# Brake Controller Fried?



## grover738

So driving home from the track this weekend my brake controller went dead, no trailer brakes. My F250 stopped the trailer with no problems, since I usually coast to a stop to conserve diesel.

Troubleshooting tonight - the controller is a Hoppy Brakemate ST with four wires coming out the back. I don't have the manual (it was installed in the used TV when i bought it), but the truck wires were labeled:

Blue out of the Hoppy to wire labeled "electric trailer brakes" (shows 4V when brake is depressed) 
White out of the Hoppy to "ground" (tested ground, ground wire is good)
Red out of the Hoppy to "stop lamps" (stop lamps do not work)
Black out of the Hoppy to "Red from battery" w/ 20 A fuse on line (shows 12V when key is on, fuse is good)

There is a red indicator light on the front of the controller, that, if I remember correctly, lit up anytime the brakes were on. Now, the light flashes and fades out within 1 second whenever I either press the pedal or slide the manual lever on the controller. But, if I slide the lever or hit the brake two times back to back, the light does not come on the second time, I have to wait about 5 seconds.

Seems to me like the controller is bad, but I don't want to drop $ on a new controller if I'm missing something....

Thoughts?


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## Airboss

I can't help with your troubleshooting, but I did want to suggest that maybe this is the time to upgrade to a Prodigy. Everyone here seems to like them and will probably save you a lot of headaches trying to figure out what's wrong with your current controller. Time is money afterall.

Here's a link: Tekonsha Prodigy


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## prevish gang

Take your trailer to the dealer and have them test everything. Our stuff tested fine but we had a chaffed wire between the axles that caused our problem. I don't blame you for wanting to drop the money for a new controller. Check all your wiring first. The connectors that they use to hook the wiring together isn't all that great, so make sure all of that looks good and clean your connections with some of that fluid that helps to make a better electrical connection. If all of that looks good, you may have to get a new controller. We found a Prodigy online for $90 and free shipping which beat my dealer price of $138.

Brake issues are scary. Good luck with yours.

Darlene


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## grover738

Wait a second - which wire does the controller get a signal from that the brakes are on? I assume it is the stop lamp light - if you press the brakes, the light comes on, and the controller gets a 12V telling it that the brakes are depressed, right?

So maybe it is not my controller, maybe it's my TV, not signalling the controller that the brakes are operating.

BUT - shouldn't I be able to manually operate the controller by cranking it to max? That doesn't work either....


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## Carey

grover738 said:


> Wait a second - which wire does the controller get a signal from that the brakes are on? I assume it is the stop lamp light - if you press the brakes, the light comes on, and the controller gets a 12V telling it that the brakes are depressed, right?
> 
> So maybe it is not my controller, maybe it's my TV, not signalling the controller that the brakes are operating.
> 
> BUT - shouldn't I be able to manually operate the controller by cranking it to max? That doesn't work either....


Do your brake lights work without a trailer attached.. maybe brake light switch.. How bout hazard flasher.. many vehicles the hazard flasher is in line with the stop light circuit. I have seen some that have a bad hazard flasher also keep the brake lights from working.

I have a Prodigy on my dually. I have a Curt Captivator 4 on my 1/2 ton.. It was about 60 bucks and works almost as smooth as the Prodigy.. I like it and dont plan to replace it. If you are looking for something cheaper, the Curt is a good unit.

Carey


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## grover738

Turned out to be one of those mysteriously self correcting problems. Must have been a bad connection, as I unwrapped all the connections. Nice that I didn't have to spend any $, but worrisome that it could happen again.

Thanks for all the advice for the brake controllers, i'm pretty sure mine is a cheapie. Are you guys (& gals) saying that there are controllers out there that you can't even feel operating? I can definetly feel when mine comes off and on.

Thanks.


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## shaela21

It is my opinion that you replace this controller with a Prodigy. Everytime you apply the brakes, you will ask yourself "Will the controller work"? And I guarantee that you will be looking at the controller light everytime, taking your attention off the road. There are enough concerns when towing to have to watch a darn controller, hoping that it does not fail. Toss it and get a Prodigy. I know they are expensive, but they are an excellent unit. I switched out my cheap-o controller years ago for a Prodigy and never looked back. It was like night and day.


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## grover738

shaela21 said:


> It is my opinion that you replace this controller with a Prodigy. Everytime you apply the brakes, you will ask yourself "Will the controller work"? And I guarantee that you will be looking at the controller light everytime, taking your attention off the road. There are enough concerns when towing to have to watch a darn controller, hoping that it does not fail. Toss it and get a Prodigy. I know they are expensive, but they are an excellent unit. I switched out my cheap-o controller years ago for a Prodigy and never looked back. It was like night and day.


I can guarantee you that I won't be looking at the light every time I brake, since I can feel if it's working, but thanks for the tip on the prodigy. My controller works fine. I crank it up at high speeds and crank it down or off at slow speeds. I'm not going to drop $100 to replace something that failed due to a poor wiring connection.


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## wolfwood

No, if set correctly (and barring need to actually have it engage hard), you don't feel the Prodigy working. That having been said, at certain settings, you can feel the Boost engage..
Additionally, once the Prodigy is set....it really never needs to be touched again...unless you need to increase the boost or use the emergency braking capabilities.

OFF?

Why would the b/c _EVER_ be turned OFF ... especially when towing?


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## egregg57

If you have your controller set well you won't initially notice the controller working. I don't have a Prodigy, but a lesser brand that requires you to dial in the setting for the brakes. Once you have it dialed in to the correct setting, when you depress the brakes they begin to engage and you feel a little more braking coming from the camper than your TV.

Wolfwood and I witnessed a horribly set brake controller at Loon Mountain a couple of years ago. Everytime the driver hit the brakes, the trailer wheels were locking up as he traveled through the campground. Not good at all.

As long as you do not make significant changes to your weight in the trailer, once you find the correct setting you should be good for a long while.

Proportional Brake Controller With proportional brake controllers, once the brake pedal is stepped on, a motion sensing device knows how fast the tow vehicle is stopping. It then applies power to the trailer brakes equally as fast (or slow) as the towing vehicle. This allows the trailer to stop at the same rate as the tow vehicle. Therefore, in an extreme stopping situation where the vehicle brakes are slammed on, a proportional controller will immediately send the maximum preset power to the trailer brakes. This type of brake controller provides the smoothest and quickest braking while also providing the least amount of wear on both the vehicle and trailer's brakes. Proportional controllers are "enabled" by the brake pedal switch and "activated" by a pendulum circuit that senses the vehicle's stopping motion and applies a proportional voltage to the trailer's brakes. When properly adjusted the trailer will decelerate at the same rate as the tow vehicle, increasing braking efficiency and reducing brake wear.

Time Delayed Brake Controller With Time Delayed trailer brake controllers, once the brake pedal is stepped on, the pre-determined amount of power (which is set by the user, based on trailer weight) is sent back to the trailer brakes. On time delayed controllers, a delay always exists from when the brake pedal is pushed to when the unit reaches the user set, maximum power output. The delay can be shortened or lengthened with the 'sync' switch, available on most time delayed controllers, but it behaves the same way for every stop (slow or fast). If the sync switch is set too low, the vehicle will do most of the initial braking, putting extra strain on the vehicle's brakes. If the sync switch is set too high, the trailer will be braking harder. So in most cases, either the truck or the trailer will be doing the majority of the braking, resulting in uneven brake wear. The time delayed brake controller system is easily installed and is very user friendly. It can be mounted at any angle. It also has a low profile. The amount of power that is sent back to the brakes is adjustable using a control on the brake controller. With most time delayed brake controllers, when towing with the hazard flashers on, the digital display will flash with the hazard flashers. If the brake controller is set to aggressively, pulsing may occur which will be felt in the trailer brakes. However, a pulse preventer can isolate the brake controller from the flashers and will eliminate the pulsing and flashing on the controller. A pulse preventer is not necessary for vehicles that have a different bulb for the stop and turn signals, which is typical of vehicles with amber turn signals.

Hope this helps.

Eric


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## grover738

wolfwood said:


> No, if set correctly (and barring need to actually have it engage hard), you don't feel the Prodigy working. That having been said, at certain settings, you can feel the Boost engage..
> Additionally, once the Prodigy is set....it really never needs to be touched again...unless you need to increase the boost or use the emergency braking capabilities.
> 
> OFF?
> 
> Why would the b/c _EVER_ be turned OFF ... especially when towing?


To answer you question, I have a time delayed controller, and when I'm going very slowly, manouvering in a campground, etc, I turn the controller all the way down. So maybe not off, but down low enough where I don't feel it. It worked great this weekend, had a run two night camping trip. I love being able to load my big grill in the 28KRS - grilling is even better at a campground!

I have no doubt the prodigy is better, but I'm not going to drop $100 when the controller I have does the job, I only tow about 1000 miles / year.


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## 4H1DinaOB

I have been using a timed brake controller for the past three years and just recently had it stop working and then start working again (it fixed itself). It may be that I also have a wiring issue, or something else going on, but after reading this thread along with some additional info that I found (timed brake controllers are the most economical but also result in the highest trailer brake wear) I went out last week and got myself a Prodigy3. 
It's just not worth messing around with my families safety and I figured that was worth more than the time I would spend trouble shooting the old one. 
I plan to install it this week.

Speaking of..... any thoughts on the best place to mount the new controller (I never liked where the old one was)? I have an Armada but Titan owners can chime in too.

thanks,
Jonathan


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## shaela21

For location, I have always found the best place is where you can easily reach it without any interference items (steering wheel for example). My perferred location is just a few inches to the left of the center line of the truck. This way you easily see it, and reach it in most trucks that I have seen. but the best thing is to sit in the truck, and find a location that suits you.

Cheers.


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