it to see if the "no trailer" message comes back, but so far so good.

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[ShiftyF150]

My factory brake controller stopped working yesterday after stopping. What fixed it for me while towing my 26' travel trailer was turning off the truck, unplugging from travel trailer, turning off the battery disconnect on trailer, turn battery disconnect back on, plug back in and turn on the truck. I had to have brakes yesterday while driving down a mountain pass and after doing that I had no issues the rest of the day. We will see how today goes.

 

[Tambow]

I am having by same issue. The Ford dealer used a testing tool and found that the e brake pin on the 7 pin delays sending a signal to the brakes for several seconds. And it happens very consistently. I also tried the conductive grease but I think the real problem is I’m the programming and signal sent through the e brake pin on the 7 pin plug.

 

[chrisp993]

Just finished a 300 mile tow and had no problems, but my trailer plug was jammed hard into the truck receptacle. Dealer is set to replace the Brake Controller in my case, however, check back to the pics I posted and I'm still wondering if the actual truck-side receptacle is faulty in that it's dimensions are off slightly which makes the trailer plug difficult to insert. I noticed that I can't actually insert the flat 4-pin adapter plug that was supplied with the truck into the truck-side receptacle ... seems like it *might* go in but require way more force than I'm comfortable applying / risk damaging the pins - I'm at the track for the weekend - I need to tow back!

Has anyone else tried that 4-pin adapter plug? Fits easily ... or not?

UPDATE: tried that flat 4-pin adapter plug in several trucks nearby - goes in easy, but does *not* really fit in my truck's receptacle. Hmmm

 

[rpeterslll]

Same issue here. I hooked up and trailer brakes worked for part of my trip. At some point, they stopped working. Get no trailer message when in test the controller. Grease isn’t helping me. I’d love to know a permenant fix.

 

[DVD]

Me too. Sounds like a major safety and liability item Ford better fix quickly.

 

[Domtnj]

Yup same issue here. I have a 2021 F150. Just started a 6 leg three week trip the other day and the lights work but no trailer brakes. Even if i pull the integrated dashboard brake lever. Does not send me any kind of error. Trailer brake just does not work. It did work after fiddling with the connector at a gas station but only worked for about 10 minutes. My 2018 f150 never gave me this issue. The travel trailer and brakes are in tip top shape. I had dielectric grease in both plugs so i spray cleaned that out, wire brushed it, sandpapered everything, spread the contacts to make it tighter connection with a small flathead screwdriver still to no avail. Next leg of the journey i'm going to try the trick mentioned previously about plugging it in with the truck off and then starting it ...see what happens.

 

[rpeterslll]

I also got mine to work after fiddling with the connector on the wire harness under the bumper. Didn’t do much but just squeezed the connector tighter. But it then started working for my 1hr drive.

 

[Tambow]

I've had the same issue over and over. '21 F150 towing a new Airstream. Di-electric grease seemed to be the answer but then one day no matter what I did (tweak the connector blades, add grease, clean...) the trailer brakes would not work.

I had the Airstream dealer plug the trailer's 7-way into a truck "simulator" and everything worked fine on the trailer side (brakes, turn signals, brake lights). I took the truck to my Ford dealer and they tested the truck's 7-way plug with their trailer "simulator" and everything tested fine.

Two things helped:

1. the Ford shop did a two hour upgrade of some system software to the most current version.
2. I started making sure that the truck is off when I plug in the trailer. The shop foreman said this is the best practice and that having the truck running could cause weird behavior.

I just got back from a week long trip with truck/trailer and the brakes functioned perfectly.

The shop foreman also said that he had another customer with the exactly the same problem and that Ford is aware of the problem. He thought there would be an OTA update later this year to fix it.

Chris

Which Ford dealer did you take your truck to? I’d like to get the foreman at my dealer in touch with them.

 

[Tambow]

I have another puzzling wrinkle. I tried using my 2021 Powerboost to tow my Big Tex flatbed trailer. I had no problems with the brakes, but when I tow my 27 foot airstream I have problems. The wiring of the 7 pin plug is the same for all three. Has anyone else tried towing different trailers to see if the brakes still don't work?

 

[UGADawg96]

I have another puzzling wrinkle. I tried using my 2021 Powerboost to tow my Big Tex flatbed trailer. I had no problems with the brakes, but when I tow my 27 foot airstream I have problems. The wiring of the 7 pin plug is the same for all three. Has anyone else tried towing different trailers to see if the brakes still don't work?

Try your truck with another TT and have another truck try your AS.

 

[Chris McN]

Which Ford dealer did you take your truck to? I’d like to get the foreman at my dealer in touch with them.

Van Bortal Ford in East Rochester, NY

 

[justinwvu]

As the OP of this thread, I feel bad I have not checked back for a while.

I would like to give another update:

I have also continued to have this problem:
1. I thought I had it figured out. I tow with a propride hitch, which makes the hitch a big longer than normal - a 7 pin connector extension sold by propride that you can see here: https://store.propridehitch.com/7-pin-electrical-extension/. I thought this was the source of the problem so was towing without this and I thought I had the problem fixed and was planning to update the message board until my recent trip.
2. I towed my Airstream 23ft 2020 globetrotter to Wyoming, 8 hour trip, did not notice a problem on the way.
3. When we came back this past Sunday, 8/8/21, I was getting off at a rest stop and noticed my trailer was swaying and seemed to be pushing me. This was a little scary. Once I got to a safe speed, I squeezed the manual override and it did the "no trailer" thing again, brakes didn't work, but everything else, lights, signals, brake lights, etc seemed to be working. I unplugged, replugged, blew in the truck and airstream connections multiple times - no luck, still same thing.
4. I drove slowly to a nearby Walmart (thankfully) and got a can of compressed air and blew out the connections and then everything was working again (it was really dusty in Wyoming so I thought perhaps that was the issue). In retrospect I think it was perhaps the fact that my truck set for ~15 minutes and basically rebooted, since it is basically like a big moving computer since problem happened again - see #6.
5. I stopped for the night at a campground, in the morning, everything was working again, so I thought at the time perhaps it was just a dirty connection issue.
6. However, as I got home in Lincoln Nebraska, I again noted my trailer was pushing me and not slowing down as well, I could feel and see the trailer swaying slightly. Tried manual trailer brake - no response. This time the truck did not even give me the "no trailer" message - this was a first. My other 4-5 times this happened it always gave the "no trailer" message.


In summary, this seems very unsafe. You start your trip, everything is working, and for some reason mid trip it stops working with no indication that your brakes aren't working. This last trip was the firs time I had it happened mid trip - it occurred after I had been driving a couple hours for what it is worth.

I'm not sure what to do, but don't really feel safe driving long distances at this point.

I will try taking it to Ford dealer and see if they can replace the trailer control module as others have done.

I think Crisp993 may be on to something as well. I have noticed I can't really tell when my connection is really "seated" even when pushing really hard. I'm wonder if it isn't coming disconnected during driving, bumps, turns etc and loosening its connection a bit? However, that wouldn't explain why when I stopped and replugged multiple times it wouldn't work this past Sunday.......

Hope ford gets this fixed, I otherwise love my truck, but based on all the others with the same problem, seems it really is a Truck issue.

If anyone finds a definite fix, please update the thread.

Seems that everyone having the problem is in the 2021 powerboost hybrid right?

 

[Ed21]

I had a problem with my brand new Rockwood TT. Picked it up last Friday from the dealer and everything worked perfect. Left on Sunday for a 2 1/2 hr. drive to our destination, all working normally until the last 50mi or so. First indication was I got a notification to check my right turn signal/ brake light with a quick flash like a bulb was bad. Tried unplugging 7 pin and reconnecting several times with negative results (truck running). Arrived at destination. Heading back home I made sure the 7 pin was plugged in good and had no problems on the way home. By the way it's not a Powerboost hybrid, it's a 2021 XLT.

 

[Tambow]

Van Bortal Ford in East Rochester, NY

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