2014 XLT 5.0 supercrew.

Around two months or so ago my truck started giving me Trailer Disconnected notifications while driving with nothing attached. Sometimes I’d go almost a whole week without a notification then sometimes the truck could barely go 5 seconds without it bringing up the notification. First thing I did was go to the rear connectors and cleaned everything along with using dielectric grease when reinstalling the connectors but the problem still persisted. However shortly after this I noticed that the trailer gain would pop up on the menu very briefly. This was very rare compared to the Trailer Disconnected notifications as I only noticed the trailer gain menu pop up maybe three times since all this started. This led me to look at the Trailer Brake Controller. About 2 weeks ago I pulled the fuse out for the Controller and while I get the Trailer Brake Controller Fault message when I first start the truck I haven’t got a Trailer Disconnected notification since.

Thinking of trying to take my Trailer Brake Controller apart to check the internals hoping maybe a wire just needs to be re soldered but will more than likely have to replace the Controller.

Is Dorman a good brand or are the Trailer Brake Controllers picky like other parts on these trucks where I need to stick with OEM? Also is there a history of these going bad? If these aren’t really known for going bad I wouldn’t mind taking a gamble on a used OEM one.

 

IIRC the OE ford one has been discontinued for some time now. I would look for one from a salvage yard before I go dorman.


The TBCs weren't really failure prone from what i remember

 

Thanks. This is the info I was looking for. If these OEM ones aren’t prone to failure then I don’t mind getting a used one out of a wrecked truck.

 

I bought one from a salvage yard that after making the necessary changes with forscan the truck recognizes it is there, but pushing the gain buttons and actually the slider don't do anything. Seems to be junk.