Draw-Tite Activator Brake Controller # 5504 Does Not Lock Up Brakes When Pedal is Pressed

Updated 05/18/2015 | Published 05/15/2015

Question:

i have a 2014 f150 and a 5504. i can hear the trailer brakes activate while using the manual override but cannot hear them with the brake pedal depressed. do the trailer hitch need to be physically connected to the ball on the truck for this to work, sort of like a ground? or should it work with just the plug in connected to the truck? was doing it this way for testing purposes only, didint want to go to the trouble of hooking and unhooking the tailer to the truck as we are not ready to use the trailer yet any suggestions?

asked by: Paul

Expert Reply:

When you press the manual override lever on your Draw-Tite Activator time-delayed-type brake controller # 5504 it will generate its output based on the chosen power setting. This is the same power level that will be sent to the brakes when you press the pedal.

However, when you press the brake the braking action is also affected by the time delay setting you have selected. You can try reducing the delay to the minimum setting to see if this gives the brakes a more pronounced reaction to the pedal.

The 7-way on your truck has a ground contact at the 7-o-clock position (please see the linked photo) that should be sufficient for establishing the required ground for the brakes. But it can happen that some trailers do rely (at least partially) on the coupler-to-hitch ball physical connection for ground.

expert reply by: Adam R