Got home from work and my controller showed up in the mail, So I decided to go install after dinner. It took less than 30 minutes, could have probably done it in 15 minutes if I would have had every thing together when I got started.

The trim pieces came right off, there were 3 screws that hold the knee bolster panel on. took those off and the knee bolster panel comes right off. then just had to lift up the trim panel to the left of the center stack, just go slow at the top where it tucks under the gage panel trim.
Disconnect the 4X4 switch harness before removing the trim piece all of the way.
Two more screws hold in the cubby hole.
I located the factory harness taped up to the wire harness right above the OBD II connector.
Plugged in the harness adapter( I hate cutting into a factory harness if I don't have to).
Routed the wires up the area where the cubby hole sits.
I did hut the back of the cubby hole off so the bake controller would sit far enough back to allow it to be screwed in.
Drilled a small hole on each side of the cubby hole and mounted the brake controller,
Reverse off of this to put it back together, just don't do like I did and forget to plug in the 4X4 switch.


Not a slick and neat fit like the factory controller would be, but it does fit nicely in the cubby hole, I think it looks better than screwed in under the dash.

Matt

 

Looks a lot like my Prodigy installation. I didn't screw mine to the cubby hole, though. Instead, I used a couple of black plastic shims to hold it firmly in place - making it removable. I was afraid I wouldn't like the look of it, and wanted the option to remove it when not towing. However, I'm pleased with how it looks and will probably leave it in place - at least during camping season. Mine sits at about the same depth as the one in your pic, and the whole install only took less than an hour.

 

Sorry man, but I disagree.. It looks jammed in there. I think it looks better mounted below. If you don't like to drill you can use velcro strips.

just my opinion. Its your truck

 

My truck has the flow-thru console. I couldn't find a suitable, or accessible, location to mount mine below the dash. The cubby hole works for me, easy to reach and easy to see. And easily removable whenever I do get tired of seeing it.

 

did you truck come with a factory tow package? the reason I ask is i'm getting a used prodigy p3 controller from a friend. looks like I can get the wiring harness adapter for around $20 so it will plug in the dash like yours. My next question is can I get an adapter that plugs in where my current 4 pin plug connects to the trucks wiring harness to run the new 7 pin plug? also, would I need any relays or anything plugged in under the hood to make the controller connect with the new 7 pin connector?


thanks,


Q.

 

My truck has the factory tow package in it so the wire harness to plug into was already there. At the back of the truck I also have the factory 4 pin trailer plug and factory 7 pin trailer plug. I didn't need to plug any extra relays in like on my 04 I had. If your truck does not have the factory tow package then you will need to splice in your controller, then run a few wires from the front to the back. Hoppy makes an adapter that plugs into your tail light harness to run the turn signals and brake lights. The wires that will have to be run from the cab to the back are a wire for the electric brakes, a 12V power wire, and if you choose to a wire for the back up lights. I am sure if I missed anything someone will chime in

matt

 

when you say splice in my controller are you referring to not having the factory connecter taped to the back of the cubby? I have that factory connector, but I was wondering if I get the adapter to plug my controller into that connector if it will actually communicate the rear wiring harness. I can see where my factory 4 pin wires connect to the truck harness and it looks like I should be able to splice the brake feed, 12v constant, and rev lights just prior to that, I just don't know if there is anything else needed to make the two communicate.

 

If you have the harness behind the dash then you will not need to splice the wires. Do you have all of the wiring for the 7 pin just no actual 7 pin? if there are already wires run back there for that and you don't have a 7 pin plug then you should just need to get a 7 pin connector and install it.

Matt

 

the brake wire should terminate where the 4-pin connector plugs in behind the rear bumper. the 12v lead should terminate in the same spot. so you will need to extend those two wires to your new 7-pin connector at the hitch (looks to be about 12-18 inches that you will need to extend).

as best i understand it, you will need to add the fuse for the brake controller to work, and you will need to add the fuse and relay for the 12v charge lead to work.

it should be possible to get a factory plug and harness so that you don't have to extend those two wires, but i've not had any luck finding the part numbers for the harness.

 

thanks for the info. with having to buy the harness adapter for the controller, 2 fuses and a relay I may just hardwire everything myself. I got the controller from my friend today and it came with the wire harness that would need to be hooked up to each individual item(pos terminal, neg terminal, )break switch, and to the trailer connector. I'll look at the cost/aggravation of both and see what seems like the less stressful option.


My apologies norfolknova for hijacking your thread, just trying to get some useful info and when I searched yours was the only one that got right to the point.

 

It is good info for others that do not have the factory to package so not a total hijacking. I intended this to be an informative thread

Let us know how much of a PITA it is to get everything hooked up

Matt

 

Looks like for around $70 I should be able to get the brake controller adapter harness for my truck, the 7 pin trailer connector, both fuses, and the relay. My only concern is for the 30 amp trailer brake fuse. when looking at where that particular fuse installs I can only see one electrical pin in the socket, where as the 30 amp fuse for the battery charge has 2 pins. Now i'm wondering if I should even attempt to try this, or if I could run a hardwire just for the brake controller power wire. any thoughts?

 

The pin that is showing is the "hot" pin, the pin that is missing is the fused pin or where the wire would be going out to the system. If you run a hot wire just make sure you fuse it.

Matt

 

hummm .... that is odd.

if my friend drives his 2011 to work tomorrow, i might see if i can peek at his wiring and see what the camper shop did to get his brake controller hooked up.

my understanding was that they used the factory connector under the dash since they only ran one (fused) power wire from the battery. my assumption was that was for the trailer charge wire, but that may not be the case.

if i can seek a peek at his i will probably be able to tell you more.

very hard to believe that they would put the pin in for the trailer charge wire but not the brake controller wire, as that is definitely not the norm for ford. my expedition was exactly the opposite. i didn't have to do anything other than install the brake controller and hook up the trailer brake wire which was taped to the 4-flat connector at the rear.

 

I just set up my F150 for towing with a Prodigy P3 controller. My truck had the 4 pin plug on the back so I bought the factory wiring harness to install a 7 blade connector. I got the 7 wire harness from my local Ford dealer part# BL3Z13A576B discounted to $69.97 (MSRP $85.33) because they said it was all I needed and it wasn't because you still need the 7 blade socket which is $65 from Ford. I bought a Hopkins #40955 OEM 7 blade socket instead from Tractor Supply for $29. I bought the Tekonsha 4-pin brake controller adapter #3036 from Amazon Prime for $13.86. There was a plastic connector box on the factory wiring under the dash that I had to remove before I could plug in the Prodigy wiring adapter.

The turn signals and brake lights work, but the running lights and breakaway battery charger don't work so I need to look at the fuses and relays. They work with my Tundra so I know it is not the trailer. #9 and #21 are there so I need to check to see if one is blown. I have not pulled it yet so I also need to check that the brakes are working properly.

Do yourself a favor and blow off the top of the frame before you disconnect the wiring harness to save yourself from a face and eyes full of dirt like I got. It was easier to change the harness and mount the hitch receiver when I lowered the spare tire.