What do I have to hook up to make my brake controller work? I have the factory harness and nothing works yet. I'm wondering if I have to put a fuse in somewhere or not. Thanks for the help.

 

Need a tad bit more detail.

Have you purchased a controller? Did you wire it into the harness? Have you checked the truck/trailer connection? Is the connector round or flat? Are the trailer brakes functional?

Not trying to be a smarta$$ or anything just don't have enough info.

Russ

 

Ok, I have a brake controller, and purchased the harness from the ford store. I also purchased the 7 Pin plug harness from them also. I just think that even without a trailer, I should have the light on the controller light up when I press the brakes or slide the slider. I could be dumb on this, but I don't have one to compare to. Thanks

 

Did you install the fuse or relay or whatever it is into the under hood fuse box? I don't think it will work without it. My tow package came with it in a plastic bag in the glove box. A shop put my controler in and they installed it, so I can't tell you which slot to put it in, but I'm sure the owners manual will tell you. Hope this helps.

 

there are two relays in the bag, one is for recharging a marine style battery on the trailer, the other i'm not sure about. they are very easy to put in, just pop the hood and then the fuse box on the drivers side under the hood. the illustration for where to put them was pretty good.
what type of brake controller? my prodigy always lights up to let you know it's on. no numbers or anything just 2 lights.

 

Not "dumb", you just don't know...

For whatever reason, most brake controllers will not light up or do anything that indicates they are functional until you attach the trailers connector to the truck......

There is only one wire that goes back for the brakes (blue one). Of course there is the ground wire too, but that's only established when you connect the trailer, so that's where the actual connection probably exists.

On the Prodigy (I have one too), it will only light up those two dots to indicate it's got 12v power. Notice that once you connect the trailer, the display changes to a "C". Then it's good to go. I had a cheapie controller before the Prodigy and it looked "dead as a door nail" until you hooked up the trailer.

The relays are for the 12v charging and for trailer backup lights, if your trailer is so equiped.....

There will be some regular fuses under the hood for the running lights, brake lights and turn signals as well.

As far as I know, there is nothing additional needed for just the brake controller to work, as long as it's wired accordingly.

Good luck!

Mitch

 

Ok, I'll have to find a trailer and hook it up to see if it works. There was a 5th wire on the controller harness on the truck side. What is this for?

 

I think it's for an illumiation light on the controller, if it has one....

 

My controller (Reese) will light the little red LED whenever I apply the brakes in the truck or manually pull the slider whether the trailer is plugged in or not.

But the nice thing about it is, last tuesday, I was in a campground, and after going over a few speed bumps, I noticed I could hear (edit: I could feel it also ;-) )my trailer brakes on the trailer were stuck on. I looked at my controller, and the LED was on continuously. I stopped and walked out to see and the Breakaway switch had been pulled out. So infact, the LED will work even without the brakes on the truck being applied.

dpostman

 

i have a 2001 expedition 5.4l with the tow package, would I still need to install a relay under the hood to hook up the brake controller, or does my truck automatically have it?

 

GSXSTAC,
If you have the tow package you'll have a seven pin plug at the hitch. If you have the seven pin plug you should already have the two fuses (fuse and relay?) installed. All you have to do is plug in your controler under the dash.