Brake controller (does anyone actually have one)

[Airwelldone]

Dear god put away the drill

Update on the magnet mount, it's not moved a bit since install, and I purposely drove fast down dirt roads in Michigan during an early thaw. Would definitely recommend.

You didn't even notice the most important part of this entire picture... The key hanging from the mirror. it's from my wife's (this is her truck btw) 1999 Black Ranger that she put 240k on in upstate NY. 2wd, manual trans, it still runs to this day (just won't pass inspection due to rust). She really wanted a manual trans in the new Ranger, but we know how that goes.

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[t4thfavor]

Right on, I've had 4 others as well Some of which didn't even have keys...

Good luck with the controller install, like I said, can recommend fully the magnet install, no drilling required.

 

[Floyd]

This looks like the Redarc, It's odd that they can find it, but my dealer could not... I already took delivery, so it's possible that they just don't care anymore.

It's fully integrated like the F150, 640$ isn't that bad for full installation EDIT: seems that it does include PCM reflash.

$640?? What's that? 12 to $1500 per hour... WHAT A DEAL !!

 

[t4thfavor]

$640?? What's that? 12 to $1500 per hour... WHAT A DEAL !!

That includes the brake controller which Ford supposedly has listed at 500$. I installed my P3 anyways since no dealers even have a clue what I'm talking about when i ask about an integrated brake controller.

 

[Floyd]

That includes the brake controller which Ford supposedly has listed at 500$. I installed my P3 anyways since no dealers even have a clue what I'm talking about when i ask about an integrated brake controller.

I like the Idea of the Redarc ($202) too, but I have a brand new P3 on the shelf in my shop so...
I would like to hear or see some evidence of the need or benefits of getting the brake controller flashed to the PCM.
Maybe by the time I get my truck that issue will be cleared up??
Anybody got a visual of the display? The next question is... does it display on either dash (XLT or LARIAT)
OR XL

 

[t4thfavor]

I like the Idea of the Redarc ($202) too, but I have a brand new P3 on the shelf in my shop so...
I would like to hear or see some evidence of the need or benefits of getting the brake controller flashed to the PCM.
Maybe by the time I get my truck that issue will be cleared up??
Anybody got a visual of the display? The next question is... does it display on either dash (XLT or LARIAT)

Right, nobody knows any of that information. The Australian market seems to indicate that there's a PCM flash, and it's the same as the F150, but nobody in the USA has been able to confirm this yet. I, and several others have discussed this with the parts department at a few dealerships, and they all say it's not available yet.

P3 is probably better anyways since it takes 20 seconds to remove and 5 minutes to install in another vehicle if needed.

 

[Floyd]

Right, nobody knows any of that information. The Australian market seems to indicate that there's a PCM flash, and it's the same as the F150, but nobody in the USA has been able to confirm this yet. I, and several others have discussed this with the parts department at a few dealerships, and they all say it's not available yet.

P3 is probably better anyways since it takes 20 seconds to remove and 5 minutes to install in another vehicle if needed.

There was a time when Ford had the answers when asked about the content and function of the products they build. I have had multiple questions for which neither my dealer nor corporate were able to supply answers. The confusion at marketing is absolutely unprecedented, causing customers to lose confidence in either the company's competence or their veracity.
In exasperation I am nearly resigned to just waiting to see what they send when ever they get around to sending it. At that point I guess we may have to depend on YouTube and Wikipedia for the support we would normally expect from what has been the most competent and reliable car company in the world.

 

[t4thfavor]

There was a time when Ford had the answers when asked about the content and function of the products they build. I have had multiple questions for which neither my dealer nor corporate were able to supply answers. The confusion at marketing is absolutely unprecedented, causing customers to lose confidence in either the company's competence or their veracity.
In exasperation I am nearly resigned to just waiting to see what they send when ever they get around to sending it. At that point I guess we may have to depend on YouTube and Wikipedia for the support we would normally expect from what has been the most competent and reliable car company in the world.

Well, you "may" get answers to your questions if you post them here, many of the forum members have already been pulling parts off their trucks, and digging through the computer. I'd suspect we probably know more than the twitter guy with "Big Ranger News" 2x a week.

 

[VAMike]

There seem to be some really clueless dealers, but I haven't seen anything from ford itself to suggest that there's support for anything other than a third party brake controller and no mention of a PCM flash (which wouldn't make sense for a third party add-on). For some reason it keeps coming back up, but I don't understand why.

 

[t4thfavor]

There seem to be some really clueless dealers, but I haven't seen anything from ford itself to suggest that there's support for anything other than a third party brake controller and no mention of a PCM flash (which wouldn't make sense for a third party add-on). For some reason it keeps coming back up, but I don't understand why.

Because there's a "factory fit" (one knob installed on the center console and a box under the dash) kit for the Ranger from Redarc that you can get on eTrailer which has no external screen, they offer the Redarc kit in Australia with a PCM flash to add the towing screens, they also have the same exact redarc kit in the F150 with some sort of flash to allow you to set brake controller options.

It would make zero sense for Redarc to market a kit that cannot be properly controlled by the end user. (It's entirely possible that it fits in the ranger by coincidence, and it's actually the F150 kit though)

 

[VAMike]

Because there's a "factory fit" (one knob installed on the center console and a box under the dash) kit for the Ranger from Redarc that you can get on eTrailer which has no external screen, they offer the Redarc kit in Australia with a PCM flash to add the towing screens, they also have the same exact redarc kit in the F150 with some sort of flash to allow you to set brake controller options.

It would make zero sense for Redarc to market a kit that cannot be properly controlled by the end user. (It's entirely possible that it fits in the ranger by coincidence, and it's actually the F150 kit though)

The redarc goes into anything, it's a generic unit: https://www.etrailer.com/Brake-Controller/Redarc/331-EBRH-ACCV2.html#/ Proper control is via the little knob, it doesn't have another screen. The F150 integrated brake controller is not the same thing.

 

[t4thfavor]

This is why I think it has to have some kind of flash in order to work. Unless we're not getting this feature and the truck will use it's own brakes autonomously and not tell the trailer.

Straight from Ford.com.au

 

[VAMike]

This is why I think it has to have some kind of flash in order to work. Unless we're not getting this feature and the truck will use it's own brakes autonomously and not tell the trailer.

Straight from Ford.com.au

In general what AEB changes for brake controllers is that you can't necessarily tap the brake lights to see if the brakes are activated, because some AEB systems flash the brake lights. If you dig into the redarcs in .au you'll find that they're very clear that the AEB trucks need a slightly different harness that taps into a "brake on" signal in the newer global ranger. I don't read the above as suggesting it's some kind of flash to enable anything in the dash.

 

[bandit67]

A module is an additional piece of hardware that plugs in. That is completely different from a software flash.

All it takes is a simple misinterpretation of a description online, and all sorts of folks start spreading rumors, and then trashing a manufacturer and it's suppliers for knowing nothing about some fictional feature that doesn't really exist on their product.

Gotta love the internet.

 

[t4thfavor]

A module is an additional piece of hardware that plugs in. That is completely different from a software flash.

All it takes is a simple misinterpretation of a description online, and all sorts of folks start spreading rumors, and then trashing a manufacturer and it's suppliers for knowing nothing about some fictional feature that doesn't really exist on their product.

Gotta love the internet.

It doesn't help that other dealers confirmed that there is something available and were quoting 75$ for a PCM flash, this is straight out of an email from a dealership that one user on this forum posted, so yeah, they don't know anything... And a module could very well need a flash to enable the truck to talk to it, so I think it's a reasonable assumption to make.

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/thre...yone-actually-have-one.1718/page-2#post-21692

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