OE trailer brake system “trailer not connect”

[sirg2424]

I have a 2016 Ram 2500 Tradesman I just bout used. When I plug my 25’ toy hauler into the OE trailer brake system, its says “trailer not connect”, yet all the lights on the trailer work correctly. I did change out the stock Uconnect stereo to aftermarket so I cant get to the trailer settings which the truck is in “Light Trailer” mode. I can hook to other trailers and don’t get the error message (smaller trailers than a toy hauler). I also have a 2004 Ram 1500 with an aftermarket brake controller, and I know for a fact that the trailer brakes on my 25’ toy hauler works. I also bought a 7 pin plug-in tester and tested my 1500 and also a 2020 Ram 3500 (friends truck) and when u press the brakes or the over ride, the brake controller light on the tester lights up solid. On my 2016 its just pulses and never lights up solid. Could it be that I changed the stereo in the 2016 that is causing the issue? Is there a plug and play aftermarket controller that I can install using the existing plug-in's to the OE controller?

 

[2003F350]

It shouldn't pulse when hooked up to your 2016. Definitely sounds like you've got an electrical issue - could be chafed/broken wires, could be related to your aftermarket stereo, not really sure which. You'd need to get it to a mechanic or a dealer to sort it out if it's beyond your skills.

You wouldn't get the error on smaller trailers that don't have electric brakes, such as a utility trailer or sub-5k flatbed trailer. I believe that warning is specifically tied to the electric braking circuit and makes sure that system is working. If it detects an issue it throws that warning. I got it occasionally on my 7k car hauler flatbed, I have since done some rewiring but still need to replace the lights and fix the ground for one of them, as I don't have a left turn signal on it.

When it comes to these fully integrated trucks, I'd rather stick with the stock head unit (or at the very least replace with a factory unit), SPECIFICALLY because of the way settings are tied to and buried in the head unit instead of the dash.

My old Wagon (a '17) had the trailer settings in the dash, but then again it had the digital dash so more options there than your Tradesman, as well as the 8" screen Uconnect head unit.

 

[04fxdwgi]

Just added the OEM trailer brake to my '16 Sport. Lots of changes (5 if I recall correctly) had to be made to the body computer (added head unit trailer settings menus) to get to work and it now works perfectly with my boat trailer that has electric over hydraulic disc brakes.

Prior to OEM, I was using the Tekonsha Prodigy P3 and it just plugged into the 4 pin connector that the OEM controller uses, using the Tekonsha Ram harness adapter. The P3 actually had more tuning options than the OEM and could be fine tuned better.