Anyone install a trailer brake controller?

Has anyone done this? I have a hitch and a flat 4 plug. Reese makes a 7 pin adapter that you can plug your four pin plug and then wire in the other leads for the controller. That seems pretty simple.

As far as I can tell, the MPV doesn't have a pre-wired brake controller hook up. That means using a universal harness. I'll use that to connect the brake controller to the car. That seems a little more complicated.

Has anyone done this? What tricks did you learn to make it easier? Wiring is the one thing that has always scared the hell out me (hence the love of peripheral port rotaries with big Webbers ).

Thanks

Yup. The instructions that come with most controllers are straightforward.

You need to come straight off the battery (use a 30A circuit breaker from NAPA in line) for the hot brake feed to the controller then route from the controller to the plug at the rear of the truck.

Use a good solid chassis ground fed thru the plug (don't rely on the ball for grounding, tie it to the truck's chassis).

Use a good mechanical splice not the plastic crimp kind that poke into the wire. One winter and they will be all corroded up. I usually solder and shrink tube or use a closed loop with a nut/bold (soldered and crimped at the wire end).

I installed the Prodigy controller in my Ridgeline which is pre-wired for the brake controller. However, the wiring is pretty straight forward. You have three input wires into the controller i.e. hot, ground, brake light and one output wire to the brakes on the trailer.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Chevy/tech/Prodigy/Prodigy-wiring-generic.pdf

Easy. Worst part is running the power wire back to the plug. Easy on my pickup, may be more difficult on a unibody vehicle. Don't fear it.

In reply to ddavidv:

The Prodigy controller has worked well for us.

I have a Tekonsha Voyager controller (they also mke the Prodigy). It was on my Ford tow van for five years. Last week I traded the Ford in on a new Chevy Express. I pulled the Tekonsha controller and plan on using it on my new van.

One point: Be sure to spend an hour or so setting the Tilt and Gain so that it works well. And I marked the "set" positions so that if a dial was moved, I could easily re-set it. You may also want to have a different Gain setting for a loaded trailer. It helps if you have this worked out before you go out on a long trip.

aeronca65t wrote: You may also want to have a different Gain setting for a loaded trailer.

HA! I always forget to turn mine down until the 1st stop sign when I hear the trailer tires screaming for mercy.

So you don't have to tap into the brake line to install a controller like you used to? Its been a long long time since I had a truck that had one.

No tapping into hydraulic line.

Just pick up electrical power from the brake light switch.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

aeronca65t wrote: You may also want to have a different Gain setting for a loaded trailer.

HA! I always forget to turn mine down until the 1st stop sign when I hear the trailer tires screaming for mercy.

I thought I was the only one who did that.

Yeah, they are easy to install: 1 power wire from the battery (as noted it needs to be a good clean solid connection with a 30 amp breaker), 1 wire connected to the 'cold' side of the brake light switch, 1 ground wire for the workings of the controller, 1 wire from the controller back to the trailer plug and a good solid ground from the trailer back to the vehicle.

Basically, all the thing does is: 1) delay actuating the trailer brakes for ~ 1 sec. when you press the pedal and 2) vary the voltage to the trailer brakes depending on where the adjustment potentiometer is set. No hydraulic connector needed.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm going to head over to the RV store and pick up the parts in a bit. I'm going with a Prodigy, the Airstream forum folks all rave about that one.

If I get stuck, I'll come back and ask for help.

Thanks,

Jeff

I installed one for $2004, a lever on the bottom of the steering column. I understand the new ones have a more user friendly location.

BTW Jeff, I've started building a trailer. Not as flashy as yours, but will do it.

Dan

Jeff wrote: Thanks for the encouragement. I'm going to head over to the RV store and pick up the parts in a bit. I'm going with a Prodigy, the Airstream forum folks all rave about that one. If I get stuck, I'll come back and ask for help. Thanks, Jeff

The Prodigy is awesome - there is no potentiometer to adjust. It uses accelerometers so you just have to adjust the dials on the unit once you have the final position on the dash set.

Yep, pretty easy. toughest thing to do is tap the wire from the brake pedal, only because of the way I had to contort my body to access it.

I've got the Prodigy as well from E-trailer.com Works great.

44

So I finally got the controller. It looks straight forward. One question though, the plug at the back has a hot lead going in (black wire). Does that need to be hooked up to 30amp hot? From what I'm reading I'm not sure. I've got the original flat 4, a white chassis ground, a blue brake controller lead, and I black hot lead. This is on the plug the trailer hooks into.

Thanks

Auxiliary power lead (Black)
47185 Hoppy part number Should be the 1 O-Clock spot when looking in to the scocket on the truck. Power here is only needed if your RV has a battery on board you wish to charge while driving like one used for lights while parked or used with a Winch to pull car up ramps ect. http://www.hopkinstowingsolutions.com/doc/47205.pdf Don't try to power anything with out a battery on the trailer you will burn out the plug if you draw to much.

44Dwarf

Battery on the trailer is also for the breakaway brakes if installed, and without being able to recharge it you would not have that safety feature required in most places.

Also, one tip for wiring the controller to the truck: Wire the controller to one of the 4-pin round trailer plugs and install the matching socket under, behind, or through the dash. Then use Velcro or the like to attach the controller in reach. Might not seem obvious to you now why, but the first time you want to borrow a friends truck and it doesn't have a controller you'll appreciate being able to grab yours out in a couple of seconds. Also makes it easy to replace if it dies on the road for some reason.

Ok, I've got the hitch connect wired, I've got the controller wired to the hitch, I've snaked the power wires through the firewall and have them connected. The only thing left is the brake switch tap. Here's a link to what I have:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/2283/mazda-mpv/

Any ideas which wire to tap? As you can see, there are two connectors, one with a pink and light green wire, the other with a green a black wire. Anyone know which wire is correct?

Yes, I am the worlds slowest mechanic !

Thanks

use a volt meter to test it while someone is pressing the brake pedal.

+1 for the prodigy. I had a wallyworld special first, and it was a pain to set up, and never seemed to be quite right. Paid the bucks for the Prodigy, took 15 minutes to set it up, and it works perfect every time. Pay the money, get the good one and keep your trailer from ending up in your glove box.

Guys, thanks so much for all the help. If I can get one of these to work, it must be easy!

I picked up the trailer tonight. Off to get the RX-7 on Saturday. I can not wait.

One more question. Any hints on setting up the braking strength for the trailer? I monkeyed around with it a bit on the way back from the trailer place. Any insight would be nice.

I'll post pics of the car and the trailer next week.

Cheers,

Jeff