Hey everyone, new to the forum and first time owner of an F-150. Love the truck so far and have always been a proud Ford owner (2009 Flex, 2015 Flex and 2013 Fusion). I ran into an issue last night hauling our camper for the first time. Took it out to adjust the weight distribution hitch and after having it all hooked up I jumped into the dash menu to create a new trailer. Got that all setup and set the brake controller to 5.0. I proceeded to test them by hitting the manual override, but a "trailer disconnected" error would pop-up on screen. Also, when setting the brake gain, it shows the number i have it at, but shows "no trailer". I can hear the brakes working and the Sync system even shows the trailer being present when I am in reverse. It just doesn't seem to show up on the driver dash display as being connected. My wife sat in the driver's seat while i disconnected and then re-connected the wiring harness and in the manual it states that we should receive a connected notice on the display. But nothing happens. I have done some reading and found other posts with somewhat similar problems. Unfortunately I am no longer under warranty, so trying to find the best and least expensive solution. My options are to either (a) take it in and get it fixed at my local Ford dealership; (b) setup my Tekonsha 90250 Prodigy RF Electronic Brake Control i used on my previous Flex that is still hooked to our camper that I could use; or (c) fix myself with some help from this forum. Anyhow, I was hoping the experts here could assist and guiding me on the right route. Thanks for taking the time to read my lengthy post.

 

What year is your truck? I'd start with the simple stuff, make sure all the connections at the back of the truck and the trailer side are clean. They often get corroded.

 

Thanks for the reply. Forgot that important detail. It is a 2016 F-150 XLT. I checked all the connections and there is no corrosion on the terminal or connector.

 

But what about the junction between the "bumper pigtail" and the harness that runs from the front of the truck back to just above the spare tire....did you check that joint as well?

 

I haven't i will check that this afternoon, thanks for the help.

 

Spray out the truck side and camper side connectors with electrical cleaner.

 

This. Spray out the plugs and also the rear connectors, then lube up liberally with electrical grease. Might need to take a toothbrush to the 7-way. Just a little bit of road debris in there will cause issues seeing the brakes, and if it doesn't see the brakes, it thinks you don't have a trailer attached.

 

i am having this same problem with my 2016 f150. it was working fine last time i towed. suddenly not. my trailer is near new and truck is still under warranty. i will troubleshoot what i can and if no joy it’s going into dealer. i’ll let you know if i get it going and what the solution was.

 

Suddenly not fine with no obvious damage to the wiring is almost always debris on the 7-way. Had this issue last weekend camping, 12V won't charge message after reconnecting the trailer. Pulled and re-inserted the plug several times to clear the debris, will degrease, clean with electrical, and re-grease this week for another 6 months of problem free connections.

 

Just as an update on my issue. Tested a buddies dual axle trailer with my truck after checking both connectors. No corrosion or debris and still had electrical contact grease. His trailer worked fine.

Went back and jumpered the trailer brake lead in the trailer connector and nothing happened. Traced the wiring back and found a broken connection where it enters the axle. Fixed that and we are good again. Only 6000kms on the trailer.