Trailer Brakes Disconnecting Intermittently

[sellis1053]

I have a 2014 Ram 2500 pulling a 31' travel trailer. After about 3 weeks on the road, I get the message to check the wiring & trailer is disconnected. The strange thing is that it only happens after coming to a complete stop (exiting highway for gas). Once I pull back on the highway the brakes reconnect and I can drive (with brakes) until the next step. I've checked the plug, ground at the end of trailer plug along with checking for loose connections at each brake. Any thoughts?

[dcg9381]

These Rams are getting so complicated that it's hard to tell. I had an issue with mine where it wouldn't accept the trailer until I re-rest the trailer up.

Are the brakes actually offline? That is, if you pinch the brake controller, do you get any braking?

To test the truck, you an emulate a trailer with this little connector:
https://www.etrailer.com/search/Trailer+Brake+Tester

If it's a shoddy connection at the trailer, that's going to be a little harder to find, but I would probably start with any place where wires come through the frame or through fiberglass - anywhere that they could possibly wear and short. Keystone does a marginal job at insulating the pass-throughs.

[shov]

It sounds like there is an intermittent short in the wiring and may be a bugger to find. Was the wiring plug on the TV added afterwards or was it factory?

[ctbruce]

I have the same thing with my 2015 Silverado and my 2016 Keystone Impact 312. First 500 miles no problems. Then started getting Check Trailer Wiring followed by Trailer Connected messages. Talked to my dealer, talked Chevy, they both blamed each other. Placed trailer plug end no difference. Emory clothed the ground to frame connection and checked brake wire connections. Pulled a bunch of blog posts from DieselPlace.com. went back to dealer and have an appointment July 22 for a go over and a pile of blog entries to guide them. Bottom line: the issue is the trailer, the truck warning is telling you something is wrong, and we get to try to find it! Good luck.

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[Desert185]

I had an issue with brakes and lights. The problem was with the add-on plug loop in the bed. If you think that might be the case, disconnect the in-bed plug and plug the trailer into the stock plug near the bumper pull hitch.

[bitten]

Might try dielectric grease

[DaveC]

Originally Posted by Desert185

I had an issue with brakes and lights. The problem was with the add-on plug loop in the bed. If you think that might be the case, disconnect the in-bed plug and plug the trailer into the stock plug near the bumper pull hitch.

This was the problem with my F250.
The plug loop in the wall of the truck bed had a short in it I found and fixed.

As mentioned above-
One way to rule it out is the plug the trailer straight into the female harness at the bumper. (I drove home this way one trip due to the short and didn't scratch or scuff up up my tailgate like I feared it would. )

If the message goes away the flaw is in the truck bed wire loop.


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[bigbadbob17]

Not sure if the issue is the same, my aftermarket brake controller in my 99 ford was giving me a brake overload/ short error message when I would use the brakes. After a long day in a Canadian tire parking lot I figured out it was worn brake magnets causing the short. Replaced the magnets and it's good as gold.

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[sellis1053]

Originally Posted by dcg9381

These Rams are getting so complicated that it's hard to tell. I had an issue with mine where it wouldn't accept the trailer until I re-rest the trailer up.

Are the brakes actually offline? That is, if you pinch the brake controller, do you get any braking?

To test the truck, you an emulate a trailer with this little connector:
https://www.etrailer.com/search/Trailer+Brake+Tester

If it's a shoddy connection at the trailer, that's going to be a little harder to find, but I would probably start with any place where wires come through the frame or through fiberglass - anywhere that they could possibly wear and short. Keystone does a marginal job at insulating the pass-throughs.

Yes, I actually lose the brakes. After I start up again the error message goes away and I have brakes again until the next stop. I've cleaned contacts, applied dielectric grease, secured the trailer plug to the truck plug. It is a factory plug. It is a travel trailer not a fifth wheel. I guess it's possible, but I question if it's a short, why it only & always happens when I come to a complete stop.

[Pull Toy]

Probably not going to be easy to find.

Check with your Dodge Service Advisor, it might be a known problem. Also try pulling a different trailer to narrow down your troubleshooting to either the truck, or the trailer. Also probably a good idea to open the splice box where the trailer's harness meets the plug wire. There might be a loose wire nut in there.

Good Luck,

[sellis1053]

Originally Posted by Pull Toy

Probably not going to be easy to find.

Check with your Dodge Service Advisor, it might be a known problem. Also try pulling a different trailer to narrow down your troubleshooting to either the truck, or the trailer. Also probably a good idea to open the splice box where the trailer's harness meets the plug wire. There might be a loose wire nut in there.

Good Luck,

I checked the box and all connections look good. I'll be able to try pulling another trailer in about a week to see if the problems follows my truck.

[ctbruce]

Disconnected my ground wires from the frame, sanded it down to bright metal. Then hooked it all back up. 500+ miles later, Kansas City, MO to Chamberlain, SD, only disconnected once! It had been doing it 2-3 times a minute before. It worked for me. Sure worth the hour in time it cost me. Happy Trails!

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[JJaxon]

An old thread, but same issue with my 19' Ram 3500 and 18' Keystone Carbon 5th wheel. Mine give warning at highway speeds, when accelerating, when turning or when I hit a bump. Sometimes I dont have brakes and sometimes I do. Leads me to lean toward the truck wiring, and I've traveled with the cord plugged into the bed connection and the bumper, same issue - making it look like the trailer is the fault.

Will one of the plug in testers eliminate the truck being at fault? Dealers won't be of help and timing isn't crucial right now. Just wondering if anyone has conquered this ghost issue yet?

[JRTJH]

I think (just an opinion) that the "ghost issue" is more the incompatibility of some brands of plugs to work properly with some brands of receptacles in some trucks. What I mean by that is this: Sometimes Bargman plugs won't connect securely in Pollak receptacles and sometimes Camco plugs won't connect securely in Hopkins receptacles.

Using any brand of "umbilical tester" to monitor would only provide information about the security of the pin connections "in that plugged in test". As soon as you unplug the tester and plug in a "loose connection" you are (again) subjected to a potential failure.

I've found that often times the umbilical cord on many brands of trailers is "off brand" and the pins do not connect "securely" to the receptacles inside the truck connector. If that condition occurs, then hitting a bump, making a turn that puts torque or pull on the umbilical cord or any moisture that might create a "bad connection" could cause the truck's computer system to "sense a fault" based on a change in the connection status.

Often, just changing the end receptacle on the trailer umbilical will resolve the problem. Then again, sometimes it won't. If you have exhausted all other "troubleshooting steps" and are "at the end of your troubleshooting ideas, you might want to consider looking at the trailer umbilical connector, see if you can determine the brand and if it's not the same brand as what is installed on your truck, change brands so that both are from the same manufacturer.

I know it's not supposed to make any difference and they are all "supposed" to be built to the same standard, but with may things from "off shore manufacturers who elect to make cheap things cheaper" the "good intentions of precision manufacturing" fall by the way sooner than they should......

[JJaxon]

Very good advice JRTJH. I will identify both plug and receptacle and go from there. Thanks for your input.