Trailer brake issue

[Steelstring]

After stopping to get fuel while towing my trailer, I got the “check trailer wiring” warning on the dash of my 2016 Ram upon startup. I found that the pin on the emergency brake was pulled out somehow. I reinserted the pin and now the truck doesn’t recognize that there is a trailer attached at all.

There are a few threads in this forum about checking fuses and the possibility of the controller being damaged by the back feed of voltage from the trailer emergency brake system. All fuses are confirmed good with a meter and the trailer brake system is newly installed (but ran just fine for the last 4,400 miles). My questions are these:

1. Is it true that the controller could be damaged by this event? It seems crazy that there isn’t a diode in the system to protect the controller from what is a likely failure mode of the pin coming out.

2. How can I test the controller to confirm?

3. Can I install a replacement controller myself or does it require a dealer programming? Seems that I should be able to just swap in a new controller since the truck is already programmed for it, right?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!!

 

[flan]

Do you have a test light or meter to check all the outputs at your truck mounted 7 way trailer plug?

 

[Steelstring]

Yes. I should have mentioned that I tried a test light and couldn’t get it to light in the brake output pin (5 o’clock position if I remember correctly). But I read that there won’t be output unless the truck is moving. Is that true?

 

[AH64ID]

There can be output when stopped, but the controller has to see some resistance.

I’d your trailer wired with a single blade or dual blade 7-pin plug.

 

[Steelstring]

Looks to be a dual blade plug.

 

[AH64ID]

The dual blade plugs are not the correct ones, swap it out to a single blade and see what happens.

Ram reports intermittent connections with the dual blade style.