Integrated Trailer Brake Controller

[DriveAbout]

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I ordered a 2008 with the built in brake controller. After placing the order I discovered that I have a compatability problem. One of my trailers has an electric/hydraulic disk brake system. I have found out that the GM controller will not work with this type of system. No one seems to know why or how GM has disabled the controller when an electric/hydraulic system is connected. I suspect that the low current draw is not sufficient to make the controller think a trailer is connected.

The trailer's brake system manufacturer, Acti-brake, advises against connecting a trailer brake magnet due to possible damage from the back EMF generated by the collapsing magnetic field.

Anyone have an idea how I can fool the system into working with the integrated brake controller so that I can run some tests with the trailer's brake system?

[cowboywildbill]

Don't quote me, but if you check again with the trailer brake manufacter they might be able to tell you how to make it work. I have a friend that has a 4500 chevy towing a very large LQ Horse trailer with electric over hydraulic disk brakes. The brakes only worked when he was backing up. He doesn't have the intergrated controller. The trailer dealer rewired the plug on the truck or the trailer and used some type of resistor and it worked after that. He said that they had to add one of the other pins , maybe the back up pin into the trailer brake mix, but make it hot all of the time? If I understood him correctly his system needed a hot wire to the system mounted on the trailer's brakes in addition to the blue trailer brake wire, but not wired together with the blue wire. I'm guessing it has it's own contoller/computer on the trailer in addition to the brake controller in the truck. Just a thought. I wouldn,t wire it up until I was sure though. Or if no sucess there, maybe a secondary brake controller and seperate plug on the truck for that system. Let us know what you find out.

[DriveAbout]

Don't quote me, but if you check again with the trailer brake manufacter they might be able to tell you how to make it work. .... I wouldn,t wire it up until I was sure though. Or if no sucess there, maybe a secondary brake controller and seperate plug on the truck for that system.

The trailer brake manufacturer was no help. They had no information on GM's methods. And I am sure that GM's engineers would not risk their jobs to spill the beans on how and why they made the integrated brake controller unresponsive to a electro-hydraulic brake system.

I have a third party controller that is installed in my 2006 that works just fine with the trailer. And I have the instructions (Document ID# 2009316) to install it but would rather use the builtin controller.

I have tried to find out the designer/manufacturer of GM's system but so far I have been unsuccessful. Anyone here know who designed the system for GM?

[NutNbutGMC]

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I ordered a 2008 with the built in brake controller. After placing the order I discovered that I have a compatability problem. One of my trailers has an electric/hydraulic disk brake system. I have found out that the GM controller will not work with this type of system. No one seems to know why or how GM has disabled the controller when an electric/hydraulic system is connected. I suspect that the low current draw is not sufficient to make the controller think a trailer is connected.

The trailer's brake system manufacturer, Acti-brake, advises against connecting a trailer brake magnet due to possible damage from the back EMF generated by the collapsing magnetic field.

Anyone have an idea how I can fool the system into working with the integrated brake controller so that I can run some tests with the trailer's brake system?Try here with a phone call. They have a lot of good stuff for integration components on these new fangled trucks. They had all of my needs for every stereo and wheel control integration / adaptor device that I needed. It's worth a shot and maybe they can put you on a lead with an associate company.

http://www.peripheralelectronics.com/

I do realize these links are for audio components but these guys see it all. Just food for thought.

www.auto-d.com also has a few tips from time to time.

[cowboywildbill]

There is an outside chance that maybe it will work if you haven't tried it yet.
If it is under warranty and it fails, GM might fix it?