No Trailer Brakes On Cattle Trailer with Brake Pedal But Work with Manual Override

Updated 09/17/2019 | Published 09/15/2019

Question:

Im having trouble with my cattle trailer brakes. The brake work with the brake controller lever but not with the brake pedal. The brake lights on the trailer work when I push on brake pedal but no brakes. The truck is a 2001 dodge ram. Thanks.

asked by: Nathan

Expert Reply:

If you have a proportional brake controller like the Tekonsha Prodigy P2 Trailer Brake Controller part # 90885 then these will not send much power at all to the trailer's brakes when the brake pedal is pressed at a stop because there is no inertia for the controller to sense. I recommend you take the trailer around the block and try to test the trailer brakes with the brake pedal. The issue may just be that you need to turn up the gain.

If you still don't have power to the trailer brakes while in motion with the brake pedal pressed and the gain turned up then you may have an issue with the stop light switch connection which is usually the red wire on the back of the brake controller. This has little to do with the brake lights on the trailer. The red wire will need to be attached to the cold side of the brake pedal or the wire that only has power when the brakes are depressed. You will need a test light to find this wire.

expert reply by: Conner L