Adjusting Tekonsha P3

[jtraf]

Well I finished off the install of my anderson plug and new controller into the Patrol as the maiden voyage for the Trackabout is this coming Saturday......

Anyway I hooked up the trailer and dialed the P3 to a steady 10V output and went for a drive.......Seemed fine after doing a few laps of the block.  Then got back home and drove the Patrol and trailer onto the grass slope at the back to see how a down hill slope on wet grass would effect the trialer brakes....Anyway the brakes locked up on anything but 4v and under.........so ok 4v for offroad....

Then thought what the heck another trip round the block and as soon as I drove onto the street and pressed the brake pedal the trailer locked up both wheels.......adjusted voltage down again.......was trying to get it to the point where I could feel the brakes slights but the trailer was not pulling back on the car.

What voltage do others run with there P3 controllers and is this behavior that I have mentioned common?  Never had an electrally braked trailer and not sure how it should act and how to adjust correctly.

Will be loading the car up with 3 kids and the wife for a 2 hour drive on the weekend and want to ensure that there are no issues........

[goingdh]

As a guess, since its a new trailer, the brakes are only just bedding in.  A few hard stops  with out locking up should have them working at full strength, then set your voltage. If i'm wrong I'm sure someone more knowledgable than me (bound to be on here) will correct me quick smart.
Voltage would depend on the weight of the trailer and grip (as you have found out),I've got mine on about 10v for a 1100kg trailer.

[Moto Mech]

Have you "set" the angle for the control unit?
I had never heard about doing this till the other day, a recent post on this site.Apparently you need to mount your controller where its going to be fitted, then cut the voltage to it for 30 seconds so the unit will "adjust" to the angle its set at.
I havent tried it yet with ours but at times had trouble with low braking power then all of a sudden its got lock up power without adjusting anything

[fabulous]

We have ours set at 9, being a heavy trailer, and heavy car it works well, but the harder you brake, the stronger they come on.

Yes, once the controller is in the desired location, unplug and reset.

Very happy with our unit.

[blackstump]

Have you "set" the angle for the control unit?
I had never heard about doing this till the other day, a recent post on this site.Apparently you need to mount your controller where its going to be fitted, then cut the voltage to it for 30 seconds so the unit will "adjust" to the angle its set at.
I havent tried it yet with ours but at times had trouble with low braking power then all of a sudden its got lock up power without adjusting anything

Interesting..will give it a try as I have never done it.

I run my one at 6.5 with no boost sometimes a bit higher or a bit less depending on the road. The trailer is around 1100kg all up.
Once the brakes have bedded in, keep them adjusted up. Some keep cranking the power up to get the brakes working, when all thats needed is some adjustment.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[kiva]

Ours is set to about 5.5 for a (perhaps) 900kg loaded camper. The 5.5 is a starting point. I'll take the car and camper up to maybe 40km/h then use the lever on the P3 to brake the trailer without touching the vehicle brakes. The voltage is then adjusted until the trailer brakes can be felt to take effect without being too jarring. I'll do this each time we leave home and it is normally complete by the time we leave our street.

[jtraf]

Thanks for the replies will try the power off for the system reset even though the unit was in place prior to being powered on the first time......can't hurt....

Our trailer is not new but is new to us  so bedding the brakes in should be well and truely done by now.....

Will start off with low volts and work my way up till I can feel the trailer pull then back off a couple volts and see how that goes......

From what I saw yesterday whenever the Patrol was on a down hill section it always went full power at the touch of the brakes?

Is there any limit on the mounting of the unit other than being level side to side? I have mine mounted at about a 50deg angle just under the cluster of my GQ Patrol and don't know where else to put it that will make it more level but not get in the way?

[Laith]

Check this thread out.

http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=9447.0

Mine has been powered down plenty of times since being installed. Still plays up from time to time. It did get much better after leveling it out a bit more.

[sadie]

Yep, mine was powered down, too, and still played up. Mounting it so it sits flat/horizontal has fixed it. All good now.