Mike D1917

Hey everyone, I have a 2015 F-150, 5.0. I tow a 32' travel trailer and the truck pulls it great, very happy with the performance. The issue is, the factory break controler has failed on me twice now and needed to be replaced both times. has anyone else had this issue?

I'm also concerned that I may have an issue in the wiring in the trailer that is shorting out the controler in the truck. If anyone has any input, I owuld appreciate it.

brulaz

Seem to be hearing a lot of problems with the 2015 controllers.
Ideally the controller would be protected against trailer wiring shorts.
But don't know for sure.

JTF77

I too have a 2015 F150 FX4 with the 5.0 V8. I have three trailers. My newest is a 14' Wells Cargo trailer. Every time I connect it, I lose the brake controller and have had it replaced twice. Ford tells me it is my trailer. I took the trailer back to the dealer and they went all through it, no issues. I have hooked the trailer to 5 other vehicles with no issue. The problem has to be with the Ford Brake controller. I am getting a message that reads "trailer wiring fault". I am about to put in another controller to fix that but hate to hook it to my trailer until it can be sorted out as to what causes this. With the new controller, I will test all 7 of the prongs with a test light first. Currently I have full time hot to the trailer brakes and they lock up after a few miles of pulling. Lot of fun to be sliding tires down I-20 and have to unhook the trailer and run without lights (I have disconnected the trailer brakes so I can move it.) I sure would appreciate someone telling us how to fix this!

jlewis805

I have had the factory installed Trailer Brake Controller [TBC} module fail twice and replaced once on my 2015. When it fails it locks the trailer brakes on. I had to remove the 7 way plug to move it. The trailer brake controller tests bad by Ford.

The last time the ford dealership said that the TBC was on back order and that there was a generic issue with it that they were trying to fix before making them available.

I am traveling full time with my trailer and asked the dealer to install an external brake controller, which they did. All has been well since doing so.
However I am anxious to get the factory installed fix
Anyone have that problem?

JTF77

This is the same exact issue that I am having (note above in this thread.) I am still waiting on Ford to get the new TBC in so this can be replaced. MikeD1917 above just got a new TBC in his truck and is trying it again this weekend. I am anxious to hear back from him to see if he got his fixed or if the problem reappeared.

I took special attention of your note that "there was a generic issue with the TBC" per Ford. I have about worn out all other options, it has to be the TBC. Please keep us informed as your s progresses and I will do the same.

jlewis805

Thanks for your reply and info. I will keep this thread updated on my situation.

I hope Mike's new TBC works, and that any bugs have been removed. FYI when I had a new TBC installed it worked great for about a month until he same thing happened.

Based on what I was told and my experience, there is no way this is anything but a TBC issue.

jlewis805

I got a note from my dealer that they had a replacement part [new TBC] for my 2015 f150. I asked whether the part had been redesigned to address the issue of the controller locking the trailer brakes. There was no indication that it had been addressed.
I told them I am not replacing the TBC unless I know that the issue has been corrected. After two failures I just can't risk it. My wife and I travel full time with our Airstream...brakes are too important to be worrying about. In both cases the failure occurred when we were stopped. But what if the failure and lock up happened at high speed?
My after market controller is working fine. I will check back in a few months

Monduj1

Last week I experienced a TBC failure on my 2015 F-150 Lariat SuperCrew with less than 2500 miles on it (ordered from factory for maximum towing capability - 3.5L EB w/ 3.55 axle ratio on 145 WB and received last October).

Two Saturdays ago I picked up my 35' travel trailer and drove to storage lot with no issues. Went back and picked up trailer last Thursday to bring it home and again had no issues. Friday morning loaded the wife and dogs, performed light and safety check and jumped in to head out for a week of camping - or so we thought. Put the truck in Drive, turned on Tow/Haul mode, released the emergency brake and attempted to pull off from the homestead when I felt immediate resistance and two warning indications came up on the dash, one stating "Trailer disconnected" followed by "Trailer wiring fault". Secured the truck and went back to confirm the 7-pin connector hadn't been inadvertently knocked out, which it hadn't. I pulled the 7-pin and the trailer brakes immediately released (new lesson learned not to do that without wife behind wheel of truck). Blew out the 7-pin connector and receptacle to make sure no debris had made its way in, then reconnected and tried again with same result.

Took F-150 to the dealer on Monday morning (soonest they could get it in) and was told the TBC had failed and was being replaced. Going to pick truck up today, but wondering if anyone who's experienced multiple failures has ever received a definitive answer on whether the failing TBC issue has been truly corrected. I plan to ask the Service guy and will report any news, but after reading multiple occurrences of other F-150 owners having the failure occur while towing, I have to say my confidence is not terribly high.

jlewis805

I had to ask the service manager to do some research on the TBC he was going to install on mine a couple of months ago. He did and he found that the latest TBC version had addressed some issues, but not the one where the trailer brakes lock for no reason.
So be sure to ask them to find out what the version he has is supposed to fix. He told me that it could be addressed in the future. But such a potentially serious issue like that should not have to wait.
You can ask them to install an external brake controller like they did for me. Its working fine. But I'm with you, I want to now that it is specifically addressed before they replace the factory module. Keep us posted and good luck
Jeff

bexiga

This whole issue is making me nervous, We bought our 15 lariat screw last sept, it did not have the factory brake controller at first but had the dealership put it in as part of our deal. Have not been able to test to see if there is any problems with it as we don't have a trailer yet. Plan on picking up our new TT at the dealership end of April. Would hate to find out for the first time using the brake controller on our pick up day, that it does not work. Is there anyway to find out prior?