Trailer Brakes Clicking and Battery is Drained Using Tekonsha Prodigy Trailer Brake Controller

Updated 09/20/2011 | Published 09/19/2011

Question:

Periodically after returning from a trip there is an interminttent faint sound of clicking coming from the braking wheels. Sometimes the clicking will stop after a period of time, but on other occasions the clicking will continue all night if not unplugged. I have manually engaged the braking lever on the controller to see if that stops the clicking. The clicking continues. The controler works just fine during operation, but the residual clicking has me worried about the possibilty I am draining the battery. Occasionally, we will find a dead battery.

asked by: Dutch N

Expert Reply:

The clicking from the brakes on the trailer that you hear is happening because there is some power going back to them. Unplugging the trailer connector will stop this from happening.

A brake controller like the Prodigy does send power back to determine if a trailer is connected. To determine if it is sending back too much power you can test the output blue wire on the back of the controller using a circuit tester like # PTW2993 if needed.

If it is sending back the full power it is set to, then there is a wiring problem or internal problem with the brake controller. You can make sure the red wire is still securely attached if it was a hardwire installation. If 12 volts is being sent on the blue wire then there is a short somewhere.

There could be a short in the trailer connectors. Make sure that both trailer connectors are clean and free of corrosion. Corrosion in the connectors could cause a short between the 12-volt circuit and the brake output circuit.

expert reply by: Michael H