Community Forums

Len Dave · 03-09-2020, 12:14 PM

I have a 2016 F-150. Last summer (2019) for the first time I started getting the "trailer disconnect" warning when towing my Coleman Niagara Camper. Lights on the trailer stayed on and the trailer/truck connections appeared solid. Eventually the warning stopped. I will soon be towing a trailer that weighs almost twice as much. First, I need to know will my trailer brakes be working (at their optimal levels) if I get this warning again (and my connection appears solid)? Second, if you have had this message appearing my error what have you done to resolve this problem? Thanks in advance for reading the above and responding - Len Dave

Funengineer · 03-09-2020, 02:23 PM

Hi Len Dave
Not exactly the same screen but on my 2017 F-150 I will occasionally get a screen that says Hood Unlatched while driving and it goes away as quickly as it appears. [emoji2373]
I realize that safety is a major concern for you. I hope someone can help you out. Did you try googling this issue?

ttavasc · 03-09-2020, 03:29 PM

I had a similar issue with my '19 F-250 when I first got it. It seems that the various wire bundle connectors under the rear of the truck were susceptible to moisture and other contaminants. After opening all those up and applying a dose of dielectric grease the problem disappeared and I haven't seen it since.

camper8251 · 03-09-2020, 03:41 PM

I would agree with the wiring part....
Check your wiring, personally I would be a little nervous as its not seeing the trailer so it may not see brake controller...

You might try posting this in a different forum like Towing probably get better answers.

tuffr2 · 03-09-2020, 05:01 PM

I am a Ford truck owner and have seen this same message. I think I saw it only 3 or 4 times for a few seconds then it cleared itself up. Never saw it again.

powerboatr · 03-09-2020, 05:30 PM

its almost always a LOSS or loose ground connection associated with the trailer or its plug at the 7 pin connector or the 4 flat connector.

then look at the ground on the truck near the 7/4 plug.

my hauler trailer will do it if it sits for a long period, . most of the time its the trailer plug .

Len Dave · 03-09-2020, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerboatr

its almost always a LOSS or loose ground connection associated with the trailer or its plug at the 7 pin connector or the 4 flat connector.

then look at the ground on the truck near the 7/4 plug.

my hauler trailer will do it if it sits for a long period, . most of the time its the trailer plug .

Thanks for your response. Did your trailer brakes no longer work when you got that message?

DanFromGC · 03-09-2020, 07:50 PM

I had the same issue when moving from a 2013 to a 2015 f150. It was an issue with ground wiring on the trailer. NO issues at all with the 2013 but the 15 could not drive a mile without errors that the trailer was disconnected. Took it to a local repair shop and they started pulling on the wires and quickly found they were loose and not well connected. One wire was just hanging. They fixed it in under and hour and no problems after that.

powerboatr · 03-09-2020, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Len Dave

Thanks for your response. Did your trailer brakes no longer work when you got that message?

no, not as i would like.

Len Dave · 03-09-2020, 10:27 PM

This is the reason for my question. I couldn't tell with my pop up camper. I did a test yesterday with the trailer break connected and with it disconnected. After 3 trials with connection and 3 trials without there was only at best 6-8 feet difference (and not always) . I am not sure if that was due to a variance in how much foot pressure I put on the pedal or a true difference. What I want to know is, if you have had this problem when you have towed. Did the breaks work? I don't want to find out the answer to this question when I am pulling 7,200 pounds down a mountain (weight of my new trailer). I pull a 2000 pound boat trailer without trailer breaks and the performance is not that much different than the breaks with my current pop up camper that weighs 3,200 pounds. So again, please let me know what your experience is if you have had the trailer disconnect warning when pulling a trailer. As you can imagine, I am anxious to know. Thanks again.

Len Dave · 03-09-2020, 10:30 PM

Sorry for the mis spell on "brakes". Time for me to go to bed. I should add that in my test yesterday I was going 32 mph for each trial. Thanks again.

DanFromGC · 03-11-2020, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Len Dave

Sorry for the mis spell on "brakes". Time for me to go to bed. I should add that in my test yesterday I was going 32 mph for each trial. Thanks again.

My experience was that the brakes DID still work and all the lights on the trailer still worked. But every few minutes the dash would ding and tell me the trailer was disconnected. It clearly was not but the F150 could not sense that it was there due to the ground issues. But pressing the brake or sliding the manual controller for the trailer brakes worked the entire time. Definitely do your own testing as your situation may be different.

Wrktfsh · 03-11-2020, 06:45 AM

A quick test......run a separate ground wire from the truck frame to trailer

YC1 · 03-11-2020, 07:50 AM

https://ezconnector.com/

Anyone try these? You can get a direct plug and play end for the truck side. This might eliminated some issues. Just curious.