My 2011 F150 FX4 has the integrated brake controller in it. As I was pulling my fifth wheel camper this weekend, I noticed that at times the screen would show "Trailer Disconnected" but would change to "Trailer Connected" within 1-2 seconds. This seemed to happen more often at slower speeds (less than 30 mph) while braking. I drove with the lights on and never saw the lights go out or even flicker on the trailer. However at speeds above 30 mph, I never recieved the message and I could tell brakes were being applied on the trailer. I manually applied the brakes to the trailer when the "Trailer Disconnected" message appeared and they grabbed normally.

My thoughts are that since this brake controller senses rate of decceleration and applies output brake accordingly, if you are going slow enough it may not apply any brake output to the trailer and thus give a disconnect message. I believe my controller is working properly, but it gives you an uneasy feeling when that message appears. Anyone have any experience with this or any thoughts?

Thank you!

 

Inspect the truck receptacle and rv plug for corrosion. That isn't normal operation.

 

The receptacle on the truck is brand new and was installed a week before. I will check the RV plug and use some emery cloth in the holes. I will see if this helps. Thank you!

 

I cleaned the receptacle on the trailer and it worked without any "Disconnect" message coming up. Thanks for the info!

 

Thanks for the follow up.