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?


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[Buck1032]

My 2016 Chevy 2500 does that. Seems my TT umbilical is a bit lose in the socket. I tied a length of 550 cord to it and tie it off on the truck. I am trying to figure out a less redneck way of dealing with this issue.

[fueller]

I have a 2016 GMC 2500 that does the same. I just wrapped black electrical tape around the plug until it fit snug and haven't had an issue since.


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[Kf4mnc]

My trailer has done this on two different trucks. Turns out it is due to corrosion in the trailer cord. I spray a little Deoxit cleaner in it and let it work it's magic. Good as new.

DeoxIT® D-Series - Contact Cleaner & Rejuvenator

[Paul GA]

Replacement cords can be had on Amazon, etc . They come in different lengths also, would take about 15 minutes to change . There are also plug holders that attach to the tongue jack that will keep it dry when not in use

[Big Bill]

Its likely a loose plug, what i found years ago, was the wire running thru the axle had worn and would ground out , causing intermit braking. I havent heard of that happening lately Good luck

[etothepii]

I had a Trailblazer a while back that did that. In my case, the INSIDE of the seven pin connector was corroded. I mean I cleaned everything I could see with vinegar, then a store bought product with no success. After taking the connector apart, seeing and cleaning the green gunk, I never had a problem again.

[sellis1053]

I don't think it's the plug. I can wiggle and pull it partially out and can't make it fail. If it's a short somewhere, can anyone explain why it only happens when coming to a complete stop?


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[Paul GA]

Ground connection to cord on trailer? Maybe grounding thru ball instead of cord

[Skyliner]

Check the electrical box where the camper plug runs to and ensure that there aren't any loose wire twist connectors.

[rockfordroo]

Also, you should be putting dielectric grease on your connection once or twice a year.

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories...tic/11755.html

[rick42wood]

Hi
Did you ever solve this? I have the exact same problem with my 2013 Dodge Ram 3500. I get the message when coming to a complete stop and the it goes away when I get going. I can't find anything loose and I can't make it fault by wiggling anything. Only thing I can think of is that when I come to a full stop that is when the most voltage and current is applied to the breaks. This may cause the voltage to drop way down and maybe the system senses that the brakes are disconnected. I am not sure what the sensor senses to give the message.

[miniceptor86]

Is there a breaker on the brake circuit that is opening when at full stop due to a faulty magnet shorting out?

[rick42wood]

I know of no breaker in the brake circuit. That would be a very dangerous system. The brakes would fail when you need them most.

[miniceptor86]

My '14 F150 has a 30 amp fuse for the trailer brake controller. I would image if that opened I would lose trailer brakes. I guess I would rather have the fuse blow then an unprotected circuit and an electrical fire. I could see that that auto rest breaker could be substituted for the fuse.

[sellis1053]

I did. It turned out that the insulation on one of the brake wires inside one of my wheels was degraded to the point where the wire was visible. Occasionally it would short out when braking. I'll post a picture if I can find it.

[mTn_biKer65]

I had a similar maybe worse experience. I was getting the trailer disconnected message and the electric brakes and one of the signals would no longer work after the message. Since I just bought the truck and everything appeared to be working on the trailer before the purchase I was leaning towards the truck being the issue. The trailers only a 2013 and the truck a 2016. A lot of posts point towards ground issues so I cleaned all I could find on the truck and trailer. No improvements. I pulled the truck to a friends driveway and hooked up to their TT and everything worked fine so now I assume it's my trailer. Go back home and plug back into my trailer and now no issues at home either. (insert scratching head emoji here) Took the trailer up the road to a flat parking lot to set-up the weight distribution and sure enough it disconnects on the way there. It sure sounded like a loose/flaky connection so I decided to concentrate on the plug on the trailer and receptacle on the truck. Squeezing together the contact points on the trailer plug and spreading the contact points on the truck did the trick for me. I've traveled about 8 hours on 4 trips since and have yet to see the message again.