Trailer Brake Control Function

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2018 Ford F-550 Super Duty, 2018 Ford F-450 Super Duty, 2018 Ford F-350 Super Duty, and 2018 Ford F-250 Super Duty. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

The gain buttons set the TBM for specific towing conditions such as trailer load, vehicle load, road conditions and weather. The gain is normally set to provide maximum trailer braking while maintaining trailer stability. For information on setting the trailer brake gain, refer to the Owner's Literature.

The article slider switch on the TBM activates the trailer brakes independently from the vehicle brakes. The manual slider is used in conjunction with the gain buttons during initial adjustment and setup of the trailer brakes. When the manual slider switch is activated with a trailer connected to the vehicle, the trailer stoplamps and the vehicle stoplamps illuminate. Activating the manual slider switch without a trailer connected to the vehicle illuminates the vehicle stoplamps.

Once the driver sets the desired gain, the TBM monitors the CAN messages from the PCM, ABS module, BCM and IPC as well as the manual slider switch input to determine if trailer braking is necessary. If trailer braking is necessary, the TBM sends a PWM signal to the trailer to activate the trailer brakes.