After wash getting Trailer Connected/Disconnected Alerts

[pastorwug]

I believe this is a know issue covered in
TSB - 2106 and should be covered under warranty


https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=261019&d=1528464018

Thanks for this!
Going on Tuesday to get mine replaced.

 

[teamster]

Sorry for the necro on this thread, but I’m about to lose my mind on this issue as well. I just bought a ‘17 with front and rear ADD Stealth Fighter bumpers and about 7100 miles on the clock.

About 700 miles into the first leg of a 2100 mile trip, I ran into this issue. The prior 400 miles or so had been in heavy rain and snow. I got to the first destination 300 miles later, bought and installed a replacement Trailer Tow Connector, and got back on the road. When installing the replacement, I made sure to fully clean and dry the vehicle side connector, and thoroughly apply dielctric grease before wrapping the seam on the connection with electrical tape for waterproofing. The old connector had plenty of water and corrosion on it, so I believed I had solved the issue.

I made it about 540 miles with intermittent heavy snow and rain into the next leg before the issue returned. At this point I’m thinking there’s possibly something additionally wrong. I pulled the connector and found that yet again, water and mud had infiltrated the connection. Currently it’s sitting in the garage drying out - I plan to clean and dry the connector and pins again and wrap even more thoroughly with electrical tape.

I’m wondering if the ADD Stealth Fighter rear bumper removes some sort of weatherproofing for this connection - one time is a Ford fluke corroborated by a TSB, but a second identical failure makes me suspicious there’s something else at play. If I need to I can try to buy a new connector and reinstall it, but I don’t want to keep throwing money at the problem without figuring out the solution.

 

[teamster]

An update on the

Sorry for the necro on this thread, but I’m about to lose my mind on this issue as well. I just bought a ‘17 with front and rear ADD Stealth Fighter bumpers and about 7100 miles on the clock.

About 700 miles into the first leg of a 2100 mile trip, I ran into this issue. The prior 400 miles or so had been in heavy rain and snow. I got to the first destination 300 miles later, bought and installed a replacement Trailer Tow Connector, and got back on the road. When installing the replacement, I made sure to fully clean and dry the vehicle side connector, and thoroughly apply dielctric grease before wrapping the seam on the connection with electrical tape for waterproofing. The old connector had plenty of water and corrosion on it, so I believed I had solved the issue.

I made it about 540 miles with intermittent heavy snow and rain into the next leg before the issue returned. At this point I’m thinking there’s possibly something additionally wrong. I pulled the connector and found that yet again, water and mud had infiltrated the connection. Currently it’s sitting in the garage drying out - I plan to clean and dry the connector and pins again and wrap even more thoroughly with electrical tape.

I’m wondering if the ADD Stealth Fighter rear bumper removes some sort of weatherproofing for this connection - one time is a Ford fluke corroborated by a TSB, but a second identical failure makes me suspicious there’s something else at play. If I need to I can try to buy a new connector and reinstall it, but I don’t want to keep throwing money at the problem without figuring out the solution.

An update on this:

I had to call the local dealership to get the connector module shipped in - in the intervening time, I left the connector disconnected, and placed it inside a ziploc bag, and ziptied it shut before tucking it up above the spare wheel to stay dry and clean. This stopped the frequent “Trailer Connected/Disconnected” messages, though obviously meant I had no tow connector.

Once the replacement part showed up, I pulled the old one and installed the new one. Before connecting things up, I used an electronics parts cleaner spray to get all the old dielectric grease and grime out of the vehicle side connector. After applying fresh dielectric grease, I plugged it in, and started waterproofing. Started out with two thick, complete coats of liquid electrical tape, letting it fully cure and set between each coat. Then, several strips of electrical tape, wound opposite directions across the entire connector, seam, and module assembly. On top of that tape, another coat of liquid electrical tape to cover all seams and gaps.

So far, it’s held up well - both when towing and without a trailer. Visual inspection shows that the waterproofing is holding up, though it is absolutely caked in grime, filth, and snowmelt. I’m hoping this is the last update I’ll have to provide here, so I hope it’s helpful for anyone else who ran into this issue.

Ultimately, it looks like the issue was caused by ineffective waterproofing on the plug and module, which the TSB did not address on my aftermarket bumper. Adding my own at-home waterproofing seems to be the solution.

 

[teamster]

An update on the

An update on this:

I had to call the local dealership to get the connector module shipped in - in the intervening time, I left the connector disconnected, and placed it inside a ziploc bag, and ziptied it shut before tucking it up above the spare wheel to stay dry and clean. This stopped the frequent “Trailer Connected/Disconnected” messages, though obviously meant I had no tow connector.

Once the replacement part showed up, I pulled the old one and installed the new one. Before connecting things up, I used an electronics parts cleaner spray to get all the old dielectric grease and grime out of the vehicle side connector. After applying fresh dielectric grease, I plugged it in, and started waterproofing. Started out with two thick, complete coats of liquid electrical tape, letting it fully cure and set between each coat. Then, several strips of electrical tape, wound opposite directions across the entire connector, seam, and module assembly. On top of that tape, another coat of liquid electrical tape to cover all seams and gaps.

So far, it’s held up well - both when towing and without a trailer. Visual inspection shows that the waterproofing is holding up, though it is absolutely caked in grime, filth, and snowmelt. I’m hoping this is the last update I’ll have to provide here, so I hope it’s helpful for anyone else who ran into this issue.

Ultimately, it looks like the issue was caused by ineffective waterproofing on the plug and module, which the TSB did not address on my aftermarket bumper. Adding my own at-home waterproofing seems to be the solution.

Yet another update - after about 1100 miles, the issue has returned once again. The phantom trailer returns!

I've got a scheduled service with a dealer later this week, and I'm hoping to talk to a service advisor there. I'm also reaching out to my local 4x4 shop to see if we can fabricate some sort of shield for the connection. Other than that, I'm at a loss how to fix this issue. Maybe it's a wiring issue further upstream?