Roadmaster Invisibrake problems

[TexasEd]

All these technical suggestions are wasted on a non mechanic.
I would Point everyone back to the original post: This unit was installed BY ROADMASTER TECHNICIANS
When it failed the support line admitted the product was faulty. “We thought we had a fix”
For this and other reasons we’ve sold our RV along with the piece of crap Invisibrake.

I can’t believe they’re still selling them!

[Sbrownstein]

Originally Posted by TexasEd

All these technical suggestions are wasted on a non mechanic.
I would Point everyone back to the original post: This unit was installed BY ROADMASTER TECHNICIANS
When it failed the support line admitted the product was faulty. “We thought we had a fix”
For this and other reasons we’ve sold our RV along with the piece of crap Invisibrake.

I can’t believe they’re still selling them!

Well, I did a lot of research before buying one and installing it. I am sure your opinion won't change but I find it to be a solid device and it works well for me. BTW, guess I was a beneficiary since I bought one used off a forum.

[CWSWine]

Originally Posted by Sbrownstein

The TOAD lights will come on as they are wired from the Coach and mimic what the coach brake lights do. Invisibrake is separate.

My was activated by the coach tail lights so what separate source are you using to activate you Invisbrake.

[Sbrownstein]

Originally Posted by CWSWine

My was activated by the coach tail lights so what separate source are you using to activate you Invisbrake.

You can use an alternate way to trigger the Invisibrake. There is a socket under the dash of the coach that is designed to accept a brake controller for a towed trailer. The socket has 12 V, Ground, brake pedal signal to activate the aftermarket brake controller and a blue wire that goes to the 7 way connector on the coach to normally operate the trailer electric brakes.

Unlike your Jake Brake, the stoplight signal in this bundle only fires when the pedal is actually depressed as it comes off the pedal switch.

You can route the red pedal signal to the blue wire in the bundle and the resulting signal will appear on pin 2 of the 7 way. This is routed to the TOAD using either the brake pin or charge pin on the 6 way and connects to BOTH the left and right brake light inputs to the Invisibrake. This way the Invisibrake will only fire when the coach pedal is actually depressed.

The only complication is that if you have a charge in to the TOAD and a "brake" indicating LED in the coach...you will run out of wires for the LED and will be required to run the brake confirmation signal from the TOAD to the coach using an auxiliary wire. Most installations use the blue electric brake wire to activate the coach brake LED indicator.

I use the same method in my Buick Enclave to route its pedal signal from its 7 way back up to the 6 way on the front and up to the Coach to run my "pedal depressed" LED via the blue electric brake wire.

More complicated to write than actually do.

Schematics and pinouts attached.

[CWSWine]

I still have the Invisibrake in box and getting ready to setup a Rubicon and you got my hopes up. Called RVI and set them you post and they said that will not work. Blue wire you reference puts out between 3 and 12 volts depend on the settings on the trailer controller and the amount of brake pressure applied and the Invisibrake is looking for 12 volts plus or minus 1 volt. Less than that it will not activate.

[Sbrownstein]

Originally Posted by CWSWine

I still have the Invisibrake in box and getting ready to setup a Rubicon and you got my hopes up. Called RVI and set them you post and they said that will not work. Blue wire you reference puts out between 3 and 12 volts depend on the settings on the trailer controller and the amount of brake pressure applied and the Invisibrake is looking for 12 volts plus or minus 1 volt. Less than that it will not activate.

That whole scheme is wired WITHOUT a brake controller in the coach!!!! You attach the red wire (pedal signal 12 volts when depressed) to the blue wire in the coach and the blue wire on the TOAD goes to the Invisibrake. Without a brake controller all you will get is 0 volts when the pedal is up and 12 volts when the pedal is down. It is the brake controller, which you do not use, that outputs a variable voltage between 0 and 12 volts.

They didn't understand the idea. It will work!

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by Mule Skinner

I know this thread goes back several years.
I had Camping World install invisabrake on my 2018 Jeep GC yesterday. They showed me how to adjust the air pressure for braking but have not tried it yet. They still tmy mh for other maintenance.
I did notice the brake peddle in the Jeep seems firm, or ?. I think the unit is tapped into the vacuum brake booster? (I haven’t looked at it yet).
I have a bulb kit from Blue Ox, sounds like that’s a good way to go? I will need to check to see if theres a diode in the charge line that was added.
Also, the comments from roadmaster about shorting in the plug socket on the toad was across the floor of the socket where the pins protrude, not voltage jumping from pin to pin. I was a little confused by that at first.
I do have a question for those of you that had the brakes lock up, if I understand the way the system works it will only brake as hard as you set it too.
50 psi. Vs 80 psi. Setting? Is this correct?

InvsiBrake does not get tapped into the vacuum booster. If you look at the brake pedal there is a cable attached that goes back to the controller under the seat. That cable is run under your carpet and trim.

You are correct on the setting for brake pressure.

The problem I had with my InvisiBrake installation on our 2019 Grand Cherokee was the. installer connected all wires at the 6 pin connector on the front of the jeep. This caused an intermittent short which blew the 7 pin fuses on the motorhome. My RoadMaster rep came to the house, determined what the problem was and then rewired the light harness and the wiring for the InvisiBrake.

As a note, our original installation was done by Camping World and they refused to. look at it when it blew the moron home fuses. That is how the RoadMaster regional rep got involved. Also, periodically check the bolts that attach the cable to the brake pedal. My installer over torqued the bolts and they both snapped about a week after installation. Luckily we were not in tow at the time.

Did you have a brake monitor installed as well?

[Sbrownstein]

Originally Posted by CWSWine

Called RVI and set them you post and they said that will not work. Blue wire you reference puts out between 3 and 12 volts depend on the settings on the trailer controller and the amount of brake pressure applied and the Invisibrake is looking for 12 volts plus or minus 1 volt. Less than that it will not activate.

Let me be more clear. You take the Red pedal signal from the brake controller connector (not the brake controller) and jump it to the blue wire in the connector which goes back to the 7 way and then to the Toad and then to BOTH invisibrake sense lines. The pedal signal is zero volts with the pedal up...and 12 volts with the pedal depressed. As a result, the Invisibrake sees either 0 or 12 volts. 0 when up and 12 when depressed. That is exactly what it is looking for.

[Sbrownstein]

Originally Posted by EA37TS;5121455[B

InvisiBrake does not get tapped into the vacuum booster.[/B]

Oh yes it does. The Invisibrake has an internal vacuum pump that tees into the vacuum line at the master cylinder. They even supply 2 separate check valves to go between the tee and the TOAD vacuum source.

The vacuum pump in the Invisibrake only runs when the pedal is depressed, but trust me it does run and it does give yo vacuum assist on the TOAD. Not as much as running the engine does but vacuum nonetheless.

[ChateauNomad]

After reading what seems to be a water encroachment issue, I pulled the diodes out of the taillight compartment on my 2001 Jeep Wrangler, and removed the electrical tape I had wrapped them with. I reapplied dielectric grease (Ox Guard) to the diode connectors. I then used "Liquid Tape" to seal the connectors. I basically "doped" the connectors in it. I have used this before, and it is indeed waterproof - but NOT for immersion. But you can soak it pretty well and it holds up. Messy... but effective. This stuff should also prevent the connectors from pulling out of the diodes...

I just finished installing the Blue Ox baseplate (using Blue Ox tow bar), Invisibrake, taillight package with diodes, and relay (to disable signal from Jeep's brake switch when plugged in). The whole install took me FIVE DAYS, busted knuckles and a LOT of YouTube video referencing! Tested it out in a huge vacant parking lot yesterday, and all is magically working as intended!

[ChateauNomad]

Originally Posted by Sbrownstein

Let me be more clear. You take the Red pedal signal from the brake controller connector (not the brake controller) and jump it to the blue wire in the connector which goes back to the 7 way and then to the Toad and then to BOTH invisibrake sense lines. The pedal signal is zero volts with the pedal up...and 12 volts with the pedal depressed. As a result, the Invisibrake sees either 0 or 12 volts. 0 when up and 12 when depressed. That is exactly what it is looking for.

I second that. Our Thor Chateau is pre-wired for a brake controller.
The "pre-wired bundle" runs from the 7-way connector at the rear of the motorhome to a female connector under the motorhome dash - I found ours under the middle of the dash (not easy) by popping out the dash trim panels.
I could see the blue wire on the back of the 7-way motorhome connector in the wire bundle, and also in the bundle running into the connector I found under the dash. I did a continuity test to confirm I had the correct blue wire. This blue wire is essentially "dead" (no current).
In the toad, I ran a jumper wire from the brake pedal switch (per the instructions) to the 6-way connector on the front of the toad. I then wired this jumper wire to the 6-way contact corresponding to the "blue wire contact" in the 7-way female motorhome connector.
Under the motorhome dash, I spliced the red LED/buzzer (hot) wires to the blue wire in the brake controller bundle, and connected the other LED/buzzer wires to ground. When the toad brake pedal is depressed by the Invisibrake, current is sent directly from the toad brake pedal switch to the LED/buzzer. I didn't measure the voltage, but I assume it's 12 volts.
The buzzer is supposed to activate in case this voltage is held high for a predetermined time (30 sec.?), which would indicate the toad brake pedal is stuck, blocked with something, etc.
So far in testing, all is working correctly - but still need to test the buzzer function before a trip out on the road.