Wiring... Brake controller?

[Militaryman445]

I was messing around under the dash trying to figure out what was wrong with my flashers (not working) and I found a couple things that were a bit interesting. First off... What is this?

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I found it screwed in under my dash, never seen one and dont know what it does, it wasnt plugged in so I pulled it. Its about the size of a beeper...


And is this a plug for a brake controller?

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Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[Diesel_brad]

not a clue what you found there and YES that gray plug under your dash is for the brake controler

 

[Militaryman445]

not a clue what you found there and YES that gray plug under your dash is for the brake controler

AWESOME! So all I have to do is buy a brake controller and plug it in?

 

[Militaryman445]

Anybody have a clue what that other thing is?

 

[sassyrel]

AWESOME! So all I have to do is buy a brake controller and plug it in?

no,,go to Ford,,and some other places have it,,to get the other side of that connector,,to hook up the brake controller..it aint that costly,,,and beats butchering the harness.....................

 

[reklund]

The other thing looks like a shock sensor from an aftermarket alarm. Adjustable threshold via the screws on it, and LEDs to indicate trigger points during setup.

 

[Diesel_brad]

AWESOME! So all I have to do is buy a brake controller and plug it in?

Buy a brake controler
Buy a pigtail to plug into the pul under the dash
Spice the pigtail to your brake controler
Put the relays under the hood for the brake power then you will have trailer brakes, as long as you have a plug wired for trailer brakes

 

[Militaryman445]

Buy a brake controler
Buy a pigtail to plug into the pul under the dash
Spice the pigtail to your brake controler
Put the relays under the hood for the brake power then you will have trailer brakes, as long as you have a plug wired for trailer brakes

I have a 7 pin trailer plug, that should be for brakes. The trailer I use have brakes and they work properly with a brake controller.

Im not sure what you mean by the PUL under the dash. I dont understand why I need to splice a pigtail into my brake controller or why I need relays under the hood for the brake power... Can you explain a little more. I thought if I was wired up for a brake controller then all I had to do was plug in a brake controller, mount it, and adjust the brakes according to the load Im pulling and that was it...

 

[snicklas]

Military,

On the older trucks, that have the tow package. It is just the wiring. To make everything work, you have to install 2 relays in the under hood fuse panel. A brake controller will just have the wires coming out if it, it will not have a plug, that you have to get the pigtail that matches the truck, and splice it onto the brake controller wires. I have not seen a controller that comes with a plug....... I know on the SuperDuties 99+ have everything already, you just splice in the pigtail on the controller and plug it in. That was all I had to do on my truck. They also have the trailer lighting on separate circuits and fuses. I had a plug short out in the off-season. When I went to pull the trailer home, I did not have any trailer lights, but the truck lights were fine. Looked in the book, found the fuses blown, found the 4 wire connector MELTED!!!! Repaired it, replaced the fuse and all was good. Better that the old setup that used the same circuits for the trailer and the truck. Had a van do the same thing, connecter corroded in the salt of winter, all I had was headlights and brake/turn lights. Not fun in the middle of the night..... did not have dash lights or any running lights.

 

[Diesel_brad]

Military,

On the older trucks, that have the tow package. It is just the wiring. To make everything work, you have to install 2 relays in the under hood fuse panel. A brake controller will just have the wires coming out if it, it will not have a plug, that you have to get the pigtail that matches the truck, and splice it onto the brake controller wires. I have not seen a controller that comes with a plug....... I know on the SuperDuties 99+ have everything already, you just splice in the pigtail on the controller and plug it in. That was all I had to do on my truck. They also have the trailer lighting on separate circuits and fuses. I had a plug short out in the off-season. When I went to pull the trailer home, I did not have any trailer lights, but the truck lights were fine. Looked in the book, found the fuses blown, found the 4 wire connector MELTED!!!! Repaired it, replaced the fuse and all was good. Better that the old setup that used the same circuits for the trailer and the truck. Had a van do the same thing, connecter corroded in the salt of winter, all I had was headlights and brake/turn lights. Not fun in the middle of the night..... did not have dash lights or any running lights.

thanks for explaining, I wouldnt of done so good

 

[Militaryman445]

Military,

On the older trucks, that have the tow package. It is just the wiring. To make everything work, you have to install 2 relays in the under hood fuse panel. A brake controller will just have the wires coming out if it, it will not have a plug, that you have to get the pigtail that matches the truck, and splice it onto the brake controller wires. I have not seen a controller that comes with a plug....... I know on the SuperDuties 99+ have everything already, you just splice in the pigtail on the controller and plug it in. That was all I had to do on my truck. They also have the trailer lighting on separate circuits and fuses. I had a plug short out in the off-season. When I went to pull the trailer home, I did not have any trailer lights, but the truck lights were fine. Looked in the book, found the fuses blown, found the 4 wire connector MELTED!!!! Repaired it, replaced the fuse and all was good. Better that the old setup that used the same circuits for the trailer and the truck. Had a van do the same thing, connecter corroded in the salt of winter, all I had was headlights and brake/turn lights. Not fun in the middle of the night..... did not have dash lights or any running lights.

Ok, Im a slow learner but once I get it I get it, lol.

So in order to install a brake controller in my truck I need to buy:
-Brake controller
-2 relays... Dunno what kind and all that
-Pigtail plug to plug the brake controller into the harness in my truck
And I guess thats it?

Thanks for all the help guys. Ill get there one day.

On a side note. My truck may have already been set up with a brake controller. There is the main box with fuses/relays under my hood then right beside it there is a newer looking box closer to the cab with just 2 relays in it... Do you think that could be for a brake controller that used to be in the truck?

 

[Shadetreemechanic]

After three years of towing without brakes I am trying to figure this out as well.
My truck does have the 5 pin plug under the dash, but no matter how hard I try I cannot find a blue or a red wire in the harness going to the back of the truck that I can hook into my brake controller.
Is there someplace to look that I am missing? I have looked all over the back and cut into the loom at the rear axle and at the transfer case. There does not seem to be any blue wire that would control my trailer brakes. The power distribution box under the hood has the proper fuses but is missing the relays. Do I need to splice in there? Any help would be appreciated.
Also when I plug my brake controller into the plug under the dash it blows my running light fuse.
I am tempted to start building my own harness, but figure if ford put the plug under the dash then certainly there is an easy way to make this work right.

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

>>> DO IT RIGHT <<<

I have said it before and I will say it again; if you are wiring for a trailer, DO NOT USE ANY FACTORY-SUPPLIED "TRAILER PACKAGE" that may be included in the truck.

It is far easier and MUCH BETTER to ignore all that much-too-small factory junk and route BIG WIRES all the way from controls/switches to the plug(s) at the rear or mid-bed positions.

Trailer brake controllers are simple to install/wire from scratch; far easier than using some wimpy tiny-wire set-up that is factory supplied.

Trailer markers should NEVER be controlled by the head-light switch; always control them with their own dedicated toggle-switch, wired and fused completely independent of the trucks lighting circuit.


Done right, trailer-plug wiring is SIMPLE and EASY.