Brake Controller

 On our way down to Florida our brake controller malfunctioned it is a Tekonsha  Prodigy P-2. We pulled into a rest area I checked wheels and they were very hot and there was a humming sound coming from the wheels apparently the brakes became engaged by the malfunctioning brake controller. It is in shop now having bearings repacked and brakes checked for ware or damage. The service tech said there is a pendulum that swings in the brake controller and for some reason swung and got stuck he removed the brake controller and shook it and reconnected it and started working normal again. Has anyone heard of this happening before? I finished the rest of our trip with brake controller turned off about 200 miles without trailer brakes keeping a safe distance from vehicles in front of us. Now I am deciding if I should take the chance of it happening again or replacing controller with a new one. We have had our current brake controller since about 2009 when we bought our 2009 r-pod.

If there is a moving part in the controller (I don't know, I'm speculating), the controller needs to be mounted horizontally to prevent it from "sensing" deceleration. If it's mounted in such a way that you might push it up with your knee or something, it might be fooled into thinking there is deceleration.

One of the reasons I like the OEM brake controller in our F-150 is because it doesn't care about level. It is tied into the OBD-2 system, and gauges brake pressure directly by how hard you're pressing the brake pedal. You can watch it on the trailer status display when you're sitting still, in park. As you press harder on the pedal, the trailer brake increases gain.

   I found the information on e-trailer from a 2011 answer from one of their techs. He said the P-3 uses a inertia accelerometer activated by a pendulum circuit. If that is the same thing the technician was referring to that repaired our trailer I don't know. If it does not have a pendulum of some sorts and the our brake controller malfunction because of some faulty electronics then I think it should be replaced. Our P-2 brake controller is about 10 years old don't know if the technology changed but I am thinking it is the same as the P-2 controllers built today. I think for the correct answer I would need to call the manufacturer. I am thinking about the P-3 the price is about the same as a P-2. One thing for sure I am not a electrical engineer.