Disconnecting P2 Brake Controller - Page 2 - Fiberglass RV
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Old 12-08-2014, 06:10 PM   #21
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When you are not connected, it should show nc first and then show just one or two dots. If it shows "p", it could be some code and you should look for that in the manual. When the car is "asleep", it should also go to sleep.

The latch for the connector is not as easy to deal with as was suggested. Look at the Teconsha pictures on their web page again. The latch in on the connector and can only be activated after you get your fingers, or a thin tool, to the top of it, where the holder ribs are visible. It is hard to describe, but as I said earlier, you could get it done with a tool made of a 12 gauge steel wire or some piece of thin sheet metal. Tricky, but doable.
According to the manual there's no "P" listed, but there is a P.L. which indicates a loss of power while braking. That's not saying there's no non-published error codes.
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Old 12-08-2014, 06:12 PM   #22
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The latch for the connector is not as easy to deal with as was suggested. Look at the Teconsha pictures on their web page again. The latch in on the connector and can only be activated after you get your fingers, or a thin tool, to the top of it, where the holder ribs are visible. It is hard to describe, but as I said earlier, you could get it done with a tool made of a 12 gauge steel wire or some piece of thin sheet metal. Tricky, but doable.
I tried with a thin screw driver, but no luck.
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Old 12-08-2014, 06:13 PM   #23
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According to the manual there's no "P" listed, but there is a P.L. which indicates a loss of power while braking. That's not saying there's no non-published error codes.
It was my mistake. It doesn't display P, but nc.
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Old 12-08-2014, 08:25 PM   #24
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I tried with a thin screw driver, but no luck.
You probably need something of a hook to get to the connector tab. I hope you find enough slack in the wires, though.
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Old 12-08-2014, 08:53 PM   #25
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The light comes on before that. When I start the vehicle and trailer is connected, it displays C. If not connected, I think it displays p.
The red dot lights also come on my controller as soon as I hit the unlock button on my truck and stay on until the truck is locked up again and totally goes back to full sleep. It was the same with my old Subaru.
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Old 12-08-2014, 08:58 PM   #26
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There are neat little sets of 4 hook tools available at most auto parts stores. I have 3 or 4 of them. Only about 4" long, fairly cheap, really handy. At least one set I bought at NAPA
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Old 12-08-2014, 09:14 PM   #27
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The red dot lights also come on my controller as soon as I hit the unlock button on my truck and stay on until the truck is locked up again and totally goes back to full sleep. It was the same with my old Subaru.
You say lights ( plural ).
If we are talking Prodigy P2, I think two lights indicates Boost is turned on. I'd go out to the trailer to get the manual and confirm, but as you know we're in a driving rain storm.
Anyway, I believe the manual says not to use Boost with a trailer as light as ours are.
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Old 12-08-2014, 10:06 PM   #28
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You say lights ( plural ).
If we are talking Prodigy P2, I think two lights indicates Boost is turned on. I'd go out to the trailer to get the manual and confirm, but as you know we're in a driving rain storm.
Anyway, I believe the manual says not to use Boost with a trailer as light as ours are.
Your correct. I don't actually use the booster so only have one red light that comes on. Simple referred to the red dot lights in plural as it had been mentioned earlier that there possible two red dot lights.
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Old 12-08-2014, 11:23 PM   #29
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The red dot lights also come on my controller as soon as I hit the unlock button on my truck and stay on until the truck is locked up again and totally goes back to full sleep. It was the same with my old Subaru.
Interesting, something is wired differently than in Dakota and was in my Blazer. Mine doesn't come on until I press the brake pedal. When freeway driving and I don't tough the brakes for a while it goes off. (bake to sleep). I went out and checked that it was off until bake pedal push today and again with had a meeting to go to tonight.
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Old 12-09-2014, 07:23 AM   #30
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There are neat little sets of 4 hook tools available at most auto parts stores. I have 3 or 4 of them. Only about 4" long, fairly cheap, really handy. At least one set I bought at NAPA
My first instinct is to make before buy. It's all about ROI. (Return On Investment.) After years of collecting dust, I tend to forget what those funny looking things were for...
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Old 12-09-2014, 11:00 AM   #31
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Interesting, something is wired differently than in Dakota and was in my Blazer. Mine doesn't come on until I press the brake pedal. When freeway driving and I don't tough the brakes for a while it goes off. (bake to sleep). I went out and checked that it was off until bake pedal push today and again with had a meeting to go to tonight.
Byron, you got me thinking so I just went out and checked again and I am mistaken, the Frontier does behave a little different than the Subaru in regards to what wakes up the controller and what does not.

Not sure if any of this will actually help the OP with their problem or not but it seems to indicate there may be subtle differences between vehicles as to how the controller wakes up & behaves on waking up.

I can't say for sure as to why the difference in behaviour but The Frontier came with a factory installed tow package - a simple plug and play set up. The Subaru needed the brake controller wiring run from scratch as it only came with the trailers running lights prewired at the factory. Funny enough its the Frontier that the display on the controller does not respond as the manual for the controller suggest it should when the controller first wakes up & no trailer attached & I put my foot on the brake.

The Subaru controller wakes up (small red dot light comes on) as soon as the alarm system is deactivated & an interior light comes on with that. If no trailer connected it goes back to sleep after a short time. The first time you put your foot on the brake the controller will read NC and then shortly after change to just the small dot light again and then eventually fall back to sleep again if no trailer attached. When I connect the trailer the reading on the controller will change to a "C" and then change to the numbers when I put the brakes on.

On the Frontier the brake controller does not wake up until the truck is actually running and I put my foot on the brake for the first time. But when it wakes up only the dot lights come on, no "NC" reading as the controllers manual says it should. It also goes back to sleep if no trailer attached. It does read NC if I pull the manual knob on the the controller though. The controller behaves the same as on the Subaru once the trailer is connected - first the "C" reading which changes to the numbers once the brake is pressed.

I have not had an unusal battery run down issue with either vehicle.

Here is the Tekonsha PDF manual for the controller which gives more details on how it should be wired and responding.
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Old 12-09-2014, 11:22 AM   #32
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My first instinct is to make before buy. It's all about ROI. (Return On Investment.) After years of collecting dust, I tend to forget what those funny looking things were for...
Here you go Paul, make a set of these. But I certainly do understand the ROI. As a long time truck mechanic, now retired, I have tools I never used and never will, but some of these little odd things can come in handy when you need them at that moment. Obviously I haven't used this set yet, but have a couple other sets that have been used. I also have home made tools that were needed for special applications.
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Old 12-09-2014, 12:18 PM   #33
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You can get a set of pick tools like that at Harbor Freight for practically nothing.
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Old 12-09-2014, 12:20 PM   #34
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I've had battery problems on my Silverado for years so after reading this discussion, I went out and disconnected the controller.
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Old 12-09-2014, 12:23 PM   #35
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The Frontier:
I had to order the parts for our 2012 Frontier and it consisted of relays that are behind the right front kick panel and a pigtail that is under the back bed by the tail gate. So I suspect, the relays will not be energized unless the key is on.
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Old 12-09-2014, 04:12 PM   #36
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Here you go Paul, make a set of these. But I certainly do understand the ROI. As a long time truck mechanic, now retired, I have tools I never used and never will, but some of these little odd things can come in handy when you need them at that moment. Obviously I haven't used this set yet, but have a couple other sets that have been used. I also have home made tools that were needed for special applications.
I must be cheap, cheap, cheap! The investment in buying tools includes my time and gas money for the trip to the store. But on a slightly more serious note, you know how satisfying it is to find a way to do the almost impossible with a clever tool that took a minute to make. I am a mechanical engineer and I cursed the car designers so many times over the years! I think some of the '70s and '80s designs were the pits.
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Old 12-09-2014, 05:26 PM   #37
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I cursed the truck designers all the time. And yes I've made those tools that made a job simpler and easier. Maybe we should have patented those ideas. For us New Englanders it's called Yankee Ingenuity when we create stuff.
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Old 12-09-2014, 07:06 PM   #38
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The Vehicle engineers should have to work as a mechanic for a minimum of a year B 4 they get to design anything on a vehicle. Getting oil filters on/off, changing spark plugs and some of the other things home mechanics work on.
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Old 12-10-2014, 10:33 AM   #39
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Fixed.

Two separate problems.

I had a trailer wiring guy run the power cable from the 7 way connector to the battery. It looks like he didn't tighten quite enough on the battery side. The wire connector was loose. I tightened it and vehicle started right up. I guess the cold caused just enough contraction that in the summer it was good enough, but with temperatures in 30's and 40's it wasn't.

I took the panel off so I could get to the wiring for the brake controller. There was plenty of slack, so I can now easily remove the controller if I need to. Now I just need to get the darn panel back on!
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