This may be geared more toward GM owners, but may involve other makes as well. I recently installed a Tekonsha P3 in my 08 Sierra. It turns on when the key is turned on, as it should, but sometimes it turns on when the door is locked or unlocked. Has anyone had this happen? Do you remove the controller when not in use? Thanks
Mike & Emily D
2008 GMC Sierra 1500 Z71 CC
2013 Keystone Summerland 2820
I have a P2 in my Nissan, so this may not relate at all, but maybe it will help you trouble shoot: mine comes "on" with the first application of the brake pedal. In other words, just turning the key on and starting the engine does not energize the controller.
gmw photos wrote: I have a P2 in my Nissan, so this may not relate at all, but maybe it will help you trouble shoot: mine comes "on" with the first application of the brake pedal. In other words, just turning the key on and starting the engine does not energize the controller.
And thats how it should work in any TV you install it in. When connecting 12volts to the P3 it should be a constant 12volts and not a switched 12volts. The P3 or P2 will go into a sleep mode when not being used but as soon as you step on the brake peddle or connect your trailer up it will wake up. And this will happen even without the key in your TV turned on. It sounds like you might be connected to a switched 12volts and not a constant 12volts. Easy to check if you have a volt meter or 12 volt test light.
I have a P3 in my 08 chevy Avalanche and my P3 does not come on with the door locks being triggered.
My P3 only comes on if I touch the brake pedal or plug in the trailer.
Papa Bob
1* DW "Granny"
1* 2008 Brookside by Sunnybrook 32'
1* 2002 F250 Super Duty 7.3L PSD
Husky 16K hitch, Tekonsha P3,
Firestone Ride Rite Air Springs, Trailair Equa-Flex, Champion C46540
"A bad day camping is better than a good day at work!"
tvman44 wrote: My P3 only comes on if I touch the brake pedal or plug in the trailer.
Ditto
-Ben Picture of my rig
1996 GMC SLT Suburban 3/4 ton K3500/7.4L/4:1/+150Kmiles orig owner...
1980 Chevy Silverado C10/long bed/"BUILT" 5.7L/3:73/1 ton helper springs/+329Kmiles, bought it from dad...
1998 Mazda B2500 (1/2 ton) pickup, 2nd owner...
Praise Dyno Brake equiped and all have "nose bleed" braking!
Previous trucks/offroaders: 40's Jeep restored in mid 60's / 69 DuneBuggy (approx +1K lb: VW pan/200hpCorvair: eng, cam, dual carb'w velocity stacks'n 18" runners, 4spd transaxle) made myself from ground up / 1970 Toyota FJ40 / 1973 K5 Blazer (2dr Tahoe, 1 ton axles front/rear, +255K miles when sold it)...
Sold the boat (looking for another): Trophy with twin 150's...
51 cylinders in household, what's yours?...
mikenem wrote: This may be geared more toward GM owners, but may involve other makes as well. I recently installed a Tekonsha P3 in my 08 Sierra. It turns on when the key is turned on, as it should, but sometimes it turns on when the door is locked or unlocked. Has anyone had this happen? Do you remove the controller when not in use? Thanks
The controller senses when the brake pedal is depressed by the voltage on the brake lighting circuit. It's this voltage that "tells" the controller to function. If the brake lights flash when you lock or unlock the truck with the remote, then it's sensing that voltage and thus it wakes up. Assuming that it's not wired into a switched circuit, then it is working as intended.
I don't remove mine when not towing. It uses so little energy that it's not worth the effort to remove it. It's designed to sit in idle mode when the trailer isn't connected.
I haven't checked to see if mine wakes up like this or not, but will tonight!
2004 Toyota Tundra SR5 (V8, 4WD, TP, TRD)
2005 Fleetwod Allegance with axle flip
Honeywell 2000i Generator
Me, DW, DS, DD, Dog & Camping Kitty
mikenem wrote: This may be geared more toward GM owners, but may involve other makes as well. I recently installed a Tekonsha P3 in my 08 Sierra. It turns on when the key is turned on, as it should, but sometimes it turns on when the door is locked or unlocked. Has anyone had this happen? Do you remove the controller when not in use? Thanks
The controller senses when the brake pedal is depressed by the voltage on the brake lighting circuit. It's this voltage that "tells" the controller to function. If the brake lights flash when you lock or unlock the truck with the remote, then it's sensing that voltage and thus it wakes up. Assuming that it's not wired into a switched circuit, then it is working as intended.
I don't remove mine when not towing. It uses so little energy that it's not worth the effort to remove it. It's designed to sit in idle mode when the trailer isn't connected.
I haven't checked to see if mine wakes up like this or not, but will tonight!
Not sure about the 08 GM but my 05 2500 HD does not wake up my P3 when the lights flash when locking the truck remotely. My 05 GM has two circuits for tail lights and brake lights. One for the truck and a separate circuit for the trailer. Prevents shorts in trailer wiring from affecting the truck system.
Mike,
How did you wire your P3? Did you use the plug and play Tekonsha harness, or did you hard wire it? If you went plug and play, I don't understand why you would get the symptoms you describe.
You can only hard wire on the 08 Sierra...GM's brilliant idea of saving money by not adding a little plastic harness. Its wired correctly and there are no wires touching each other. I must say, it doesn't happen everytime the truck is unlocked, and just to check, I unlocked the truck with the key and stepped on the brake without the truck on and it did not wake up. Usually it only turns on when the key is turned, but for some reason the remote seems to trigger it.
It sure sounds like it's connected to a switched 12V supply instead of constant. My P3 acts the same as everybody else has described; it doesn't wake up until you hit the brake or plug in the trailer.
If yours doesn't wake up when you hit the brake unless the key is on, it's on a switched ckt.
2000 Ram 2500 SLT/Laramie 24V CTD 2WD QCSB PacBrake, Smarty
2011 Colorado 320BS-FW 36'
EZ Flex + wet bolt
Curt E5 with R5 slider, Prodigy P3
Air Lift 5000's, Load Controller II
Offline
