I got under the dash to locate the plug for the trailer brake controller. Pretty sure I have it. Light greyish/brownish color, right shape. It's stuck where it is (tied off?) but I can get to it. When I removed it from the Expedition, the hot red wire from the controller was jumped into another lead from somewhere. Now, in looking at the plug on the controller, there is a red lead that was obviously severed. Should the brake controller be able to get it's power from the plug itself and if so, should I splice the wire back together or should I jump the hot inline with another hot lead like it was before?

thanks guys

 

You should just be able to connect all of the wires in the pigtail as the diagram shows and it will get it's power though the plug. That's how mine is anyways.

 

That would be ideal. There was a brand new pigtail in the glove box but it is different (wires) than the one that was connected to the brake controller:

The brake controller has 4 wires coming out: thicker blue and black wire and a slightly thinner red (the one that was spliced into another lead) and white.

In the new lead that was in the Excursion glove box, the wires are:
Brown: illumination
Dark Blue: trailer electric brake feed
Red: trailer brake control feed
white: ground
Lt green: stamp lamp feed to brake control

in comparing the harnesses:

Old Harness : New Harness
Black Red
Red Green
Blue Blue
White White
NONE Brown

Of course, it would probably help if I knew the brand and model of the controller. Unfortunately, the only things on the controller are patent numbers.

So, with all of that said, do I cut off the plug that was on there and splice on the new one OR do I use it as is and splice the old red wire into the harness like it was in the Expedition (where?? ignition hot? ground?)

 

I think this is the one:
Tekonsha Voyager Proportional Trailer Brake Controller - eBay (item 150482529708 end time Aug-29-10 19:16:32 PDT)


Maybe I found it...
wiring

"1999 F250-F350:
The 6 pin connector is located behind the fuse pnel just under the steering column (C).
1. Remove fuse panel (D); just to the right of the opening is a vertical panel and a 6-pin connector (A).
2. There is an access hole (B) the lower right comer of this panel. Feed the connector, supplied with your Tow Package, through this hole and up to the fixed connector mounted on panel.
3. Connect the brake control's wires to the connector's pigtail following Tow Package Instructions."

 

Does yours not say Voyager on it like that unit, or is the little label/emblem thing on the front missing?

If it is a Tekonsha product, much like my Prodigy, any trailer store will have a dedicated Ford pigtail you can splice onto your unit, allowing you to plug directly in the trailer harness plug under your dash.

I bought a version of this plug at my local trailer store:


The version I bought at my local trailer store had only the Ford end of the plug (brown plug). In the above pic, just imagine the flat, 4-wire plug is missing. That end (which ends in loose wires) is the end that gets spliced onto the loose wires of the harness in this picture:


Which allowed me to plug directly into my trailer harness under the dash.

You can buy the complete harness (as pictured in the first photo) off of ebay. That's a Ford specific harness, complete, not like the one I bought at my local trailer store that only had the Ford end of the plug on the wires. One end (brown end) is for the trailer harness under the dash, and the other end (4-wire flate end) is for the brake controler.

Stewart

 

I'm thinking the Ford pigtail will work. The brown illumination wire has a "capped" end on it assuming that some people wont need it. I'm thinking just wiring it up to match the only difference is the black/red mismatch.