# Chevy Silverado 2500HD towing braking system **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [June 22, 2025, 1:56am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751 "2025-06-22T01:56:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![steven54walker\_193959](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@steven54walker\_193959](https://community.cartalk.com/u/steven54walker_193959)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 1:56am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/1 "2025-06-22T01:56:41Z")
I own a 2024 Chevy Silverado 2500HD. Recently I towed my 16,000LB fifth wheel RV from my home in Texas to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Soon into my journey the driver info displayed trailer brakes not connected. Seconds later it showed trailer brakes connected. This continued off and on the entire trip. When the display showed trailer brakes not connected there were no brakes on the trailer. It was a very dangerous situation as a few times I nearly rear ended cars in my way. So I took the truck into my Chevy dealership to have the system checked out and they said there was no problem. The service guy told me that because the trailer has LED lights the truck is not registering the feedback from the trailer becuase it only senses incandescent light bulbs. He told me I need to buy a LED Lamp out bypass adapter which cost $48.00. The truck is under warranty. Has anyone else experienced this issue? Seems like Chevrolet engineers missed something on this. A 2024 truck designed for towing doesn’t recognize LED brake lights on a 2018 Vilano fifth wheel RV? Incredible! Thanks ---
**Author:** ![cigroller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@cigroller](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cigroller)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 4:14am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/2 "2025-06-22T04:14:54Z")
I confess that I am not up to date on how these systems work these days. But I always start with the simplest things. E.g. did you happen to just inspect and CLEAN the connector for the trailer wiring? Dirty/loose connections often provide intermittent performance. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 4:28am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/3 "2025-06-22T04:28:15Z")
The warning message is warning you that there is a loose connection in the trailer wiring for the electric brakes. Repair the trailer. ---
**Author:** ![ledhed75](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@ledhed75](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ledhed75)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 10:55am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/4 "2025-06-22T10:55:52Z")
On your 2018 trailer… Were the LED brake light you mentioned installed by the factory…or were they an “upgrade” by you later? Reason I ask is…it seems others on this forum have had weird electrical issues when trying to “upgrade” to LED bulbs on vehicles not designed for “upgrading”. ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 1:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/5 "2025-06-22T13:04:20Z")
The truck warranty only covers the truck and not the trailer . The 48.00 part might solve the problem so why not try it . Also a RV shop can inspect the wiring and brakes so do that anyway. ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 1:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/6 "2025-06-22T13:34:05Z")
Not trailer related, but incandescent to LED upgrade related, the bulbs have a different resistance and that might be what the truck is picking up, on my 23 truck I upgraded to VLEDS LEDs in for brake, turn and reverse lights, the kit comes with optional resisters to install to stop hyper flash under certain conditions… So the kit the dealer has for $48 may be something similar to add the proper amount resistance to the circuit for everything to get along… You have an expensive truck and trailer, just spend the $48 for the add on and be done with it… ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 1:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/7 "2025-06-22T13:56:59Z")
There are a few questions about this persons problem . Is this the first time they have towed the RV with this truck ? Have they contacted the dealer where they bought the RV ? Why did they drive all the way back home with this problem as the truck warranty is good at any Chevrolet dealer ? ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 2:11pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/8 "2025-06-22T14:11:19Z")
Maybe the OP could test the resistance of the trailer circuit at the truck connector. Then compare it to the resistance expected by the Silverado towing brake system. That would tell him whether the $48 kit could be effective. If there’s an intermittent short or open circuit in the RV wiring that would have to be addressed separately. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/9 "2025-06-22T16:14:47Z")
Trailer brakes are wired by drunken monkeys with the Devil’s Connector - Scotch Locs. Always start with the trailer for that reason alone. Ground connections FIRST and the brake supply next. ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 4:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/10 "2025-06-22T16:32:15Z")
+1 Very true, I remember many years ago having/seeing the ground wire go bad or break and the trailer lights would ground through the trailer tongue against the hitch ball and hitting a bump in the road could/would cause the trailer lights to flicker (turn off and back on again)… ---
**Author:** ![steven54walker\_193959](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@steven54walker\_193959](https://community.cartalk.com/u/steven54walker_193959)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 7:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/11 "2025-06-22T19:08:59Z")
Yes, cleaned and recleaned several times. ---
**Author:** ![steven54walker\_193959](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@steven54walker\_193959](https://community.cartalk.com/u/steven54walker_193959)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 7:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/12 "2025-06-22T19:09:54Z")
Factory lights ---
**Author:** ![cigroller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@cigroller](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cigroller)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 5:38am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/13 "2025-06-23T05:38:04Z")
> [@steven54walker\_193959](#): > > Yes, cleaned and recleaned several times. What he said: > [@Mustangman](#): > > Trailer brakes are wired by drunken monkeys with the Devil’s Connector - Scotch Locs. > > Always start with the trailer for that reason alone. Ground connections FIRST and the brake supply next. ---
**Author:** ![TwinTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TwinTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TwinTurbo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 12:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/14 "2025-06-23T12:03:48Z")
Looking around, it seems this is a somewhat frequent complaint. On one hand, they can’t test with everything out there. On the other hand, if you’re going to disable a safety device based on this assessment, then it better be more robustly designed. I wonder why they would inhibit the brake module anyway? It’s no huge loss to continue driving the trailer signals even if there is no load present. If it is sensed at start-up, then by design, do not disable it until next start-up regardless if the trailer detection goes away during the trip. Seems obvious to me… They do sell the load enhancement plugs for relatively little money. Considering the ramifications of towing like it is, rather than arguing with either manufacturer, just get the plug and try it. If it works, you can continue to use the truck/trailer while you keep pestering them for a solution. Likely, you get many years use and still not resolved with the factory system 😉 ---
**Author:** ![It\_s-Me](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/it_s-me/32/12660_2.png) [@It\_s-Me](https://community.cartalk.com/u/It_s-Me)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 2:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/15 "2025-06-23T14:41:20Z")
The part I’m not understanding, If it’s not sensing the LED lights, why is it disabling the brakes? ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 2:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/16 "2025-06-23T14:47:12Z")
> [@It\_s-Me](#): > > The part I’m not understanding, If it’s not sensing the LED lights, why is it disabling the brakes? I’m no engineer by any means of the word, but disabling the brake cause the brake lights went out seems like a very bad idea… lol ---
**Author:** ![TwinTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TwinTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TwinTurbo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 5:28pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/17 "2025-06-23T17:28:29Z")
It uses the lamp load to determine if a trailer is connected. But like others, I am surprised they would design it in a way where if it thinks the trailer is disconnected, it stops sending all signals to the trailer plug, including electric braking. ---
**Author:** ![steven54walker\_193959](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@steven54walker\_193959](https://community.cartalk.com/u/steven54walker_193959)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/18 "2025-06-23T19:23:48Z")
That’s what I would like to know. ---
**Author:** ![steven54walker\_193959](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@steven54walker\_193959](https://community.cartalk.com/u/steven54walker_193959)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/19 "2025-06-23T19:27:10Z")
I did purchase the lamp out part and it seems to be working so far. My real question is why Chevrolet didn’t anticipate this issue. LED lamps have been around for some time. The truck does not detect the low voltage lights and for some reason it makes the trailer brakes inoperable. ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751/20 "2025-06-23T21:34:42Z")
Kinda funny. 3rd gen (at least) Tacoma’s that come with the tow package come with a 7 pin and a 4 pin trailer plug all wired up and ready to go, but it also has a plug under the dash to plug in a brake controller, meaning you have to buy it separate, but if you didn’t know that or read the owners manual, you might think you had trailer brakes until you found out you didn’t… lol From Page 192 in my owners manual # Service connector for towing brake controller (vehicles with a towing package) _ **Connecting trailer lights** _ Y_our vehicle is equipped with a service_ _connector for the trailer brake controller_ _as shown_. So it might be possible that the owners manual mentions that if your trailer has LED’s that it might require the lamp out part… [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/chevy-silverado-2500hd-towing-braking-system/200751.md?page=2)