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Trailer disconnected connected on dash

cmysstailights
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cmysstailights Enthusiast

cmysstailights

Posted
Posted

Bought a trailer in nov. Drove home all the way from pa to ny, 6hrs no issues. Took the trailer out for the first time in may 4 hr trip no issues. Coming home 2.5hrs into trip trailer disconnected on dash came up then said connected. Took to dealer said nothing wrong. Went out again with trailer couple weeks later on another 3hr trip, half way their on and off repeatidly 4 times. Anyone else experience this????
 2015 silveradow high country 2500 6.0
Trailer brand new 2017 forest river vibe travel trailer 38'
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Debra in Cali Enthusiast

Debra in Cali

Posted
Posted

I have had my 5th wheel tell me that my trailer was not connected when we first plug it in, but after cycling the key we can usually get it to acknowledge that it is there. Sometimes we have to wiggle it and then it will "find" it.  One way to tell if it really knows that the trailer is connected is to hit your trailer brake mechanism to see if the trailer brakes respond. If they don't then you have a real problem.  That is a problem that I don't want to have going down the road towing a 5th wheel. 

 

For the record, the engine brakes on these trucks are an amazing feature. I have been on downhill runs for 20-30 miles where I only had to touch the brakes around 10 times to slow her down and that was only because I sped up through a straightaway. Whoever invented that is a genius.  It is fun when men are drooling over my truck at our campsite. 

  • Like 1
crankman Enthusiast

crankman

Posted
Posted

O yea I fought that message for a long time. Changed trailer end to Pollack brand still did it. Almost a year later I finally found what caused my message the cord on my Big Tex is heavy gauge with thick insulation and it would over time during my trip pull down just enough to trigger the same message you have and then clear as fast. I put a cord strain relief on the trailer cord and then a snap ring to attach to my bumper and its never done it again. I have another trailer which only has the 4 wire flat cable and it never trips the message using it cause it has no weight to pull down during the road trip. 

cmysstailights Enthusiast

cmysstailights

Posted
  • Author
Posted
O yea I fought that message for a long time. Changed trailer end to Pollack brand still did it. Almost a year later I finally found what caused my message the cord on my Big Tex is heavy gauge with thick insulation and it would over time during my trip pull down just enough to trigger the same message you have and then clear as fast. I put a cord strain relief on the trailer cord and then a snap ring to attach to my bumper and its never done it again. I have another trailer which only has the 4 wire flat cable and it never trips the message using it cause it has no weight to pull down during the road trip. 
Thats what i am thinking. I just closed the pins tighter on the cord. See if that works. Have to find a way to make the cord not pull on it.

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2017HD Enthusiast

2017HD

Posted
Posted

The TBC in the truck is quite sensitive and it checks for resistance in the trailer brake lines - if it is too high it thinks the brakes are not connected and therefore the trailer. Which is why cleaning the contacts on both the truck and trailer helps. It could also mean that the wiring harness in your trailer is bad - or the brakes are bad.

cmysstailights Enthusiast

cmysstailights

Posted
  • Author
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The TBC in the truck is quite sensitive and it checks for resistance in the trailer brake lines - if it is too high it thinks the brakes are not connected and therefore the trailer. Which is why cleaning the contacts on both the truck and trailer helps. It could also mean that the wiring harness in your trailer is bad - or the brakes are bad.
Im gonna take a look. Trailer is brand new, doesnt necessarily mean cord cant be bad. When brought her home from dealership 6hrs away had no issues till i took her out for the 1st time couple months later.

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pogrelis97 Enthusiast

pogrelis97

Posted
Posted

spray some wd-40 in your plug to clean the contacts. I had to change one of my trailer plugs to a pollak but the rest work fine.

  • Like 1
  • 5 weeks later...
EBABlacknChrome Enthusiast

EBABlacknChrome

Posted
Posted

I know I am a bit late but have had this problem in my 16 ltz and just final solved that problem in june of this year. All the stuff mentioned just wasted my time over the last couple years casing that message on the dash!! Though it was my new trailer for the longest time but it also did it with my dump trailer to. Problem seemed to be the worse on rainy days but wasn't limted to wet days. Turned out to be my factory 7/4 way combo and some module. The final straw for me was an 1-1/2 of it dinning back an fourth down the highway from my in-laws place to home! What the OP has stated only got worse with my truck. Fortunately I have a great relationship with my local dealership and they know I pull my work trailer almost daily. Not saying you don't possibly have something simple going on, just my experience with one of the newer platform problems. Never really had any problems with my 2011 2500 hd. Good luck

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GTBensley Enthusiast

GTBensley

Posted
Posted

Mine is constantly showing the message when I pull my dump trailer. If I get out and wiggle the plug sometimes it goes away and sometime it takes a couple tries to fix it. If I am pulling my car trailer I never seem to have any issues and the connection seems a lot more firm. 

 

Might try switching pig tails on the trailer to see if that fixes it. 

crankman Enthusiast

crankman

Posted
Posted

Its one of those things I wish GM would have left alone. I can pull the same trailer everyday with my 2008 1500 and never had a problem, but my 2015 is more sensitive as 2017HD  posted. I know there is nothing wrong with the trailer but I still had to deal with the message popping up up on my DIC. That trailer plug has to be in there snug and not move around or it will throw the message.

  • Like 1
paauto Enthusiast

paauto

Posted
Posted

Might want to try some dielectric grease on the pins to keep corrosion off.

  • 5 weeks later...
jprlsa New Member

jprlsa

Posted
Posted (edited)

Struggled with this constantly on my previous 2016 Chevy 2500 HD.  Dealer was great at trying to solve the problem and tried everything listed above.  Was worse in rain as stated before.  Wound up taking trailer to a trailer shop and discovered my "new" trailer needed a dedicated ground.  Never had the problem again. 

Edited by jprlsa
cmysstailights Enthusiast

cmysstailights

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  • Author
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Struggled with this constantly on my previous 2016 Chevy 2500 HD.  Dealer was great at trying to solve the problem and tried everything listed above.  Was worse in rain as stated before.  Wound up taking trailer to a trailer shop and discovered my "new" trailer needed a dedicated ground.  Never had the problem again. 
Was winterizing the camper and noticed that the camper battery terminals were loose. Wondering if that would cause the issue.

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