Let me preface this by stating up front that I'm new to trailers with brakes. No past experience what-so-ever.
I ordered a P3 from PPL (on sale) a couple of weeks ago as I've aquired a '73 Argosy 22'.
As I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to auto electric systems, I also purchased a plug and play harness for my '99 1500 with tow package.
Well I plugged, but no play. According to the instructions for the P3 the screen should light up if the installation is successful. Black as midnight at the dark of the moon.
Three possibilities as I see it: Bad connection at the fuse panel (don't think so, took it out and replugged 4 times), bad harness (doubful, but possible), DOA controller.
Anyone else had a problem with P3s?
I'm open to suggestions not involving multimeters (I don't own one) before I ship this controller back to Tekonsha?
I wouldn't spend the postage to send it back until you know if you have 12 volts going into the harness. It might be as simple as a missing or blown fuse.
Find someone with a multimeter.
__________________
There's a fine line between a hobby and a mental illness.
As Mark said above, check it for voltage. If this is the first time you've installed a brake controller, you might need to install something in your fuse block under the hood to get power to the plug. Others might be more help with this. Good luck!
Hi, some people found that GM installed a dummy fuse, in the fuse panel, that was needed for the charge wire to operate their disk brake system. The problem may-very-well be in your GM truck.
If all else fails, and you have determined that you DO have 12VDC going into the controller, then it's time to call the Tekonsha tech support line. They are very good a what they do and will probably talk you thru the installation.
I've had my P3 for not quite a year and it has performed flawlessly. Just yesterday before coming home from the hunting camp, I pulled the brake disconnect to lube it and plug it back in. The P3 let me know immediately that something was wrong with that connection.
__________________ Craig
AIR #0078
'01 2500hd ext. cab, 8.1 litre gas, 5 sp. Allison auto
3.73 rear end
Mag-Hytec rear diff cover
Amsoil Dual by-pass oil filtration system
Amsoil synthetics all around
265 watt AM Solar, Inc. system
Wow. The Prodigy manual specifically warns you to never pull the breakaway with the trailer plugged into the TV or you could smoke the Prodigy.
Glad they fixed that problem with the P3.
mike
I read that in the manual but the breakaway switch was pulled out only momentarily to see what the P3 would say. I can't believe that if the trailer broke away from the vehicle that the P3 would burn itself up. If it did, it would be a POS product.
__________________ Craig
AIR #0078
'01 2500hd ext. cab, 8.1 litre gas, 5 sp. Allison auto
3.73 rear end
Mag-Hytec rear diff cover
Amsoil Dual by-pass oil filtration system
Amsoil synthetics all around
265 watt AM Solar, Inc. system
Craig -- can't say I disagree with you. But that was the Achilles heel of the Prodigy. Somewhere I thought I'd read that the P3 might be better in this regard. But please carry on! Give it the full Timex "Takes a licking" treatment and report back here...
If the trailer has unhorsed to the point the breakaway has pulled then the pigtail should have pulled as well (with my luck taking the male portion on the truck with it...) and the controller isolated.
Not a test I would like to conduct. Knock on wood.
If my Prodigy ever dies, I'll certainly stay with the brand and buy a P3.
Craig -- can't say I disagree with you. But that was the Achilles heel of the Prodigy. Somewhere I thought I'd read that the P3 might be better in this regard. But please carry on! Give it the full Timex "Takes a licking" treatment and report back here...
So far not a problem to report. The initial darkening of the LCD screen during really hot weather when I first installed it last year has not reappeared but then we had a few 100+ days last summer. I believe I'll use your suggestion and name my controller "Timex". Hope you don't mind me borrowing your idea.
__________________ Craig
AIR #0078
'01 2500hd ext. cab, 8.1 litre gas, 5 sp. Allison auto
3.73 rear end
Mag-Hytec rear diff cover
Amsoil Dual by-pass oil filtration system
Amsoil synthetics all around
265 watt AM Solar, Inc. system
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Hi, some people found that GM installed a dummy fuse, in the fuse panel, that was needed for the charge wire to operate their disk brake system. The problem may-very-well be in your GM truck.
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