Brake Controller Troubleshooting on a 2001 Dodge 2500 4X4

Expert Reply:

The Fuse for your brake controller connector power should be under the hood in the power distribution panel. If you take the cover off of the panel and look underneath, it should tell your where the correct fuse is. The manufacturer changes fuse locations so often that it is impossible to keep up with the location of each one.

If when you hook up the temporary power wire and press the brake, the controller screen goes blank, it sounds like you have the ground wire connected to the red stoplight wire. If you used the factory connector supplied with the truck the wire colors are different and you will need to be sure you have them wired properly. There is a white wire with a brown stripe on the factory supplied harness that is supposed to be wired to the red stoplight wire on the brake controller. If this wire is grounded the screen will go blank on the controller when the brake is pressed.

I would start with the fuse panel and check that fuse and then I would use a circuit tester, item # 3808 if needed, to test the connections from the factory connector and make sure the right connections have been made. Usually the factory connector has the wires labeled.

expert reply by: Bob G