Troubleshooting Tekonsha Prodigy P3 Sending Same Power to Brakes with Manual Override or Brake Pedal  

Question:

Expert Reply:

There are a couple of reasons why you might be getting the same power/voltage to the trailer brakes both when using the manual override and when applying the brakes on your vehicle with the Tekonsha Prodigy P3 Brake Controller # 90195.

First, check to see what you have the power set to on the controller. If the brake controller is set to maximum power, you will indeed get the same power to the brakes whether you use the manual override or are actually applying pressure to the brake pedal. If this is the case, simply turn down the power adjustment a bit and this will allow for a more proportional braking power between the two methods. I have attached the installation instructions for the P3 that you can take a look at that explains how to adjust the power setting.

Otherwise, it's possible that the P3 has been wired to the wrong side of the brake light switch in your vehicle. If it is connected to the hot side of the brake switch wire, there will be constant 12V power or constant brakes on the trailer. You can check the pin located at the 5 o'clock position on the vehicle's trailer connector. Check to see if there is 12V power at the pin even when the brakes are not applied in the vehicle. The red wire on the controller should be connected to the wire that ONLY receives power with the brake pedal pushed and no power when any other circuit is activated. This is the cold side of the brake switch. You can use a circuit tester like # PTW2993 to determine the correct wire to use in your vehicle.

expert reply by: Chris R

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