Hidden Hitch Power trac
10-04-2012, 12:05 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Hidden Hitch Power trac
Hi have a 5.4 1999 f150. i bought it used and it came with a little hidden hitch device under the dash, it is a little box that says hidden hitch power trac. it has a small tab that will slide to the left when pushed and a little **** that moves up and down. it also has an LED light. i have done research and cant seem to figure out what this device dose. it says hidden hitch, so i assume it must be used for some kind of towing application. i do tow large boats and motorcycles often so it could have some use to me. if anyone has any info the hidden hitch power trac or knows what it does, that would be very helpful. basically my question is what is it and what does it do? Thank You
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Frank Kuhl (10-04-2012)
10-04-2012, 01:40 PM
#4
Basically the brake controllers are hooked into some wiring in your cab and when you hit your brakes the controller reads that and sends a signal through your trailer light plug to the trailer brakes to slow down the trailer
that model controller is a time delay one which means theres a delay from the time you hit the brakes to when it kicks in which you can set with a sync switch also you can adjust the amount of brakes that are applied via the controller based on the weight of your trailer but with timed controllers if you stop fast or slow the controller will still apply the same preset amount of braking power
that model controller is a time delay one which means theres a delay from the time you hit the brakes to when it kicks in which you can set with a sync switch also you can adjust the amount of brakes that are applied via the controller based on the weight of your trailer but with timed controllers if you stop fast or slow the controller will still apply the same preset amount of braking power
10-04-2012, 03:49 PM
#6
Senior Member
Basically the brake controllers are hooked into some wiring in your cab and when you hit your brakes the controller reads that and sends a signal through your trailer light plug to the trailer brakes to slow down the trailer
that model controller is a time delay one which means theres a delay from the time you hit the brakes to when it kicks in which you can set with a sync switch also you can adjust the amount of brakes that are applied via the controller based on the weight of your trailer but with timed controllers if you stop fast or slow the controller will still apply the same preset amount of braking power
that model controller is a time delay one which means theres a delay from the time you hit the brakes to when it kicks in which you can set with a sync switch also you can adjust the amount of brakes that are applied via the controller based on the weight of your trailer but with timed controllers if you stop fast or slow the controller will still apply the same preset amount of braking power
10-04-2012, 04:24 PM
#7
Grumpy Old Man
Apparently, the Hidden Hitch PowerTrac brake controller was discontinued way back when, and is no longer available. But when it was available it was a controller for electric trailer brakes. Most trailers with brakes today have electric brakes, but some such as boat trailers that get dunked in the water have "surge" hydraulic brakes.
Your F-150 should have a 6-pin or 7-pin trailer connecter plug on the back end of the truck, near the receiver hitch. A horse or livestock trailer with electric brakes and a 6-pin plug would hook up to the 6-pin plug on the back of the truck. Or an RV trailer with a 7-pin plug would hook up to the 7-pin plug on the back of the truck.
One of the wires in the 6 or 7 pin plug is the electric trailer brake wire. When you step on the brake pedal, the brake controller sends a signal to the electric brakes on the trailer. They are not hydraulic brakes, so there are no brake lines going to the trailer brakes.
Electric brakes use magnets to force the brake shoes into the brake drum, which results in braking action. Hydraulic brakes use hydraulic fluid to force the brake shoes into the brake drum.
Simple electric brake controllers use the brake light to know when you've mashed the brake pedal. Then they delay for a bit and then send electric power to the magnets in the brakes.
There are usually two adjustments on a simple electric brake controller. One adjusts the amount of the delay before the trailer brakes are applied, and the other adjusts the amount of power sent to the magnets. At full power, the magnets are strong enough to lock the brakes, and you don't want locked trailer brakes, so you reduce the power that the magnets see.
On my electric brake controllers, the power adjustment goes from one to 10, with 10 being locked brakes on a heavily loaded trailer and 1 being almost no braking. With my 8,000 pound 5er, I usually had my simple controller set to a power of about 6 out of 10. On my 5,000 pound TT, I usually have the Ford integrated trailer brake controller (ITBC) set to about 5 out of 10.
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10-04-2012, 05:12 PM
#8
Senior Member
Personally, I would junk this ancient tech and get a Prodigy 2 or 3. These use inertial controllers to detect when and how much you're braking. Much better than the time delay. The new built in Ford controller raises the bar even higher, but I doubt that they're available for 1999.
Think of it this way: the towing capacity of your truck assumes that the trailer can stop itself (even if the truck could stop it, the trailer would jack-knife all over). And yet trailer brakes and controllers are soooo primitive compared to your truck's. So get the the best controller you can.
My trailer's only 4000# and the ITBC is set to 10, and it still doesn't lock the trailer brakes. Works well though. Must be different brake systems, single vs dual axles or something ...
Think of it this way: the towing capacity of your truck assumes that the trailer can stop itself (even if the truck could stop it, the trailer would jack-knife all over). And yet trailer brakes and controllers are soooo primitive compared to your truck's. So get the the best controller you can.
My trailer's only 4000# and the ITBC is set to 10, and it still doesn't lock the trailer brakes. Works well though. Must be different brake systems, single vs dual axles or something ...
10-04-2012, 09:59 PM
#9
Personally, I would junk this ancient tech and get a Prodigy 2 or 3. These use inertial controllers to detect when and how much you're braking. Much better than the time delay. The new built in Ford controller raises the bar even higher, but I doubt that they're available for 1999.
Think of it this way: the towing capacity of your truck assumes that the trailer can stop itself (even if the truck could stop it, the trailer would jack-knife all over). And yet trailer brakes and controllers are soooo primitive compared to your truck's. So get the the best controller you can.
My trailer's only 4000# and the ITBC is set to 10, and it still doesn't lock the trailer brakes. Works well though. Must be different brake systems, single vs dual axles or something ...
Think of it this way: the towing capacity of your truck assumes that the trailer can stop itself (even if the truck could stop it, the trailer would jack-knife all over). And yet trailer brakes and controllers are soooo primitive compared to your truck's. So get the the best controller you can.
My trailer's only 4000# and the ITBC is set to 10, and it still doesn't lock the trailer brakes. Works well though. Must be different brake systems, single vs dual axles or something ...
10-04-2012, 11:37 PM
#10
Senior Member
Sometimes I wish the old technology was still available. For months the trailer brakes on my 08 Super Duty would sometimes not work. Had the Ford BC. The dealer could not find the problem. They measured brake output voltage which was low at the 7 way. Later found out the computer adjusts voltage based on deceleration so applying brakes while not moving wont prove anything. After sailing through a snowy red light because of no trailer brakes I finally found the fuse on my trl battery charging line was intermittent and when open the Ford system wouldn't give trailer brakes. Have really smoked the brakes on my 12 F150 because a defective magnet on the trailer didnt give voltage to the other 3 brakes. Brake fade happens very quick pulling 10k.
That's how I discovered a few months ago that one of my trailer's grease seals had broken and sprayed grease all over the inside of the brake drum. The drum wasn't as hot as the other when I checked it.
This stuff would never happen with the truck brakes, or if it did you'd know about it right away.
And yes the Ford IBC uses your speed (and other info from the truck's sensors) to determine how much voltage to send to the trailer brakes. If you're standing still the voltage sent will be a lot less than at speed. It does make problems more difficult to diagnose, but it sure makes for smooth operation.
One way to see if all your trailer brakes are working is to check the current on the brake wire instead of the voltage. But guess you'd have to do it at the same speed each time with Ford's IBC.
If the fuse blew on the trailer battery's charge line, the IBC decides not to work the trailer brakes? At least it should tell us: "Trailer disconnected" or something? If I get a chance in the next few days, I'll see what happens. I hope they've fixed that problem in the new versions.
