Troubleshooting Low Voltage Output on Brake Controller with Brake Pedal and Override Lever

Published 04/15/2016

Question:

Im getting 12v to the module,and only 3.5 coming out. You can press the brake pedal, or activate the slide lever,and still only 3.5v, with the trailer connected or not. It doesnt matter. Ive tried two new modules, and still 3.5 v Also the grounds are good.

asked by: Harold E

Expert Reply:

Is the gain on the controller set all the way up? If it's set to 3.5v as the max that's as far as it will go with the lever or the brake pedal. Try maxing out all of the adjustment setting to see if that changes anything. What brake controller do you have? What vehicle is it? You have done most of the troubleshooting steps that are recommended so this is a tough one. Hopefully it's as simple as just adjusting the brake controller to a more aggressive setting.

Since both the lever and the brake pedal take the voltage to the same 3.5 volts that leads me to believe it's just the setting of the controller that is causing this.

Something else to consider is that proportional controllers don't show their full voltage unless they are sensing deceleration.

Is the battery on the tow vehicle good? If you have access to another vehicle you can try powering up the brake controllers in a different vehicle to see if they respond any differently.

expert reply by: Jameson C