NHTSA Complaint #10746286 — 2015 RAM 3500

THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION BECAUSE THERE IS NO METHOD TO KNOW, IN ADVANCE, THE FACTORY INTEGRATED TRAILER BRAKE MODULE (ITBM) WILL FAIL TO PROVIDE FULL VOLTAGE TO THE ELECTRIC TRAILER BRAKES I ATTACHED MY 13,000 POUND FIFTH WHEEL TRAILER TO MY TRUCK AND FOLLOWING THE ITBM SETUP STEPS IN THE OWNERS' MANUAL, THE RESULTS WERE AS EXPECTED. THERE WERE NO WARNINGS OR INDICATORS SIGNALING AN ISSUE WITH THE ITBM'S ABILITY TO APPLY THE TRAILER'S ELECTRIC BRAKES. ON TYPICAL CITY/URBAN DRIVING THE BRAKING EFFORT FROM THE TRAILER WAS AS EXPECTED. ONCE I ENTERED A MORE RURAL SETTING AND ROADWAY SPEEDS INCREASED TO 50 MPH I DISCOVERED, AS I APPROACH A FAST CHANGING TRAFFIC LIGHT, HARD BRAKING THE TRUCK DID NOT SEND ENOUGH BRAKING SIGNAL TO THE TRAILER AND AS A RESULT I WAS PUSHED WELL INTO THE INTERSECTION. FORTUNATELY THE INTERSECTION WAS CLEAR AND NO INJURY OR ACCIDENT RESULTED..I VERIFIED WITH DEXTER AXLES, THE AXLES USED ON MY TRAILER, THE MAXIMUM BRAKING EFFORT FROM THEIR ELECTRIC BRAKES IS 12 VOLTS AT 3 AMPS PER WHEEL. I MEASURE THE VOLTAGE GOING INTO MY TRAILER BRAKES WITH THE ITBM SET TO MAXIMUM GAIN, HEAVY ELECTRIC AT 6.8 VOLTS, THE EXPECTED VOLTAGE WAS 11.9 VOLTS. I DID AN AB TEST USING ANOTHER RAM TRUCK WITH THE ITBM AND MEASURED THE EXPECTED VOLTAGE ON THE TRAILER BRAKE LINE...IT IS IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THERE ARE NO INTERNAL ITBM MECHANISMS TO DETECT THIS CONDITION SINCE THERE WERE NO DTCS SET WHEN I TOOK MY TRUCK TO THE DEALER....UPDATED 09/28/15 *BF *CN