i purchased an 05 supercrew lariat with the 5.4 liter about a month ago. comeing up next month, i have the need to tow my show car to an out of state car show. im trying to figure out how to wire up this factory brake controler but im not having any luck. im borrowing a trailer from a friend and the trailer has brakes. i have the factory pig tail harness and relay and the instructions. however, they just arnt very clear.

i understand that i need to plug in the relay. i understand that i also need to plug the pig tail connector into the factory brake controler under the dash. this is where i get confused. ive searched the boards and have found others that have done this but no clear cut very specific insturctions. once i plug in the pig tail, do the other wires get wired into the factory trailer hitch harnes or do they get wired to the trailer ? the are about 5 inches long, so does this mean that their connections are within that distance or do i need to run more wire ?

please help confused but very happy F150 owner

 

The relay goes into the fuse box behind the kick panel on the passenger side of the cab. The wires of the harness that came with your truck go to the brake controller you will have to purchase. There is no "factory brake controller" under the dash, only the plug-in for the wiring harness that came with your truck/tow package. The male plug goes into the connector under the dash. The bare wires of the harness go to the brake controller itself which is not provided. The other end of that under dash plug-in terminates at the plug-in at your rear bumper for the trailer (if you have the tow package which I'm assuming you do since you have the harness/relay stuff).

I recommend Tekonsha products. I had the "Voyager" in my 98 and the "Prodigy" in my 05. Their "Prodigy" controller is the hot thing right now. Worth the dough. Google TJ Trailers in SLC (where I got mine). They have the entire kit (controller, mount, hardware) for about 115 bucks. I've seen the same kit around here for like 200 bucks.

As Mitch states below, you can get a finished pre-wired harness for your rig, if you don't want to solder wires together, (connectors on both ends, one for the under dash plug and one for the back of the controller) for 10-15 bucks extra.

The only "factory brake controller" I'm aware of is on the new F250's. They are integrated into the dash, no wiring needed. Wish they were an option on the F150s!

Happy Trailering!

 

What raalden said.....

A nice simple and easy to setup brake controller is called the Prodigy (around $100). You can also purchase a Ford wiring harness (around $10) for it and then all you have to do is mount the controller, and plug it in, set the initial volts/boost per the instructions and start towing!

Good luck!

Mitch

 

ok guys, i see now. thanks so much. for some reason, i was under the impression that the controller came from the factory and was already installed. i thought all i had to do was wire it.

thanks for the ultra fast replies and the great info !

 

Yea...The tow package gets you the tranny cooler, beefier alternator/battery, trailer electrical wiring (under dash plug to bumper plugs/harness,relay, etc.), and the hitch reciever hardware I believe. The brake controller is up to you.....

 

I just finished installing my prodigy last night, very simple easy instructions, it took me a half hour and I'm not very handy. I also test drove the new truck with th trailer and it performed great. Good luck.