electronic brake controllers

[gofishin]

Hi Brendan,

Below is an excerpt from one site re the different types of controllers (there are three types)...

Time Based Devices
Inertia Activated-Proportional
Accelerometer

The time based brake controller works with your brake switch to activate the trailer brakes at a preset amperage power output. It can be mounted anywhere under the dash where adequate access is provided to the manual override lever. Some versions come with digital display and direct plug in capabilities. All time based devices take approximately 2-3 seconds to reach preset power output and relay this signal to the trailer brakes. This device is best suited for smaller trailers equipped with electric brakes.

The inertia activated brake controller has internal components that function when the tow vehicle slows down. With this style of brake controller a pendulum senses the inertia of the tow vehicle’s deceleration and proportionally applies power to the trailer brakes at the same rate. The pendulum must be adjusted properly in order to read rate of deceleration from the tow vehicle. These brake controllers have to be mounted at a certain attitude to the dash in order to properly read the rate of deceleration. Some models come with digital displays and direct plug in.


Accelerometer brake controllers function similar to Inertia Activated controllers and provide proportional braking from the tow vehicle to the trailer. This design of controller reads the rate of deceleration via a microprocessor and does not include an internal mechanical pendulum device, therefore, requiring no leveling adjustment of the pendulum. This design normally includes a digital display providing power readout and diagnostic information.


I have an accelerometer type (Hayes brand), and it is fantastic. They are obviously not in keeping with the ‘KISS’ principle, but hey electronics are everywhere nowadays, and now I would never go back – they are just so much better. It doesn’t take long to set up the min & max settings, and once you have these sorted out it is basically ‘forget about any more adjustment’, whether it is the burbs or the highway. It doesn’t lock up (with the boat on), nor do I find myself needing more braking power (and boy, did I need to stop in a hurry the other day!), nor does it ‘linger’ on the brakes like pendulum controllers do.


Also, if I stop at the lights, it only runs for a few secs & turns itself off if I leave my foot on the brake – it senses that there is no deceleration, even though the brake circuit is activated.

The only thing I have done is put a kill switch to the controller, as when the boat is off my alloy trailer the brakes lock up even with it on minimum braking (500kg versus 2800+ kg), so now I just turn it off after I launch. Saves battery drain too over extend non-use periods.
cheers

[oldboot]

The quoted text seems to give a false impression that the enertia brake controllers have to be mounted in a narrow range of positions....in reality as long as they are mounted facing straight forward there is quite a wide range of horisontal positioning.

Personaly I have not noticed mine "lingers". It stops immediately I lift my foot off the brake.

However if you have bad braking habits like many, where you brake hard at the end of your braking run, the brake controller lingering is the least of your problems.

So may people have never been told or grasped that you shoud "brake like you mean it" EARLY and reduce braking preasureas you come to a stop.
This is the same regardless of the vehicle being a race car, a truck, a normal pasenger car or a domestic vehicle with a heavy trailer.

So many people brake too late and therfore have to brake harder and harder to stop in time.....then you foot will still be on the brake and the vehicle will still be decelerating heavily as you reduce braking preasuer......of course the trailer brakes will seem to linger.....they will also still be keeping you straight.

cheers

[gofishin]

The quoted text seems to give a false impression that the enertia brake controllers have to be mounted in a narrow range of positions....in reality as long as they are mounted facing straight forward there is quite a wide range of horisontal positioning.

...O/B, I guess it depends on the make, plus you have to remember to set the pendulum orientation to suit the installation angle.

By lingering, or hanging on, it was mostly noticable (a pain) when low speed maneuvering/reversing – hardly when braking ‘habits’ come in to play . I remember reading on some towing/caravanning site (while researching for my current controller) that many others complained of this too with this same type/brand of controller.

I guess the motto is 'if you're happy with what you've got, stick to it'.
cheers

[oldboot]

ofcourse you have to set the pendulum angle (level) but that is easy, piece of flat road 10 seconds.

As far as manovering and reversing, cant say i've ever had the problem But yep I can see that it might be a problem.....and yep I can see good reasons to have a switch in either the brake line or the supply line so the trailer brakes can be disabled in those situations.

cheers

[tenzing]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Plenty of useful info in all of this.
So can anybody tell me if the prodigy offers any advantage over the voyager, and where is the best place to buy the controller.
Boat plus trailer (loaded) about 2300kg.
Brendan

[megafish71]

Give Matt a call here www.hydrastar.com.au/

Ron

[oldboot]

The voyagers can be had from a number of suppliers, so let your fingers do the walking, repco used to stock them, all trailer spares certainly do, I expect arrow caravans would too.

the voyager is considerably cheaper than the prodigy... like half the price
Voyager about $155 trade, prodigy about $290 trade

cheers

[tenzing]

The voyagers can be had from a number of suppliers, so let your fingers do the walking, repco used to stock them, all trailer spares certainly do, I expect arrow caravans would too.

the voyager is considerably cheaper than the prodigy... like half the price
Voyager about $155 trade, prodigy about $290 trade

cheers

thanks mate
Brendan

[SnapHead101]

I originally had a Tekonsha prodigy with my hydrastar unit. The prodigy is capable of handling an quad axle trailer, the voyager won't handle this many axles (from memory only two, but check). The voyager is a pendulum type unit vs the prodigy which is an accelerometer type unit. From a practical point of view it shouldn't matter. HOWEVER the prodigy used NOT to be compatible with the hydrastar, and when it was connected I would get a repetitive noise like a water hammer pulse through the trailer. I have since moved to a Hayes Endeavour Unit. THis is compatible with hydrastar, handles up to 4 axles and is a pendulum based unit. Pendulum is older technology however from my point experience I will never go back to accelerometer. I find this unit very reliable, and given that my BMT weight is 3.8 tons all I care about is stopping !! I bought my from www.titanbrakes.com.au at around $180. I have found them very good to deal with, when I had a problem the director/owner got on the phone and discussed at length what problems I was having. GREAT SERVICE.

RE Stopping at lights... as soon as you put your foot on the brake, the trailer brakes come on. As you slow down, the current output will drop so I guess the pump runs less hard. I WOULD NOT have a disconnect switch running to my brakes.... my prodigy failed due to a wire coming loose (autoelectricians fault), and there is nothing worse than seeing a red light 50 metres away when you are doing 80 km/h to find you then have NO brakes ... my sh*t does stink I found out!

Personally I try to use my gears more than brakes, and slow down early.

Hope this helps

[tenzing]

Snap Head, I checked with Carlisle on their site and my hydrastar unit appears to be OK for either prodigy OR voyager. Thanks for the comprehensive reply mate.
Brendan
Ps what do you tow 3800kg with??

[gofishin]

Hayes Genesis $245 (Cleveland, BNE), is similar unit to the Prodigy.
http://www.titanbrakes.com.au/index....var=12&site=v2

Compatibility here, if you didn't already check this site out.
http://www.hydrastar.com.au/pages/co...atibility.html

Another site lists all acc. types (in fact splits controllers into 4 types). The new P3's seem to get a good wrap too.

4. Accelerometer type
The accelerometer controller is similar in operation to the pendulum type described above in that it provided proportional braking. This design determines the rate of deceleration by an internal microprocessor rather than a moving pendulum. This does away with the need to adjust the pendulum position. Accelerometer type controllers are a recent innovation and usually have digital display that offers set-up, power output and diagnostic information.
Included in this range are the Tekonsha Prodigy, Hayes Genesis, Tekonsha Primus and the latest Tekonsha P3.

cheers

[SnapHead101]

I tow with a Landrover Defender 130. The landrovers that were pre abs are rated to 4 tons. Mine is the 4 cylinder 2.5 turbo diesel, towing 3.8 ton it is SLOW off the lights, but maintains a cruise of 70 km/h hour ok, no faster from a wind resistance and braking point of view for my particular boat. Mackay is the home of the impaired driver, especially when it comes to cutting infront of slow vehicles towing large loads.

When I checked approx two years ago the prodigy was not compatible, this may have changed. If you notice a regular pinging noise beware, this is apparentely the pump sending a momentary pressure wave down the trailer brakes.

[Hydrotherapy]

I install tekonsha products for a living.

Only the generation 7 hydrastar is compatible with the prodigy, early model hydrastars are not.

The prodigy sends a test pulse every 15 seconds (to establish correct connection with brake magnets), this is what plays havoc with the earlier model hydrastar.

The prodigy is a much better unit than the voyager, the pendulum does NOT need setting, it is all done electronically. It can be mounted anywhere from zero to 70 degrees (the new prodigy P3 can go to 90 degrees). It is a set and forget unit.

Last time I looked, you could pick up a prodigy on ebay for under $200.

[tenzing]

Just a quick note to finalize this.
Took the trailer to Leo at United Brake and Clutch for its annual brake and bearing checkup, and drove it home with a shiny new tekonsha P3 in the centre console.
I cant believe what a difference this thing makes. I just came back from an hour of towing the boat around secluded backroads, up and down hills and out on the highway. Easy to setup and adjust, easy to see, and makes towing a rather heavy boat a piece of cake. Thanks for all the advice, Leo said it was a no brainer.
I could not be more satisfied.
Cheers guys
Brendan

[phewy]

Nice choice Brendan.

.......easy to see

Hmmm, you must have chosen the hot pink display readout in the setup options.


Seems like a great controller with some handy display info and setup options. Not one we have on the shelf in the shop as yet (can supply if requested) but have fitted a few that customers have sourced elsewhere before they were officially available here in oz (ebay prob). One of the set up options, apart from readout colour, is the choice between electric or hydraulic trailer brakes. What it actually switches, I'm not sure on. Being in the caravan trade, have only ever set them to electric.

Our retail price by the way on the prodigy is $205 inc.