Trailer Brake Aftermarket Unit Install on 2018 and 2023 Ram 3500 Is Programming Required

[Tulecreeper]

Are you talking about 'surge' brakes? Those don't even need a controller as they're hydraulically controlled on the trailer. If he's needing a brake controller of any kind, then he's got electric or electric over hydraulic, in either case the controller HAS to have a signal that the brakes have been applied. Thus in one way or another it's getting a signal that the brake pedal has been pushed.

There's no such thing as an 'inertia' brake controller that doesn't require an input from the brake pedal in some way that I've ever seen, and I've been around trailer brakes and controllers my entire life.

No, surge brakes are completely mechanical. An 'inertia' brake controller has an accelerometer interior to the unit that senses momentum. When you step on the brake, the accelerometer senses that forward motion is slowing and closes a switch that sends a signal to the brakes to start closing. The harder/faster you slow down, the more voltage it sends and the faster/harder the brakes are applied. I actually miss the old technology.

 

[HarryS]

"Weird, my aftermarket Tekonsha brake controller does not have a CAN connection. Only +12 volts, ground, the brake activation signal, and the power signal going to the 7-way connector. I confirmed the 12 volt brake activation signal was present in the 4 pin factory harness when I apply the brake. No programming was necessary, it was already working from the factory. Then I just bought the cable from Tekonsha to plug in to factory harness. Has been working fine ever since."

I'm not familiar with how the aftermarket trailer brake system hooks up. Does it hook up inline with the 7 wire connector, or somewhere else?

 

[dsherman26]

There were two harnesses under the dash that plug into the integrated brake controller module. One has 4 pins, the other had more, maybe 12 pins. The 4 pin harness is the one the aftermarket brake controllers can use, and that's the one the Tekonsha cable that they sold for a 2021 Ram mated up with. I just probed the 4 pin with my meter to find the brake signal since I wasn't sure if the programming to use the integrated brake controller was also needed to enable the brake activation signal.

 

[RAM-JAX]

I have both a 2018 and a 2023 Ram 3500 Diesel Dually and I want to install Aftermarket "self contained" Trailer Brake Units and Bypass the OEM units. I see where the OEM Control Unit has two connector plugs into it and can disconnect both. I also can then use the OEM 4 Pin connector to connect to the Aftermarket Trailer Brake Controller. Once I do this I can manually engage the Aftermarket Trailer Brake Controller with my hand and the trailer brakes work just fine. However....If I try and use the truck's brake pedal to engage the Aftermarket Trailer Brake Controller it doesn't work. On the 2023 truck the dash is always showing Trailer Brake Disconnected light whether I have a trailer hooked up or not. Is there some reprogramming I have to do to the truck to use an Aftermarket Trailer Brake Controller????

Yes, both the OEM and the RAM controllers will need programming to integrate with the Ram's dash and breaking system. For this reason I opted for the RAM controller, works great!