Which Electronic Brake Controller?? (Newbie)
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From: Dixie - Tennessee
Which Electronic Brake Controller?? (Newbie)
I'm going to put a Class V hitch on my 1984 F-150 as soon as I get it back from the shop so I can pull a car trailer.My buddy's gonna sell me his 16ft. car hauler,which has two 7,000lbs. Dexter axles.I'm gonna want the brake box for 2 reasons... #1: For safety. #2: It's illegal to pull a trailer in Tennessee 3,000lbs.+ without trailer brakes.
If someone could reccomend me an affordable,but dependable brake controller,please do
.
Thanks in advance.
Nightrain
If someone could reccomend me an affordable,but dependable brake controller,please do
.Thanks in advance.
Nightrain
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From: Dixie - Tennessee
I checked out brakecontrollers.com and found some pretty good deals.I don't mind spending $125 on a controller.I simply thought the good ones were much more expensive than that.
I have this one picked out.It is wired for the Ford harness.Will my 1984 F-150 have the correct plug for that harness or will I need to purchase one with a DIY harness?
Thanks fellas.
Nightrain
I have this one picked out.It is wired for the Ford harness.Will my 1984 F-150 have the correct plug for that harness or will I need to purchase one with a DIY harness?
Thanks fellas.
Nightrain
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Yes, the Prodigy is a good one. I just installed one. You can get it for $98.98 at http://www.rvwholesalers.com/That is where I got mine from.
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In my case, I had the Factory installed towing package. That includes a connector under the dash, just under the cigarette lighter, right next to the diagnostic port. I also had the Ford supplied cable to plug into it.
The cable has the connector on one end and nothing on the other end, just wires. The prodigy comes with a cable with the connector for the Prodigy on one end and bare wires on the other.
I just had to splice the wires together using the documentation from Prodigy and Ford to know which wire went to which, such as power, ground, trailer brake etc.
If you have the connector under the dash and not the Ford cable, you can order that cable at the same time as the Prodigy from most vendors. Costs about $8 or so, I think.
If you don't have the dash connector, you will have to run all the wires yourself to battery, break peddle, and to the back of the truck trailer connector.
Bob
2001 F150 Screw
The cable has the connector on one end and nothing on the other end, just wires. The prodigy comes with a cable with the connector for the Prodigy on one end and bare wires on the other.
I just had to splice the wires together using the documentation from Prodigy and Ford to know which wire went to which, such as power, ground, trailer brake etc.
If you have the connector under the dash and not the Ford cable, you can order that cable at the same time as the Prodigy from most vendors. Costs about $8 or so, I think.
If you don't have the dash connector, you will have to run all the wires yourself to battery, break peddle, and to the back of the truck trailer connector.
Bob
2001 F150 Screw
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From: Dixie - Tennessee
Thanks Bob.
I highly doubt that I have the factory plug or dash connector.I'm pretty sure that I'll have to run the wires myself.I believe that I can get the plug from Kwik Hitch to plug into my rear taillights for a standard 4-plug trailer wiring harness.I guess I'll have to convert it to one of those 8 plugs.Or is it 7??
Either way,I'll have to do some research before I can start.This should be fun.I'm no wiring person though...
Nightrain
I highly doubt that I have the factory plug or dash connector.I'm pretty sure that I'll have to run the wires myself.I believe that I can get the plug from Kwik Hitch to plug into my rear taillights for a standard 4-plug trailer wiring harness.I guess I'll have to convert it to one of those 8 plugs.Or is it 7??
Either way,I'll have to do some research before I can start.This should be fun.I'm no wiring person though...
Nightrain
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The Prodigy comes with good installation instructions. You will have to wire it from scratch on the '80's trucks. For a car trailer, you can use a 6 pin plug. The seven pin plug is used more for travel trailers. Here's a good link that shows how the plugs are wired. Be sure and ground the trailer through the plug and not the hitch.
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