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Issues adding an OEM electric trailer brake controller to a 2024 Lariat ER

PB from Az

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Hello to all,

I'm a life-long Ford guy and brand new to the EV world. I've put 2700 miles on my new Lightning Lariat and I REALLY like this truck. However..... I pull a variety of trailers with my business, several of which have electric brakes. I'm very confused as to why my Lariat trim level truck with 'Tow Tech' package ( Not Max Tow) did not come stock with an electric brake controller. No big deal, I requested the dealership here in Az add an OEM electric brake controller to which they agreed. Of course, the first day I had the truck I wanted to tow the biggest of my trailers, a 14 ft dual axle cargo trailer we use as our main cabinet install rig. I hooked the trailer up, set up and tested the electric brake to ensure it was working properly and off we went. I was absolutely blow away by how well the truck towed. We towed the trailer all day without incident - very happy! The issue I'm having doesn't arise until I unplug the trailer. I disconnect the trailer, put the settings back to 'no active trailer' and back to 'normal' drive mode. For some odd reason, the truck is flashing several errors regarding a ghost trailer that is no longer connected to the truck. To be specific, these are the errors I am getting: 'Trailer left turn lamps fault', 'Trailer right turn lamps fault' and 'Cross traffic alert deactivated/trailer attached'. After 30 min- 3 hrs of driving, the truck will flash 'Trailer disconnected' and everything goes back to normal - no issues. The exact same thing happens every time I hook up ANY trailer, regardless of whether or not the trailer has brakes. At the end of the day, the truck is working as intended. But the extra warnings and alerts are extremely annoying, especially when I'm pulling a trailer 3-4 times a week.

Who has added an OEM electric brake controller to their Lightning?
Have you had any issues? Possibly the same issues?
Can you help me trouble shoot this problem? I'm guessing it's a software code issue and well beyond my abilities.... ugh.

Many thanks, PB
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TaxmanHog

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Heliian

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Likely your trailer connector is dirty and giving false signals.
 

21st Century Truck

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Likely your trailer connector is dirty and giving false signals.
I've had good luck using DeOxIt electric contacts cleaner, including on my trailer connections. It cleans and then seal-protects the metal contacts.

It's available on Amazon.com
 
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PB from Az

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Likely your trailer connector is dirty and giving false signals.
Unfortunately, it's happening with all x4 of my trailers, so I've eliminated the plug as the culprit. Pretty certain it's a software issue with Ford...
 

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Mike G

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Unfortunately, it's happening with all x4 of my trailers, so I've eliminated the plug as the culprit. Pretty certain it's a software issue with Ford...
It is a software issue as I had the exact same issue early on with my trailer. The answer initially was to reconnect the trailer and then go into the menu options and deselect whatever trailer as the current trailer. Then disconnect the plug.

After I did the TRM software update (and likely other updates as well like the IPC) the truck now recognizes when a trailer is connected and disconnected.

So you're saying on your Lariat ER you didn't get the brake gain switch in the dash? Mine came with that.
 
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PB from Az

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It is a software issue as I had the exact same issue early on with my trailer. The answer initially was to reconnect the trailer and then go into the menu options and deselect whatever trailer as the current trailer. Then disconnect the plug.

After I did the TRM software update (and likely other updates as well like the IPC) the truck now recognizes when a trailer is connected and disconnected.

So you're saying on your Lariat ER you didn't get the brake gain switch in the dash? Mine came with that.
Thank you for the info. Yes, the truck came with the 'Tow Tech' but not 'Max Tow' so I didn't get the bigger battery coolers OR the electric brake switch = insane! Ford is saying the truck 'doesn't like' the added equipment and does not appear to have an immediate solution. Very frustrated....
 

Mike G

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Thank you for the info. Yes, the truck came with the 'Tow Tech' but not 'Max Tow' so I didn't get the bigger battery coolers OR the electric brake switch = insane! Ford is saying the truck 'doesn't like' the added equipment and does not appear to have an immediate solution. Very frustrated....
Well again it's a bit odd. I don't have Max Tow, but I do have Tow Tech and I got the gain controller in the dash.

This can't be that hard to fix.

Maybe they need to run a LIN initialization to make sure the addition is recognized on the network and check and update any TRM module software and then run the TRM Config tool to make sure everything is set correctly. That's pretty standard stuff. Saying that your truck doesn't like the added equipment is sort of like saying they don't understand WTF they're doing really, isn't it?
 

21st Century Truck

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Well again it's a bit odd. ... ...Saying that your truck doesn't like the added equipment is sort of like saying they don't understand WTF they're doing really, isn't it?
That's what this sounds like to me as well :-|
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