That is my big gripe with the Prodigy, and I have expressed it to their engineers. The Prodigy, like most brake controllers, reads out the voltage that is applied to the brakes. But the brake magnets are not voltage-activated - they are current-activated. You can apply 12 volts all day to an open magnet, and nothing will happen.
My old Jordan Ultima controller (may it rest in peace) reported the current that was flowing through the brakes. If you had had a Jordan, Brulaz, you would have seen only half the normal current, and you would have known immediately that something was wrong. You were lucky you used the hand test and found it. Most folks don't, and wouldn't have found it. Sad to say, I don't know an easy way to discover that a brake is out using a Prodigy or any other common controller.
True story. When my TM was new, my wife and I were coming down the Coronado Highway, US191 from Alpine to Morenci, AZ. This scenic highway is full of haripin turns, and often extremely steep. Most of it posted at 10 mph, and guard rails are often non-existent. The most exciting stretch is about 10 miles north of Morenci (look at a satellite map!) At one point, we came through an almost vertical hairpin turn, and there was a cow was standing in the road! I stood on the brake pedal, and we stopped, but sluggishly. My Jordan instantly told me why.
I didn't mention it to my wife until we got to the bottom, but she was very pleased and surprised by how slowly and cautiously I was driving the rest of that road.
Bill
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