The IBC is connected and ready to go from the factory. You do have to connect the 12V trailer power plug and (wire is between the fuse box and the fender - connect it to the right stud in front of the fuse box (you'll have to supply the nut and the fuse), if you are going to use another controller, you have to connect that lead as well. Visit dieselplace.com for instructions.
DavesWife,
I suggest you do a little more testing. Find a quiet road, get your truck and trailer to 25mph, and use the manual IBC control lever to stop the rig. If everything stops quickly and smoothly then it is set correctly. Chances are it won't so be prepared to hit the little plus button until it does. If you lockup the trailer brakes at any point, move it back down.
Once you've done all that, get the rig up to 45 or 50 and try a quick (not panic) stop. Everything should stop straight, the trailer should not be pulling or pushing the truck, and no brakes should be locked.
As to your 5000 RPMS - did you have it tow/haul? I noticed that you don't have a diesel and I wasn't sure if the tow/haul feature works the same as the Allison transmission does (which would downshift as you brake - but RPMS would not be that high).
Carriage Cameo 33CKQ | 08 GMC 3500HD CC LB Duramax Dually | Sam the Cat and the Labs | Best wife going
luvlabs wrote: First off, don"t believe anything your dealer told you on what the proper setting is on the GM IBC. The only way to set it correctly (and read you manual on this) is to take it out of the road and do a series of test stops. I'd get it up to about 25 mph and use push the manual lever all the way to its stop and see how the whole rig stops. Start at 3.5 and keep going up until the trailer can stop the whole rig without locking up the trailer brakes (probably won't be able to do that no matter how high you go with a heavy trailer). The slider does not control the voltage - you have to hit the + / - buttons to do that.
My best guess is you are going to end up around 7 or 7.5 as your setting but each trailer varies so much that it is hard to make a general rule. BTW, once you have it where you want it, take up to speed and then do a quick stop (not a panic stop). The whole rig should stop as a unit.
If I remember right according to the prodigy manual, it says to get up to 25-30 mph and hit the manual lever just as described here and keep turning and trying it until you get your trailer brakes to lock up. That will give you a place to start at. Adjust them after that to your likings.
On the Tekonsha not only can you just them with the knob but also by what degree its mounted. I remember once I bumped it with my knee and had to reset the whole thing
I suggest you do a little more testing. Find a quiet road, get your truck and trailer to 25mph, and use the manual IBC control lever to stop the rig. If everything stops quickly and smoothly then it is set correctly. Chances are it won't so be prepared to hit the little plus button until it does. If you lockup the trailer brakes at any point, move it back down.
Once you've done all that, get the rig up to 45 or 50 and try a quick (not panic) stop. Everything should stop straight, the trailer should not be pulling or pushing the truck, and no brakes should be locked.
As to your 5000 RPMS - did you have it tow/haul? I noticed that you don't have a diesel and I wasn't sure if the tow/haul feature works the same as the Allison transmission does (which would downshift as you brake - but RPMS would not be that high).
Thanks for the input and advice, we'll do that before our next trip. Like I said it only happened twice, and this was our third trip, this last one we towed for nearly 1,000 miles. We do have it in tow/haul mode. Once, he braked lightly, realized he had time to coast to a stop, and took his foot off the brake but I think the controller kicked in anyway and that caused it to rev. The other time we had to break quicker than we normally do, the light turned red rather suddenly...usually we're pretty cautious and drive at conservative speeds with adequate distances.
This is all so new to us to I appreciate the advice.
The IBC is connected and ready to go from the factory. You do have to connect the 12V trailer power plug and (wire is between the fuse box and the fender - connect it to the right stud in front of the fuse box (you'll have to supply the nut and the fuse), if you are going to use another controller, you have to connect that lead as well. Visit dieselplace.com for instructions.
DavesWife,
I suggest you do a little more testing. Find a quiet road, get your truck and trailer to 25mph, and use the manual IBC control lever to stop the rig. If everything stops quickly and smoothly then it is set correctly. Chances are it won't so be prepared to hit the little plus button until it does. If you lockup the trailer brakes at any point, move it back down.
Once you've done all that, get the rig up to 45 or 50 and try a quick (not panic) stop. Everything should stop straight, the trailer should not be pulling or pushing the truck, and no brakes should be locked.
As to your 5000 RPMS - did you have it tow/haul? I noticed that you don't have a diesel and I wasn't sure if the tow/haul feature works the same as the Allison transmission does (which would downshift as you brake - but RPMS would not be that high).
Thanks very much.
I now get it. took me some research but I got out a tester and tested my leads in the connector. need to connect that wire by the fuse box and get a 40 fuse and a nut and I should be in buisness.
Malibooty,
I have been following your replys to this thread and am a bit confused. When you say "You do have to connect the 12V trailer power plug and (wire is between the fuse box and the fender - connect it to the right stud in front of the fuse box (you'll have to supply the nut and the fuse)" are you saying that when the trailer dealer installs the trailer wiring they should make this connection? If you have power to the trailer lights would this mean the connection has been made?
ccm14 wrote: Malibooty,
I have been following your replys to this thread and am a bit confused. When you say "You do have to connect the 12V trailer power plug and (wire is between the fuse box and the fender - connect it to the right stud in front of the fuse box (you'll have to supply the nut and the fuse)" are you saying that when the trailer dealer installs the trailer wiring they should make this connection? If you have power to the trailer lights would this mean the connection has been made?
Thanks
What is going on here is that the brake controller is working properly from the mfg. what is missing is the 12v power to charge the battery in your trailer. this needs to be connected by the owner (if wanted) and to do it you must connected the supplied wire by the fuse box and insert a 40 amp fuse plus get a M6 nut.
ccm14, that wire is to supply 12vdc to trailer for battery charging and power. Independent of the brake issue. If is not connected then the trailer battery(ies) will not be getting a trickle charge while driving. GM and Chevy have had it that way for years (don't know why, two of my chev trucks 1996, 2000). As for the brake issue, as stated before a couple of test runs will tell if it's working. Starting by just getting the rig to roll, apply the brake manually you should feel the trailer pull you back. increase the setting until you feel it pull you fairly hard. No need to high speed stops until you are sure it's working. Increase speed only when you are sure the brakes are coming on. Like said before most likely the setting will be about 6.5 to 7.5 based on a scale of 0-12.
I had always wondered this too. We used to tow a 26 foot travel trailer with our 07 Tundra. It stopped the trailer, but I could never tell if the brakes were working. We now switched to a fiver and I had the brake box transferred to my GMC 3/4 ton truck. The difference is I took a buddies advice and had it installed by a guy that he said knew what he was doing. Well, I can sure tell now that the brakes are working and I'm able to move up and down until I found a comfortable spot to set them and leave them. You will know if they are working if you set them high and brake, unless your camper is really heavy.
I had the simular problem with my Prodigy BC. When I bought my 5er and 2500HD D/A last year, the dealer set up the Brake Controller at whatever setting was suggested by the mfg. I took posession of the rig and when I pulled out, I noticed that I didn't feel that slight tug of the 5er like I used to feel with my previous TT. I asked the dealer and he said that was normal because the Prodigy is more accurate than the controller I had on my old trailer. We took a trip up to Spokane,Wa from So. Cal and put in about 4k miles. I never did feel the trailer tug. I know if you use the slide control it should stop the trailer manually, but it never did. I went back to the dealer and asked about this and they looked into it. Checked all the connections etc. All we fine. When he moved the rig in reverse and stopped, the 5er would stop abruptly, but no so when he went forward. Anyway, he checked out the brakes of the trailer and found that they were never adjusted correctly, so I was really running without Trailer brakes. They adjusted them and the system works really nice now. I feel the trailer stopping and when I use the slide control it stops just fine. Since the 5er is an Ultra lite weight from Forest river and I have the 2500HD truck, I guess it just didn't push too hard when stopping. Anyway, that's my story.
good luck and happing camping
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