Dodge Factory Brake Controller Does Not Work with Electric Over Hydraulic Brakes on Horse Trailer

Updated 01/25/2012 | Published 01/23/2012

Question:

we recently purchased a 2012 Dodge 3500 Dually, which already had the brake control installed by factory. Our horse trailer has hydrolic brakes, and the truck is telling us that the trailer brakes are not connected and they dont work. Prior to trading vehicles they did work with our other truck. When taking back to the dealership they are stating our brakes on trailer are not working when they are, is there something we need to do to make combatable

asked by: Carm S

Expert Reply:

It sounds as if you have an electric over hydraulic braking system on your horse trailer. Most OEM brake controllers are not compatible with electric over hydraulic actuators. If you trailer brakes are working, you may find that your actuator is cycling on and off when connected to the truck and this will significantly shorten the life of the actuator.

The Dodge factory brake controllers are designed to be used with electric trailer brakes only and are not designed to be used with electric over hydraulic trailer brake systems. This means you will need to install an aftermarket brake controller with a setting that makes it compatible with electric over hydraulic brakes, like the P3 brake controller, # 90195. Along with the brake controller you will need a vehicle specific brake controller wiring harness, for the P3 brake controller you can use part # 3021-P.

Once you have these parts you will need to contact your Dodge dealer and have them remove the sales code XHC, then reconfigure the TIPM (Totally Integrated Power Module) and then disconnect the ITBM (Integrated Trailer Brake Module) connector under the dash. You can then install the aftermarket brake controller and no fault codes will display on the vehicle dash.

We have a technical bulletin, see link, that explains this in detail and your Dodge dealer should be able to help you also.

expert reply by: Robert G