Hi guys, so on my 99 SD i have 5 wires or so hanging down all nicely heat shrinked and only a 4 wire plug at the trailer hitch, the trailer hitch is a heavy duty one and all but i must not have the "heavy tow option"

my question is this, should i go to the wrecking yard and find an sd that has the towing option that has the brake controller/auxillary fuse panel/and the big rv 7 way plug? (eventually i will need the setup) but want to know whats the easiest best way to go about it.

or should i just get an aftermarket brake controller and all that?

basically what am i missing out of the wiring in order to make it all work correctly, my 2 little relay boxes that sit next to the main fuse box in the engine compartment are all empty.

any help would be great

 

Aftermarket. You can invest well under $200 and get a Tekonsha P3 and the wiring harness needed for the job. If you do want an OEM controller, I have one for sale for $50.

 

tennessee, i am not opposed to going after market, but i dont like the stock wires just dangling down like they are and am trying to figure out what would all be needed to get all that hooked up, is the stock brake controller good or would the aftermarket one be better and more reliable?

 

Well, I would love to sell this controller, but to be totally honest there are better controllers out there. That is why I have it for sale, I upgraded to a P3. If you are not interested in all of the bells and whistles, it works great! If you plan on towing a four axle trailer or want a neat digital screen then the P3 would be a better choice. I will post a comparison up for you in a few, as soon as I change batteries. Stupid laptop! lol

 

Stock trailer brake controller (actually, all of the pre-2005 controllers are aftermarket and are the same unit made by Brake Force).

•Nothing fancy, single LED that illuminates green or orange, depending on status.
•Has five stages of power control, indicated by the LED getting brighter five times.
•Easy plug and play installation (provided your truck has the harness).
•Manual override for full braking power by the touch of a slide switch at the front of the controller.

P3 controller
•Neat little LCD display.
•Operates up to four axle trailers.
•Operates electric or electric over hydraulic brakes.
•Also has a manual override, only the switch is located under the unit which can be a little more cumbersome.

Will post pics in a few.

 

Here is a pic of the unit. Comes with the plug and play harness and mounting bracket.




Here it is before it was removed. Like I said, nothing wrong with it at all. Worked like a charm! I just wanted the digital readout, mostly- so I upgraded.

 

I still remember wiring the 7 prong about 3 years ago. My truck had 6 prong installed, but the brakes wire was insulated on the frame. It is #10 so pretty easy to spot between the others. I use Prodigy controller and love it. Took me 1/2 day with help of this forum to fish the controller harness from behind AC panel.
Don't forget to install trailer charging wire. You will need it sooner or later.
Do you have fuse chart? This is all I needed to insert fuses and make the wires working.

 

That is not a stock Ford brake controller. It is an aftermarket one. A pretty cheap looking one to boot. It may have been dealer installed but it is not stock.

To the OP. There were never stock blunt cut and shrink wrapped wires for trailer controllers. There was a grey plug to the far right of the under dash area that would accept a plug like you see in the pictures above. The plug can be very hard to see, but it's there.

The blunt cut wires you are describing are most likely the customer access wires to the PCM.

 

BTW Malodin, FTE has a forum esp for trailering.... go here: Towing, Trailers & 5th Wheels - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

Lots of great information there. Go to the "Towing and RV Tech Tips" thread first.

 

You can get a 7 prong plug and install it on the wires,or get a harness for around $30 - $50 that will plug into you existing harness like it came from the factory
E-Trailer has the best prices I have found http://www.etrailer.com/question-8434.html or http://www.etrailer.com/p-118243.html with fuses and relays

The harnesses you buy from the dealer have a plug on one end to plug in under the dash and bare cut on the other end to wire up to your controller

 

guys, thanks i didnt see the trailering forum...the blunt cut wires i am refering to are hanging off of my rear bumper, and this thing absolutely did not have any xtra trailer tow stuff except the 4 way flat plug and heavy duty hitch. thats why i was wondering, so your saying those wires hanging by my bumper lead to fuses that i just have to install? what about relays and the like? next to my underhood fuse box there are 2 smaller relay holders that have nothing in them do they go any part of the trailer wiring?