Brake controller challenge with 2018 Highlander

[viator36]

Dave, thanks for the explanation on the 12v power line. I do have the 170w roof solar and think I would use propane for the fridge. But I still need to fix it. I will have Trademasters Automotive check it out before my orientation.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

JI don’t own one but looked at the manual. Calibration should take place without a trailer but you will notice the note about it not indicating via the LED.

Good info. This documents only calibration of the mounting direction, so that the unit does not need to be mounted in any particular orientation, as Albert explained. Most proportional controllers needs to be mounted facing forward, within a narrow range of level left-right, and at any reasonable tilt; they calibrate themselves for the tilt immediately.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by viator36

But another issue I have, not sure it is an issue, is the 7 pin trailer connector that came with the tow package. I tested it with my multimeter with ignition on and all other pins worked fine but the + pin did not have power when I expected to see 12 volt. However on etrailer.com an expert opinion answering question on whether the + pin should always have power says "Some vehicles will always have power and some others will not". And I called etrailer a short while ago asking about my truck (2019 Ranger) but the woman was no help. I pulled my power fuse box and checked all the fuses and relays and they all tested out fine. So I am at a loss if the no 12v on + pin but other pins worked fine and the Redarc control knob LED showing only what the manual called blue breathing is all due to the truck not hooked up with a trailer.

The owner's manual has finally been posted online, so I downloaded a copy...
The table on page 218 which describes the wire colour and function for each pin of the towing connector includes this footnote for the "Battery (+)" connection (orange wire):

Your vehicle must recognize the trailer before the trailer can receive power.

Originally Posted by rubicon327

The 12V + (typically black) is the vehicle charge line. It should always be on when the ignition is on. The only time it varies is with ignition OFF. Some vehicles it will stay hot and other vehicles it will show no voltage.

It is possible for the tow vehicle to detect the presence of a trailer by load on the lighting circuits (presumably just the tail circuit) or the brake circuit (although not all trailers have electric brakes), and may not turn on charge power until it see that. This will vary by manufacturer and model, but apparently the 2019 Ranger does wait to detect the trailer before enabling the charge line.

Originally Posted by Mike G

Some vehicle mfrs have their charge line active when the ignition is off. Great way to run a vehicle battery down, so it won't start next time!

I agree - this seems idiotic to me, although owners of trucks which do this tend to declare it to be perfectly reasonable...

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

It is possible for the tow vehicle to detect the presence of a trailer by load on the lighting circuits (presumably just the tail circuit) or the brake circuit (although not all trailers have electric brakes), and may not turn on charge power until it see that. This will vary by manufacturer and model, but apparently the 2019 Ranger does wait to detect the trailer before enabling the charge line.

Thanks Brian. I see the footnote. Hadn’t even thought of that possibility. Not sure I understand the advantage of waiting to recognize a trailer. Wouldn’t hot with ignition on and off with ignition off suffice?

[viator36]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

The owner's manual has finally been posted online, so I downloaded a copy...
The table on page 218 which describes the wire colour and function for each pin of the towing connector includes this footnote for the "Battery (+)" connection (orange wire):
It is possible for the tow vehicle to detect the presence of a trailer by load on the lighting circuits (presumably just the tail circuit) or the brake circuit (although not all trailers have electric brakes), and may not turn on charge power until it see that. This will vary by manufacturer and model, but apparently the 2019 Ranger does wait to detect the trailer before enabling the charge line.


I agree - this seems idiotic to me, although owners of trucks which do this tend to declare it to be perfectly reasonable...

Quote:
Your vehicle must recognize the trailer before the trailer can receive power.

Thanks a lot Brian! That's a lifesaver footnote.

The version 3 manual you linked has 9 pages under Towing header section, my hard copy that came with my truck has 6 pages and it didn't have the 7 pin section with the footnote. Go figure. My assumption is the manual that comes with the vehicle should cover everything about the particular vehicle. I do read my car owner manuals carefully and haven't noticed a manual missing important information like this until this time. On a separate note the owner manual paper quality is strictly pulp fiction paper, the worst for the 30 plus years of my car buying history. Not trying to implying anything about the quality of the truck itself but just another small example of cost cutting nowadays.

Again many thanks to Brian to point out that footnote explanation on the latest manual version. I now have an action plan, I will drive my truck to ETI site the day before my orientation and ask them to plug in another trailer's 7 pin plug to see if the 12v power goes live and the Redarc brake controller will work normally. Hope it will work. You guys are great!

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by viator36

The version 3 manual you linked has 9 pages under Towing header section, my hard copy that came with my truck has 6 pages and it didn't have the 7 pin section with the footnote. Go figure. My assumption is the manual that comes with the vehicle should cover everything about the particular vehicle. I do read my car owner manuals carefully and haven't noticed a manual missing important information like this until this time.

This does seem to be a strange manual. After I downloaded version 3 I realized that I already had version 2, but I had not compared them.

Ford has built this truck (with different engines) for several years, and has known that they would be selling it in North America for at least a couple of years, but it seems like the manual was a last-minute afterthought. It's so new in production here that there's a member of another forum who factory-ordered his Ranger before any appeared at dealerships and is still waiting for it to be built, but Ford has already rushed a third version of the manual out. Even that 3rd edition still has some oddities (such as still using the term "nose weight" from the English-language European edition, instead of "tongue weight" or "hitch weight") and some outright inconsistencies (different unbraked weight limits on different pages; different towing speed limits in different sections).

Even for my own vehicles, for which I have the printed manual, I still download the online manual and use it for reference... mostly because it's easier to search, but it seems that this is a good idea to get the most current information.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Not sure I understand the advantage of waiting to recognize a trailer. Wouldn’t hot with ignition on and off with ignition off suffice?

Functionally, yes. My guess is that they want to avoid a live contact in a connector which is potentially not properly covered.

[Vermilye]

Many vehicles designed to tow have entirely separate wiring & fuses for the trailer. It would be very easy for the vehicle to detect that a trailer is plugged into the receptacle.

The newest vehicle lighting systems on tow vehicles and those not prewired for towing detect burned out lamps, bad turn signals, etc, and can be damaged by the usual tapping of the taillight wiring. Even my 2010 RAV4 required a connection to the fuse buss by crawling under the dash rather than tapping the existing lighting.

While I haven't experienced it, I have read a number of posts on RV blogs that the wiring of a brake controller (the sense wire usually done at the brake pedal) causes an error report on the ABS.

Add ons to new vehicles can cause all kinds of problems!

[viator36]

This is my first truck and first trailer too so please bear with my newbie question: if the truck 7 pin connector only turns on power when hooked up with a trailer, what's a simple way to check the truck IS sending 12v to the trailer? Like turn off trailer batteries (and turn off solar charge controller?) and try to turn on a trailer light or plug a small appliance into a 12v socket and see if it runs?

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by viator36

This is my first truck and first trailer too so please bear with my newbie question: if the truck 7 pin connector only turns on power when hooked up with a trailer, what's a simple way to check the truck IS sending 12v to the trailer? Like turn off trailer batteries (and turn off solar charge controller?) and try to turn on a trailer light or plug a small appliance into a 12v socket and see if it runs?

You can use a relatively inexpensive tester designed to check 7 pin connectors. Of course this assumes that the vehicle considers the tester as a trailer. With both my 2016 Tacoma Off Road & my 2018 Ford F 150, the tester worked.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by viator36

... if the truck 7 pin connector only turns on power when hooked up with a trailer, what's a simple way to check the truck IS sending 12v to the trailer? Like turn off trailer batteries (and turn off solar charge controller?) and try to turn on a trailer light or plug a small appliance into a 12v socket and see if it runs?

If you disconnect the solar charger (if so equipped) and unplug from outside power (or turn off the circuit breaker for the converter), the only remaining source of charge would be the tow vehicle. If the battery voltage (measured at the battery or anywhere in the 12V wiring) is about 13 volts or more, the tow vehicle must be providing power.

[viator36]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

You can use a relatively inexpensive tester designed to check 7 pin connectors. Of course this assumes that the vehicle considers the tester as a trailer. With both my 2016 Tacoma Off Road & my 2018 Ford F 150, the tester worked.

I am getting a similar tester from Amazon but I was wondering since the tester is not a trailer would plugging it in get the same result as plugging in a trailer. Guess I'll find out soon.

[Albert]

Originally Posted by Albert

Uh-oh. Looks like Brian B-P is spot-on (as usual!). The calibration process described in the RedArc documentation and video is not a calibration of gain. Instead, it's just a calculation of the tilt of the unit as per the particular way in which it was mounted in the particular vehicle.
I've never heard that process called "calibration" in any forum before, so it's not surprising that I and others were thrown off at first.
...
I think it's odd that the RedArc requires that you go through a multi-step procedure to set up that part of the program. The Tekonsha P2 does it for you automatically. My guess is that the Tekonsha detects the direction of the pull of gravity when you turn the key, and then it calculates the rest from there.
With the RedArc, after you have "calibrated" the unit for tilt, there will still be the question as to how to calibrate the gain. How is that done?

Correcting my original post: As Brian B-P later pointed out, the RedArc procedure is required to adjust the unit for direction of travel (in the horizontal plane) not for tilt. By contrast, with the Prodigy P2, you have to install the unit on a straight back-and-forth line from the get-go, so the RedArc procedure does make sense and in fact gives you more flexibility in choosing where to install it. Both units automatically adjust for tilt.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Mike G

On my '08 HL that charge line would turn off when the ignition was off. Toyota probably has continued to configure it that way. When traveling, the charge line should be active and should help charge (a little bit) the trailer battery.



Some vehicle mfrs have their charge line active when the ignition is off. Great way to run a vehicle battery down, so it won't start next time!

My charge line is energized at all times . Never had a problem.
Simple solution , when camping or stopped for a long period of time just unplug the trailer
Plus that way you don’t get hung up or trip over the cord

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

My charge line is energized at all times . Never had a problem.
Simple solution , when camping or stopped for a long period of time just unplug the trailer
Plus that way you don’t get hung up or trip over the cord

what vehicle is that? both my fords (2001 E150, 2002 F250) and my toyota (2008) had a isolator relay so it only powered the trailer when the engine was running.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

My charge line is energized at all times . Never had a problem.
Simple solution , when camping or stopped for a long period of time just unplug the trailer
Plus that way you don’t get hung up or trip over the cord

Well of course one usually unplugs when one unhitches, just to be able to move the tug. When not unhitched, the cord is not a tripping hazard.

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

what vehicle is that? both my fords (2001 E150, 2002 F250) and my toyota (2008) had a isolator relay so it only powered the trailer when the engine was running.

I did my own charge line installation (in a vehicle with no factory charge line option), and I put in a relay, too.
The always-on behaviour with a factory installation is usually reported by owners of Ram pickups, like Steve's.

[Dave Walter]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

...I did my own charge line installation (in a vehicle with no factory charge line option), and I put in a relay, too.
The always-on behaviour with a factory installation is usually reported by owners of Ram pickups, like Steve's.

My Toyota FJ Cruiser purchased from dealer with trailer hitch did not come with a charge line either. Like Brian B-P, I added it myself and included a relay hooked up to an accessory fuse that was only powered on when the ignition was turned on.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

what vehicle is that? both my fords (2001 E150, 2002 F250) and my toyota (2008) had a isolator relay so it only powered the trailer when the engine was running.

Steve and myself both have Ram 1500 which have a live 7 pin all the time. Thus disconnecting is done for long stops.

[viator36]

I found this expert Q&A comment on etrailer.com which supports what Brian found in the latest Ranger owner manual about the truck not sending 12v power to the 7 pin connector if a trailer is not hooked up:

Comments
Ford trucks of recent manufacture feature what Ford refers to as a smart trailer connector. The connector wont output 12-volt accessory or brake power to the trailer connector unless the electrical load from a trailer is detected.
-- Mike L - 01/10/2019

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

The good news is you can tow without this line active. The only drawback is that you will provide no charging to your battery while underway. If your fridge is on propane (not 12V) and/or you have rooftop solar it probably doesn’t matter that this line is not working.

I should have added that if your charge line is not operational that you should always be sure to leave your home or campsite with some charge on the battery as the onboard battery is what actuates the brakes via the breakaway switch in the unlikely event the trailer were to separate from the tow vehicle.