Brake lights, brake controller not functioning

[adwriter73]

Trying to figure out where to start to locate the problem, but brakes/brake lights are not functioning. My Prodigy P2 is giving me a "not connected" message, and my TV (a Touareg) is telling me to "check trailer lights). I'm fairly certain the problem does not lie with the controller or the TV as I hooked up to another Airstream and it worked fine. Fuse? Short? I'm baffled.

[azflycaster]

The brake lights are not connected to the brake controller, but connect directly to the wiring of the TV. I would suspect from the multiple symptoms that your connection from the trailer is not wired correctly. The pin assignments are different for various generations of trailers and yours may not be correct for the pin assignments in your TV.

[ROBERT CROSS]

As Richard noted it probably was the Female connector on the AS, what year was the AS you connected too? One of the pins on your trlr connector is the battery charge line take a jumper and test each pin, see if they match the TV.
Trailer Wiring Diagrams | etrailer.com

[Aage]

On our rig, those symptoms were remedied by looking up in the TV's owners manual, finding which fuse position was designated for the trailer equipment, and putting in the fuse that the hitch installer had forgotten.

Voilà, everything worked!

[mojo]

Does your sovereign have led tail lights? If so there may not be enough resistance for the Touareg to recognize them.

[NevadaGeo]

Originally Posted by adwriter73

Trying to figure out where to start to locate the problem, but brakes/brake lights are not functioning. My Prodigy P2 is giving me a "not connected" message, and my TV (a Touareg) is telling me to "check trailer lights). I'm fairly certain the problem does not lie with the controller or the TV as I hooked up to another Airstream and it worked fine. Fuse? Short? I'm baffled.

Simple: They didn't have a Prodigy in 1978. Gotta match up the 1978 umbilical pattern to your new fangled television TV thingy

[adwriter73]

I checked the wiring against the diagrams, and it all matches. I also took my TV to the dealer to see if there was maybe a malfunction with the wiring harness. It all checked out ok. So, I decided to cleaned the connector pins with some WD-40. They were a little dirty, but not much. When I plugged it in, suddenly everything worked...for about 5 min. So, do you think something isn't getting a good connection or something isn't grounded? I'm not quite sure what to do next. Maybe get a new 7-pin cable?

[Brokerchris]

Having the same problem. What was the remedy?

[Bill M.]

On my trailer I had a failure in the connection to the 7 pin plug on the trailer. The connection is by screw terminals between the wire and the plug. It can corrode and if it gets pulled on it can have a wire or so break or come loose. I think a new plug would be a good way to proceed. You can get them at Walmart.

[mojo]

What is your tow vehicle?

[panheaddale]

Bad ground or bad connection with brake circuit in plugin. Nothing other than that. WD40 cleaned it and it may not happen again. NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.

[Brokerchris]

Originally Posted by panheaddale

Bad ground or bad connection with brake circuit in plugin. Nothing other than that. WD40 cleaned it and it may not happen again. NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.

THANKS- Turns out WD40 and duct tape only solves 91% of problems out there- VW hasn't "Enabled" the charging pin on the car for the 7 way adapter so it is more than your issue. So effectively the OEM towing wires only work for lights and nothing more. Brake controller and charging to the trailer do not. So, the Touareg will sit at the dealer tomorrow while they do some rocket science with their ECU programer and make it work.

[Brokerchris]

Originally Posted by mojo

What is your tow vehicle?

2012 Touareg TDI

[panheaddale]

Originally Posted by panheaddale

Bad ground or bad connection with brake circuit in plugin. Nothing other than that. WD40 cleaned it and it may not happen again. NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.

My bad I dind't see the quit working after 5 min. on the OP I would check connections on plug maby replace it and check fuses to make sure any are not blown. If fuse is blown may be a short in connector or trailer.

[mojo]

European vehicles require an adapter so the vehicle can recognize the low amperage of the LED tail lights of trailers. You need one of these...
7-Way to 7-Way LED Trailer Light Adapter for Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen Curt Wiring C57003

[Action]

Know, the original thread is over 2 years old and the thread starter did not post the repair. In the future better results will be had by starting a new thead.

>>>>>>>>>>>>Action

[Brokerchris]

Resolution on my TV- failed control module replaced by VW Dealer.

[Cyquest]

Try electic grease on your connections. Wd40 is great for cleaning not conducting. You can pick it up at local hardware store.

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