Friedrich procured an exemption from King Wenceslaus, freeing his county from the jurisdiction of the imperial courts.
In 1381, he concluded a military alliance with Duke Leopold III of Austria.
He later mediated between Austria and the free imperial cities in Swabia and Franconia.
Friedrich married Anna (d. 1421), a daughter of Count Burchard IX of Hohenberg-Nagold.
Consequently, the line of "Black Counts" founded by his father, died out with Friedrich's death.