looking for help on Trailer Brake Controller problem

LukeDowning · August 10, 2017

I am new to the forums here. came hoping to find some help. the Brake Controller is a Reese Pilot controller

I have a 2008 1500 Z71 with towing package. a few days ago I bought a brand new trailer to haul my car back and forth to the race track.

the trailer has 1 braking axle on it. I have never had a trailer with Elect brakes so a controller has never been hooked up in the truck.

I got a controller and hooked it up the other day with the under dash harness as follows.

Truck-----controller

blue blue

red black

white white

blue/wt red

found the controller power wire still taped up to the harness next to the fuse box. put that on the pass side positive post (left if your looking right at it from the front) that is on the front of the underhood fuse box. 30 amp fuse was in the fise box

found the 12v trailer supply taped to the harness under the brake booster. hooked it up to the other positive post on front of the fuse box( right if your looking right at it from the front) added in a 40Amp fuse for this one since it was out in the fuse panel

the controller has power and it is showing that the trailer is connected to the truck. if I manually push the gain on the control box I get numbers readout for voltage.....here is where the problem starts...if I push the brake pedal I get nothing. no voltage at all when pedal is pushed.

thought it might be a bad brake switch, I had to replace one when I bought the truck used cause the cruise didn't work. so put a brake switch in, still nothing when pedal is pushed.

tried to tie the wire from the brake controller to the wire right out the back of the plug on the brake switch(blue/Wht wire) still nothing.

now im at a loss. the controller works when driving (haven't loaded trailer yet so just empty trailer) when I drive down the road and manually work the gain on the controller slide the brakes on the trailer engage. but that is the only way they work.

does anyone by any chance have any ideas? we are heading to the race track Friday night and would really like the brakes to work correctly.

im almost to the point that im thinking that something is wrong with the truck or the control box itself. but I have no idea at this point