# Trailer Brakes



## lilmismajik (Sep 29, 2005)

Hi all!

We have the 31 RQS and the prodigy brake controller. We have had some problems getting it to work correctly. It will give a readout of short, no connection, or overload. The dealer was usless when this first occured and Camping World was a big help. They were able to diagnose that the problem was not our tv but the tt. After messing with it for awhile my husband was able to fix it, so we thought, with some guidance from camping world. It seems that the magnets in the wheels are getting hung up. The husband has taken them off twice now and was able to fix both times, however, it has happened again this past weekend. It occurs when he breaks more heavily we loose the controller. Any suggestions????? Taking the wheels off is getting old, not to mention no brakes is not safe!!!


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Something is missing, such as a return spring.

Does it happen on the same wheel each time?

A stuck magnet should not cause the indications you see on the controller. There must be a bad connection to the magnet.


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## zoomzoom8 (Nov 8, 2005)

WOOHOO!!! Someone else that has this issue......I spent forever chasing the "ol" error down.......the error means that there is an overload on the negitive side. That overload allows you to engage but fails to trigger release of the bakes and the controller see it still open (this is according to multiple emails back and forth the prodigy folks). For me it never stayed on the error, just threw the "ol" and the "sh" error randomly. prodigy troubleshooting

First, just for my own peace of mind, I exchanged the controller, same issue. Then, I re-did all the clamps with wire twists from the TT connector all the way to the brakes (including the junction box on the a-frame). It fixed things for a while, then we took a trip that brought us back up, what must be the worst paved highway in america. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump......for almost five hours. It started again.

To make a long story short, in the junction box that connects the TV wire to the rest of the camper, there is one giant wad of mostly white wires. Keystone has the biggest wire twist on there that you can buy and fit in the juction box, but it still doesn't secure all of the 7 million wires in that twist very well (you could almost just pick a wire and pull it out at will), so.....I got another giant wire twist, split the giant wad of wires into two smaller wads and then connected those two smaller wads together with a larger gauge jumper wire. The wire twists now fit like they are supposed to. And so far (knock on wood) the issue hasn't come back.

I don't know that this is your issue, but it worked for me. By all means try it, if it doesn't cure your issue, please keep us posted in the event it comes back up on mine. Do you know the build date on the TT (mine was 10/05)? That may help you narrow down a chase with Keystone's help. No brakes is bad.... Keep us posted!

Zoom


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

lilmismajik said:


> It will give a readout of short, no connection, or overload. <snip> It seems that the magnets in the wheels are getting hung up. <snip> It occurs when he breaks more heavily we loose the controller. Any suggestions????? [snapback]116002[/snapback]​


We were getting the OL error with brakes failing (what I think you describe as "losing the controller"). According to Tekonsha support folks, "OL" means the brakes are using too much current. The Prodigy shuts down for a brief time to protect itself before trying again and again. In our case it was isolated to a bad magnet.

Here is a link to a similar problem & solution described on (horrors!) another site. In their case the OL was caused by short wires from chassis to brake drums that were rubbing when there was a load on the trailer.

It might also help to have an RV mechanic put their brake diagnostic thingy on the trailer to isolate the problem to the trailer.

Ed


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## zoomzoom8 (Nov 8, 2005)

LarryTheOutback said:


> lilmismajik said:
> 
> 
> > It will give a readout of short, no connection, or overload. <snip> It seems that the magnets in the wheels are getting hung up. <snip> It occurs when he breaks more heavily we loose the controller. Any suggestions????? [snapback]116002[/snapback]​
> ...


hmmmmmm, I hate it when different stories come out of a manufacturer for what something means.......grrrrr.......thanks for the link....and please explain what makes a "bad magnet"


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## lilmismajik (Sep 29, 2005)

That is very interesting zoomzoom! I do not know the born on date but we picked it up 10/05, and interesting enough that we have the same trailer with the same problem. Our next step was to have the dealer look at it when it goes back for new decals. I will keep you posted. Thanks for your reply! action


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

zoomzoom8 said:


> hmmmmmm, I hate it when different stories come out of a manufacturer for what something means.......grrrrr.......thanks for the link....and please explain what makes a "bad magnet"
> [snapback]116038[/snapback]​


Teknosha is pretty consistent on their web site (and when I called them) that 
OL means overload, a "Short to ground on the brake circuit wire."

Call Tekonsha ... in my experience their support is second to none.

Get your dealer or other support person to isolate the problem to TV or TT (likely using the Tekonsha brake analyzing hardware) and then follow Tekonsha's suggestions on how to find the problem.

Ed


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## zoomzoom8 (Nov 8, 2005)

Thanks Ed. Right now, things are good.....but if it rears it's ugly head again I will call rather than email back and forth.


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## bill_pfaff (Mar 11, 2005)

Had the same problem (SH & oL codes) this past weekend. It started after a 5 hour trip. We were about 20 miles from the campground.

Stopped immediately and called the company to see if I was dragging brake or had no break. They said I had no brake. Company also told me that if I unplugged the TV/TT and the SH went away the short was in the TT.

Rode to campground with no TT brakes (this had to happen in the Poconoâ€™s of course) and set up camp.

Messed with it over the weekend and I'll spare you the agonizing details to tell you that I found the short in the rear axle. Needless to say I was extremely happy as I was facing the down hill trip home the next day.

Anyway, went to the store & got some 16 gauge stranded speaker wire (I know, donâ€™t say it but wire is wire when you are looking at a dissention from hell) and hooked everything back up.

The danged thing worked 98% of the time but twice it went to SH. Each time I hit the brake (gently) and it showed oL.

Now to the interesting part. Both times I began cursing right away; of course (it was just me and the DW). Anyway, I donâ€™t know if it was the cursing or an act of God but both times the SH (and oL â€" I think they are joined at the hip) went away after a minute or two and everything then worked normal again.

Beats me but I think given zoomzoom8â€™s experience Iâ€™ll do the same thing when I get back under there to replace the speaker wire.

The other thing I was thinking that I might do is just bypass ALL of the factory wire and run a new harness/rewire the whole breaking system. That way if I have a similar experience again I can just replace the whole dang harness easily (Iâ€™m carrying extra wire from now on). I know it will be outside of the undercover but I think it will be worth the mod.

All I can say is thank God for the Prodigy. I wonder how many time this happened to me in the past and I just never knew because I got no feedback from the controller.

*Viva La Prodigy!*


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## Grunt0311 (Aug 23, 2005)

So what you are saying Bill, is that swearing solves problems


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Grunt0311 said:


> So what you are saying Bill, is that swearing solves problems
> 
> 
> 
> ...


If nothing else, it can make you feel better.............


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

Sometimes the problem is with the magnet itself, not the wiring to the magnet.

Ed


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## kchiebert-DH (May 5, 2006)

OK, this topic is scaring me a little bit. How do I know if my Prodigy controller / TT brakes are working properly. This weekend, I unhooked my controller & reset the controller to 7.0 to 8.0 (sorry I can't remember, will validate when I get home tonight). I felt what I thought was the camper braking, particular when I was backing up.

When I first hooked it up, I did get these codes temporarily but not consistently.

Any suggestions on knowing whether I'm set up OK would be greatly appreciated. Like the original poster, my RV dealer has been no help. I will hopefully taking the trailer into the RV dealer next week for some repairs and I want to have them check for shorts if necessary.

Thanks.

Roger H.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

kchiebert-DH said:


> OK, this topic is scaring me a little bit. How do I know if my Prodigy controller / TT brakes are working properly. This weekend, I unhooked my controller & reset the controller to 7.0 to 8.0 (sorry I can't remember, will validate when I get home tonight). I felt what I thought was the camper braking, particular when I was backing up.
> 
> When I first hooked it up, I did get these codes temporarily but not consistently.
> 
> ...


Your controller should be placed where you can see it. Almost every time I touch the brakes I look down to see what the number is and if you can see a number then everything is fine.


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## kchiebert-DH (May 5, 2006)

OK, that is what i have been doing. The only time I meant get codes is when I first hook up. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't been totally unsafe to my family (and others on the road).

Thanks camperandy for the reply.

Roger H


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