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Trailer brake controller problem

Discussion in 'Towing & Hauling' started by Jvantassell, May 9, 2019.

  1. May 9, 2019 at 8:52 AM
    #1
    Jvantassell

    Jvantassell [OP] New Member

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    I have a 2017 TRD Tundra and a 2018 Jayco Jay flight 35’ trailer. Recently I get an error message on the dash that says “ trailer wiring, type or connection FAULT”. This appears to be a somewhat common problem. Toyota replaced the relay(?) and updated the software. Problem still occurs. If I connect my trailer to another truck there is no problem. If I connect my trunk to another trailer there is not problem. Problem only occurs with my truck and my trailer. Any suggestions?
     
  2. May 9, 2019 at 10:28 PM
    #2
    ColoradoTJ

    ColoradoTJ Certified tow LEO Staff Member

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    Calibrated Power 5 Tune pack, Allison 1000 tune, PPE deep trans pan, Cold/Hot CAC pipes, Banks CAI, PCV reroute, resonator delete, S&B 62 gal fuel tank, B&W GN hitch
    Could be anything from the trailer plug back.

    Since you have a Huge new travel trailer, I would not suspect one of the brake magnets grounded out, but you never know.

    Look at the seven prong plug. Are the connection pins all mashed down? You can take a small screw driver and pry the prongs back out a little (just a little) and that might be your problem.
     
    NewImprovedRon likes this.
  3. May 10, 2019 at 10:25 AM
    #3
    Tracy Perry

    Tracy Perry New Member

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    Refer to this thread where there is a discussion about putting a resistor in line seems to fix the issue.
     
    ColoradoTJ likes this.
  4. Jun 8, 2021 at 8:05 AM
    #4
    wallysworld7

    wallysworld7 New Member

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    Good morning. I have that same error message “trailer wire, type or connection fault“ pop up on my brand new 2021 Tundra.
    Before I had a 2018 tundra and drove all across the country last summer, 6300 miles, pulling my travel trailer and not one issue.
    This message appear after driving one hour in a two hour ride a few weeks ago when hooking that same travel trailer to the new Tundra.
    My first attempt at Toyota service department, they said, I’ve never heard of this issue and it must be your trailer”. Within these forums, I can see that this issue is not new.
    It seems like everybody wants to recommend the P3 aftermarket brake controller and adapter. When researching that, that seems to only work for tundras up till 2019.
    Any suggestions on where to begin with a brake controller that is compatible with my 2021?

    9FAABC48-0142-4DEE-948B-C0292459D447.jpg
     
  5. Oct 3, 2021 at 5:41 PM
    #5
    spyshot

    spyshot New Member

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    ***Problem found***
    I was getting this message when towing my camper and have been trying to figure out why. The problem was intermittent, making it very difficult to find. I decided to try to find a way to artificially duplicate the message (Trailer wiring, type or connection, etc). I shorted the two brake wires on the trailer side and that message popped up! So apparently the truck is seeing a short in the brake circuit and is not sending current through the line to protect the tuck fuse, because when I shorted the wires, the fuse did not blow.

    That made me look closer at the camper because I was thinking that the problem is in the camper and not the truck.

    **The manufacturers run the brake wires through the inside of the axle to get from one side to the other. Problem is that since the wires are not tied down, they vibrate and rub through the insulation. I pulled mine out of one axle and sure enough! I found a spot where that had happened and bare wire was exposed. That would cause a direct short and would cause that message to come up on the dash.

    I am rewiring the camper this week.

    Adam
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2021
  6. Oct 3, 2021 at 7:12 PM
    #6
    thearborbarber

    thearborbarber New Member

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    Thanks for reporting back. That is a great tip.
     
  7. Oct 6, 2021 at 3:26 AM
    #7
    BlacknWhite23

    BlacknWhite23 New Member

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    So I am getting the same error. I have towed my TT several times with my Taco and now with my Tundra and never had issues or errors until our 15.5 hour trip from Indiana to Connecticut. About two hours in that error started popping up. Sometimes it would come on multiple times in a few minutes and other times we could go for more than an hour without it coming on. Took it to a dealership here in CT and they have found codes stored in the computer. Of which I will find out and post later. I have to drop the truck off again today and they are getting me a rental for today and tomorrow. Hopefully I will have a truck by Friday to drive home to Indiana. I will post back what is found.

    Mike.
     
  8. Oct 6, 2021 at 4:40 AM
    #8
    spyshot

    spyshot New Member

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    What a difference it would make if the error read "TRAILER SHORT." Instead of playing this guessing game.
     
  9. Oct 6, 2021 at 6:58 AM
    #9
    BlacknWhite23

    BlacknWhite23 New Member

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    Right. So my rental is an F250 gas. All kinds of gadgets on it. Wait to hear back from Toyota.
     
  10. Oct 6, 2021 at 1:58 PM
    #10
    BlacknWhite23

    BlacknWhite23 New Member

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    Soooo. My truck needs a new wiring harness from the rear bumper up. This is like a 3 day job…………

    And we are done with vacation Saturday am.
    And now the real saga begins.
     
  11. Oct 6, 2021 at 2:04 PM
    #11
    timsp8

    timsp8 Former Tundra owner for 13 years

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    Did they say what’s wrong with the harness? Is it shorted out? Installed improperly from the factory?
     
  12. Oct 7, 2021 at 5:30 AM
    #12
    BlacknWhite23

    BlacknWhite23 New Member

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    Other than there is a problem with the harness I don’t have specifics. I am sure there is a short somewhere in the harness.
     
  13. Oct 7, 2021 at 7:13 AM
    #13
    spyshot

    spyshot New Member

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    So apparently the problem existed all the time with any trailer?
     
  14. Oct 7, 2021 at 7:18 AM
    #14
    BlacknWhite23

    BlacknWhite23 New Member

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    Apparently. However I only have one trailer in my fleet. We have towed this combo several times with out issues however as well. Very weird.
     
  15. Oct 8, 2021 at 1:01 PM
    #15
    BlacknWhite23

    BlacknWhite23 New Member

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    Ok. Dealership replace the entire harness. Tested it and no more codes. They drove the truck to me at the campground and hooked up the truck and trailer with techstream and no codes / errors at this point. So we are going to try and drive home dragging the camper.

    Toyota of Cholchester was amazing to deal with and went out of their way to get us taken care of. I can’t say enough kind words about that dealership.
     
  16. Oct 10, 2021 at 4:22 PM
    #16
    BlacknWhite23

    BlacknWhite23 New Member

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    And same errors.
     
    NewImprovedRon likes this.
  17. Oct 11, 2021 at 12:13 PM
    #17
    spyshot

    spyshot New Member

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    So the new harness did not help. Did anyone troubleshoot the trailer?
     
  18. Oct 11, 2021 at 5:52 PM
    #18
    BlacknWhite23

    BlacknWhite23 New Member

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    new harness did not help. . My troubleshooting of the trailer was wiggling all the wires while hooked up and had my wife sitting in truck and the code did not come on when I was doing that. I feel it may be in the 7 pin connector. It has to go back to a Toyota dealer anyway, now I cannot fill gas hardly at all. ‍♂️
     
  19. Oct 12, 2021 at 6:51 AM
    #19
    spyshot

    spyshot New Member

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    If you were to lose connection with the trailer, the truck will say “trailer disconnected”. If the little green trailer icon is on your dash then there is a connection to the brake circuit. I think the truck must send out a Signal every so often to see if there is a trailer there or not. If you’re getting the above message then I think when it’s sending out that test signal, it’s seeing a short in the break circuit. This means that your trailer brake circuit is grounding out. Probably not the plug.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2021
  20. Oct 12, 2021 at 6:52 AM
    #20
    spyshot

    spyshot New Member

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    Update on post #5. Rewired my camper and I’m at campground now. Problem is gone.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2021
    BlacknWhite23 likes this.
  21. Oct 13, 2021 at 7:17 PM
    #21
    BlacknWhite23

    BlacknWhite23 New Member

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    Trailer goes in a week from Thursday to get checked out. Truck goes in later same day for other stuff as well as IBC. Glad your issues are fixed spyshot.
     
  22. Nov 30, 2021 at 9:02 PM
    #22
    Akaklutz

    Akaklutz New Member

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    No more issues? I'm having the same problem with my Tundra..
     
  23. Dec 1, 2021 at 3:21 AM
    #23
    shawn474

    shawn474 Lego connoisseur

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    Believe it or not, I had a couple campers with no issues on my 2019 tundra. The last one I had I decided to replace all the trailer lights with led bulbs…..and started getting errors like this. I switched back to the original bulbs and the issue went away. Do you have or did you replace your trailer lights with any led’s? They’ve been known to cause some of these electrical gremlins in our trucks
     
  24. Dec 1, 2021 at 3:47 AM
    #24
    Retired...finally

    Retired...finally Utilizing that doctorate of procrastinatory arts

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    Your post got me thinking over my first cup of coffee this morning. When I started driving the turnsignals required a flasher module that worked by using a bimetal strip and contacts. As current flowed through the bimetal strip it heated up and oil canned away from the contact. This made an audible click. When you added a trailer the signals flashed quicker. Burnt bulb resulted in a slow or no flash condition. We sure could have used LED bulbs in the boat trailer back then.
    I have no idea how the flashers work on modern cars. Seems that if a bulb is out the flash rate increases. Cars with LED taillights as standard equipment actually flash the LED at a rate the human eye cannot detect. You can see this by quickly scanning side to side with your eyes while looking at the light. I believe this fast flicker is done to allow overdriving the LED to increase lumens but not current.
    Regardless of all the above senseless blather, I think you are 100% correct about aftermarket LED bulbs doing strange things to the modern Tundra's electronic systems. Lighting systems today just aren't as simple as they used to be. But now you know why the turnsignals make a clicking sound. I'm pretty sure it's an added sound much like the click a cell phone can make when you take a picture.
     
    shawn474[QUOTED] likes this.
  25. Dec 1, 2021 at 4:54 AM
    #25
    Akaklutz

    Akaklutz New Member

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    My trailer does have led lights. It's driving me insane. I bought the trailer new three years ago. Suppose I can change the LEDs out ...
     
  26. Dec 1, 2021 at 5:00 AM
    #26
    spyshot

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    No More Issues
     
  27. Dec 1, 2021 at 5:03 AM
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    Retired...finally

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    Did it come with LEDs? My 2021 Gulfstream came with LED lights and no problems pulling it with my 21 SR5.
     
  28. Dec 1, 2021 at 5:23 AM
    #28
    BlacknWhite23

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    Toyota installed a new ECU for my trailer brake controller and a new gas tank as well since the last Toyota dealership smashed the vent tube for the tank. I have not had the chance to hook up my trailer to see if the issue is gone since camping season is over now. Hope I’m the spring I have no troubles.
     
  29. Dec 1, 2021 at 5:39 AM
    #29
    Akaklutz

    Akaklutz New Member

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    Yes the trailer came with led tail lights...

    At the dealerships now.
     
  30. Jan 2, 2022 at 7:31 PM
    #30
    BlacknWhite23

    BlacknWhite23 New Member

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    Update. Just towed my TT for the first time since the ECU was replaced after the wiring harness was replaced. So far no more error codes. Only towed it for 1.5 hours so far but no codes. ‍♂️
     

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