GM service trailer brake system.

[uhftx]

This should be an NHTSA alert. And subject to a massive recall. I receive this message even when not towing. No rain or snow Just driving without the trailer. In the event of an accident and this message comes on while towing who is responsible. Defective factory equipment or the person who purchased the Truck? What would insurance say after a very long stopping distance and the driver was not at fault. The truck was or the brake controller.
Obviously by posting this I know They system is faulty. And my liability is now a factor. But this needs to be addressed.
Whom do I contact. And what do I need to do next. Many youtube videos and forum posts about this issue.
The only one I can find with reasonable advice is this Bullitin.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...73714-9999.pdf

[AZ Traveler]

Chris,

Are you saying your car dealer has been no help trying to fix the issue? Is an aftermarket brake controller an option? Trading your TV is another option but can be expensive.

You are responsible if it causes an accident but that is why we keep insurance.

I would focus on getting it fixed vice worrying about insurance. Insurance would have to pay even if you were drunk and driving way over the speed limit after an accident.

[DutchmenSport]

Last fall when in Wisconsin on our way to Upper Michigan, I received the check-trailer-brake message on my DIC (3500 dually Chevy Silverado). No matter what I tried, the trailer had no brakes and I could not clear the message, towing or not towing.

I was in a pickle, too far to turn around and return home. It was weekend, absolute new territory I'd never been too, and in a metropolitan area. We had no choice but to keep traveling.

I posted about this after the event on these forums and all I got was criticism from continuing with the journey with no trailer brakes. So, I don't need a repeat of that criticism. If you were not in my shoes, does criticize for what you thought should have been done. You weren't there.

Anyway, now I've got that blown off my chest. ... We made it safely to our destination in Upper Michigan, driving much slower, much more careful, and with a lot more patients. I had lost trailer brakes before (because I forgot to plug in the pig tail), and had also practiced towing the trailer with the pig tail deliberately unplugged to understand how my entire rig would operate in the event of trailer brake failure. This was the advantage of having a dually. There were a couple moments of skidding the truck tires trying to stop, but for all the rest, the truck performed great. I'm sure I lost some depth in those brake pads though.

Meanwhile, we did reach our destination where I could finally try to figure out what was going on. Actually, I never did figure it out on my own. We were parked for a week, so had time to track down a GM / Chevy repair shop that could get me in, and handle the truck. It took a little research and patients, but we weren't towing right then anyway.

Finally, got the truck into the shop. And an hour and a half later we were heading back to the campground. It turned out to be the relay between the brake controller and the 7 pin plug. They replaced it and I've never had issues again.

So, here's my word of advise. If you can .... hitch up your trailer, take it to a more isolated back-country road and pull the unbiblical cord for the trailer. At very slow speeds and with no obstructions in the road, try the brakes and see what it actually takes to stop the truck AND trailer with no trailer brakes. Then repeat at a SLIGHTLY higher speed. When you get up to about 30 mph, you'll have a good feel and be prepared what to expect if you have brake failure at 60 mph (you have twice the distance or more to get stopped).

This is a good exercise to go through and one that is JUST as important as taking your first camper to an empty parking lot and practice backing up.

I've lost trailer brakes at one time or another on every one of my travel trailers (3 of them) and the Monte (twice now). When it happens, you have no opportunity to learn. You need to know ahead of time what to expect out of your tow vehicle, how it will handle, and always be prepared, EVERY time you push the brake peddle. EVERY time you push the brake peddle, assume there are no trailer brakes. For your own safe driving, this is the ONLY way to tow a trailer.

[Montana Man]

Try entering your vin on the NHTSA site to look for recalls and service bulletins.

[432bartman]

Why don't you just take your truck to the dealership or call them and see if your particular vehicle has an active TSB (Technical Service Bulletin). Problem solved.

[steiny93]

Is the complaint because a message appeared on the dash stating an issue with the TV's braking system?

If so, take it to the dealer for it to be fixed.

Regarding who is responsible for the accident, as always, that's the person behind the wheel.

Regarding insurance, as always they pay for accidents and stupid but not deceit.

[laverdur]

The fact that this fault occurred even when not towing points to the TV. Just to share my experience, several years ago my TV started intermittent reporting of trailer disconnected (it wasn't) and trailer brake failure. I had my TV iin the shop several times to address this and they came up blank every time. Turns out that my TV sends a health and status signal to the trailer every 5 seconds over the line from the TBC to the brake magnets. An intermittent short circuit in the trailer brake wiring will result in this kind of behavior by the TV. After checking everything several times and finding no problem, I remembered an old article in Trailer Life Magazine about chaffed brake wires inside the trailer axle shorting to the inside of the axle tube. After a day of towing and not knowing if I was going to have trailer brakes or not for every stop, I decided i was not moving again until I bypassed the wires in the axle tubes. I went to NAPA and bought a couple spools of wire, some crimp connectors and some zip ties, disconnected the factory wires and ran new ones on the outside of the axle. Voila!!! Problem solved. When I got home from that trip I pulled the wires out of the axles and found chaffing through the insulation to the copper in multiple places. The problem was intermittent because the wires were free to bounce around in the axle tubes. What first steered me in this direction was noticing that the fault messages always seemed to occur when on bumpy terrain or after hitting a bad bridge transition. Until I got this fixed i was worried about liability in case of an accident and adjusted my driving accordingly.

[FoxFamily91]

Sounds like sane issue we had, we found out the GM brake controller is not compatible with hydraulic brakes (if that is what you have). We thought it was the truck, then the trailer and finally figured it out. We added an aftermarket hydraulic brake controller and it works perfectly

[Irv]

We have had brake control module (BCM) issues on our 2013 GMC 3500HD as well. Towing Montana 3730 FL with the Morryde IS & disc brake upgrades. Went to five GMC dealerships. Had Morryde techs involved. One GM tech suggesting the GMC electric over hydraulic was not compatible with Morryde! Another GM tech suggesting the trailer was causing the BCM to fail. Current status, we replaced two BCMs at two different GMC dealerships! Last dealership tech suggesting both BCM‘s were bad.

[mhs4771]

Been there, done that. With a pre 2017 GM you have to add an adapter off the Blue Brake control line to fake out the GM controller into thinking it's talking to standard electric brakes. Several companies sell the adapter, or you can make your own by getting several brake magnets from a salvage yard and wiring them between the Blue wire and ground. GM sends a digital signal down the brake control line looking for the low resistance of the magnets, until it sees that resistance it won't send any voltage to operate the brakes.