So, here is the story. We have a 2017 RP-179 HRE. Our TV is a 2017 Ram 1500 pickup equipped with a built-in trailer brake controller from the factory. Everything worked great until our last trip. We hooked up the trailer as usual and checked the trailer brakes before departing and all was well. We stopped at a rest area about 70 miles down the road. As I reentered the Interstate, I noticed a message on the dash display stating the trailer was disconnected. I stopped at the next safe place and found all physical connections were good, trailer lights worked properly, but the trailer brake controller would not sense the presence of the trailer. After fooling around for about 20 minutes connecting and disconnecting the cable to the trailer and turning the vehicle on and off the trailer brake controller indicated that the trailer was connected. The trailer brakes worked properly. All was well until we stopped again and turned off the vehicle. When we restarted, the dash display again indicated that the trailer was disconnected. We repeated the cable connect/disconnect procedure until the display indicated the trailer was connected.
Without turning off the vehicle again we proceeded to a branch of the dealership that sold us the trailer. The service manager was quite helpful. He placed a tester on the trailer connection and confirmed that the trailer brakes and lights worked properly. He connected my TV to another trailer on the lot and the trailer brake connection worked properly. He then connected my R-Pod to his personal vehicle and his trailer brake controller worked properly. So everything works OK except my TV and RP-179 won't work with each other.
Since it was almost close of business, we made an appointment to return after the weekend and have further troubleshooting accomplished on the way home.
On Monday morning we hitched up the R-Pod. The trailer brake controller worked perfectly. I tried everything I could think of to make the connection fail, but after about 15 tries shutting the vehicle off, disconnecting and reconnecting the cable connection I could not recreate the problem. Considering that it would be tough for the dealer to troubleshoot a working system, we decided to proceed home and I cancelled the appointment. Everything worked well until we stopped for gas. When we restarted, you guessed it, the "trailer disconnected" message appeared again. Nothing we tried could convince my TV that a trailer was connected. Since we were very close to home, we moved on. Just as I pulled into my driveway, the message "trailer connected" appeared.
So, today I took my TV to the Ram dealership. The service manager said that no codes showed in the computer. They hooked their special tester to the system and drove around for about 17 miles without a problem. They tried everthing to make the system fail, but could not. I drove my TV back to our house and connected my R-Pod..."trailer disconnected!" The next trip will be to my RV dealer to have the trailer electrics gone through.
Additional info...during the first week of March, we had the wheel bearings packed and seals replaced. Since the old seals were leaking, the dealer replaced both backing plates. I am wondering if there is some difference with the trailer brake magnets or backing plate wiring that might cause my TV to no longer recognize my trailer. Any of you experienced RV honchos have experience with this?