Tekonsha Prodigy P2 - issue and need assistance

sherdep · 01-17-2014, 09:12 PM

First would like to say thanks in advanced for any and all help

Here is what I have: I have a Tekonsha Prodigy P2 brake controller, Has worked flawless for the last 3 years until today.

I am towing with a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 with a Rockwood Mini Lite 2306 using an Equlizer 4 point Hitch and Tekonsha Prodigy P2 Controller

The last time it was used though was about 8 months ago but with out issue.

The only thing that has changed on my truck was I upgraded to a new stereo that has bluetooth (Pioneer DEH model) which now makes me wonder if that is the issue because was looking thru instructions and says it needs to be located atleast 12" away from RF devices.

Now a brief description of the issue - hooked trailer up to the truck and I get the .c. which meant I had a connection and had boost on, I was able to disable the boost so it now has .c on display
If I disconnect the trailer I do get n.c. and then plug the trailer back in and get the .c so it tells me it is getting a connection.

started driving with the trailer and got to about 25 mph and hit the brakes and felt I had to push the brake harder to stop so I took a look at the brake controller display and it shows .c and never switched over the 0.0 or any registered numbers for applying the brakes. The funny part is if I slide the manual lever to apply the trailer brakes I feel the trailer slow me down but never works when I am driving normally.
Has anyone ever had this or seen this issue before?
Was going to call the factory but by the time I got to the campground it was too late.

I may disable the bluetooth in the stereo to see if that fixes it but am here for a few days so figured I would post and ask
Thanks in Advanced

kandl · 01-18-2014, 01:29 AM

Three years with the P2 here as well and with no issues. Uconnect (bluetooth) has always been active and does not appears to affect the BC. Your mount is on the right or left of the steering column? Ours is on the left adjacent to the drivers door so is a long way away from the center console but I have to wonder if that's really your issue. If the problem is repeatable regardless of the on/off status of your new sound system, I'd suspect some wiring or a hard fail in the controller. Did you try removing power from the BC and then plugging her back in?

Cheers

sherdep · 01-18-2014, 09:10 AM

Thanks for the reply kandl
Mine is mounted on the right side just under the steering column,

I have a remote switch mounted to the controller which allows me to turn it off and on but I havent pulled the plug to do a hard reset as of yet - which I will try.

I have not tried it with the radio off because the thought of the radio came to me as I was typing this thread - which I will try if the hard reset doesnt work

The only reason why I was thinking the bluetooth was about three weeks ago was at a friends house and the truck was running and across the street and she was having issues with her bluetooth ear piece to her phone and her phone was trying to connect to my truck which was a good 15 to 20 feet away

I dont leave here till Monday and the space I am in does not allow me enough room to park the truck and trailer connected without it being in the road.

I may go to a trailer place today and see if they have one of those trailer 7 pin testers that allows you to simulate a trailer is hooked up to test the controller and wiring to narrow it down to my truck or trailer.

when I get a chance to figure it out - I will post my findings so if any one else runs into the same issue it could possibly help them

**bikendan** · 01-18-2014, 03:08 PM

you know, Tekonsha has excellent customer support.
i would've called them in the first place.

rbneron · 01-18-2014, 06:14 PM

X2. If the brake wire to the Prodigy from the vehicle isn't connected (or poor connection), would have same symptoms. The scotch lock connectors often used aren't the most reliable.

sherdep · 02-01-2014, 08:43 PM

I sent tekonsha an email and got no response.

I did find the fix though - let's just say I am a dumb ass lol

Apparently when I was trying to reset the PCM in the truck about a month or so ago and pulled some fuses I accidentally put fuse 24 into fuse 42 or 44 which was a spare and supposed to be empty.

How I found this was the wiring diagram from the manual and looked thru the trailer wiring - fuse 24 is the one that it uses in conjunction with the brake controller

I purchases the tekonsha 7 blade tester and found the issue was the truck and not the trailer - after I figured out the fuse issue the controller is working

Easy fix but dumb mistake on my part

dsrace · 02-06-2014, 04:36 PM

well glad to hear you got the problem handled and easy. one other thing and just a note, i know from mine that when i disconnect the battery to install something or change them for what ever reason my p2 resets and goes to electric over hydrolic by default. when this happens it makes it horrible to try and stop you camper lol it actually does brake just kind of in pulses so to speak so just make sure yours hasn't done this. mine is 4 years old now but they work better than any other i have had in the past!!

sherdep · 02-14-2014, 09:13 AM

I did get a response from tekonsha that Monday after I fixed it - they must not work weekends.

dsrace
My P2 was bought in 2011 so its 3 years old - I have never had an issue with mine doing that but my camper has only electric brakes - when I installed mine I put a switch in line so I could keep it mounted but able to turn it off and so far it has been problem free with the exception of my mistake on the fuse.

dsrace · 02-16-2014, 11:23 PM

mine are electric as well it just as an option for hydraulic brakes and that is what mine defaulted to. I have only disconnected it once when I unhooked the batts but other than that I like this one the best out of all of the brands I have had over the years.

Batts-toy · 02-17-2014, 01:12 AM

I see you resolved your problem but I thought I would throw this in anyway on the position and blue tooth interference comments. My P2 is exactly in the center of my cab above the console and directly below the Radio/GPS unit and have never had any interference issues. Glad you found the issue, Enjoy.

kandl · 02-21-2014, 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sherdep

I sent tekonsha an email and got no response.

I did find the fix though - let's just say I am a dumb ass lol

Been away but good to see you resolved the issue. Dumb ass- NOT! If you're not making mistakes - you ain't learning. Been there, done that - and it never ends. Because just when you figure you know it all... lol

campingwilliamsons · 02-21-2014, 07:09 PM

I am glad you got it fixed. I was about to say you must have a bad connection to the trailer or a bad ground.

For those reading on this post in a few years, I had my P2 in my Tundra for two years with the bluetooth for the radio on always and never had an issue. I think the RF warning for the P2 dates back to the P1 when guys were running CB radios with linear amplifiers. Some of those were strong enough to make peoples fluorescent lights flicker!

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