Draw-Tite Activator III Trailer Brake Controller - 1 to 4 Axles - Time Delayed - 2008 Sierra by GMC
Electronic controller activates electric trailer brakes with a preset intensity when you apply the brakes in your GMC Sierra. Digital display, manual override, and a simple, plug-in port included. Power output and braking aggressiveness are adjustable.
Features:
- Brake controller activates trailer brakes with preset intensity
- Signal is sent to trailer brakes when tow vehicle's brakes are activated
- Adjustable output control lets you determine the amount of braking force
- Set to maximum when you travel through hilly terrain with a fully loaded trailer
- Back off the power output when you tow a lightweight trailer
- Sync setting lets you adjust the aggressiveness with which the brakes are activated
- Get full power output faster by moving switch forward to increase activation speed
- Achieve smoother braking by moving switch in opposite direction to supply power gradually
- Digital display is easy to read
- Built-in, slide-bar manual override
- Quick and easy installation
- No need to mount level like proportional brake controllers
- Mounting bracket, wiring harness and hardware included
- Plug-in port makes it easy to connect to wiring harness
- Plug-in, vehicle-specific brake-control adapter (sold separately) can be used for certain applications to reduce installation time
Specs:
- Application: trailers with up to 4 axles (8 brake assemblies)
- Designed for use with electric brakes only
- Dimensions: 3-1/4" wide x 4-7/8" long x 1-1/8" tall
- Limited lifetime warranty
Time-Delayed Braking
The Activator III applies your trailer's brakes when the brake pedal in your tow vehicle is engaged. Every time you apply the brakes in your GMC Sierra, a signal is sent - via the brake switch - to the Activator. The controller then sends power out to your trailer brakes to activate them with an intensity set by you, at a rate determined by you. Both the amount of braking power (output) and rate of application (sync) can be adjusted to suit your preference, the road conditions, type of trailer and size of the load. To determine which levels are best for your application, you must test out your towing setup and choose what feels best.
A time-delay controller is so named because there is a delay between the time that you initially apply the brakes in your tow vehicle and the time that the controller reaches maximum power output. Unlike a proportional brake controller, which activates your trailer's brakes based on the deceleration of your tow vehicle, the Activator sends power out in the same way, with the same gradual delay, no matter the braking situation. Although this delay always exists, it can be adjusted by changing the sync setting.
Sync Settings
To adjust the aggressiveness of your trailer's braking action, use the slide control on the side of the Activator III to change the sync setting. If you want to reach maximum power output faster, move the switch forward. To get smoother braking action, move the switch backward, thus supplying power to the trailer brakes more gradually. You can alter the sync setting to suit your driving preferences or to improve handling based on changing road conditions or varied trailer loads.
Quick, Simple Installation
Because inertia plays no role in the functioning of this controller, you do not have to mount the unit at any particular angle. As a result, mounting options are limitless, so long as you can still easily access the controller. After mounting the unit, hardwire one end of the included pigtail harness directly into your GMC Sierra. The other end plugs into the brake controller.
Installation Accessories
For even easier installation, a vehicle-specific wiring adapter (sold separately) is available for most newer trucks and SUVs. One end of the custom adapter plugs into your GMC Sierra, and the other end plugs into the controller - no hardwiring required.
Note: If a custom brake-control wiring adapter is not available for your GMC Sierra, one of the following will be required:
20-Amp circuit breaker (9506P - sold separately) for 2- to 4-brake applications
30-Amp circuit breaker (38630 - sold separately) for 6- to 8-brake applications
See also etrailer.com's exclusive 7- and 4-way brake-control installation kit (ETBC7 - sold separately) if you don't already have a 7-way plug at the back of your GMC Sierra.
5520 Draw-Tite Act III Time-Delay Trailer Brake Control
Same as Reese Brakeman Ultra - 83520
Video of Draw-Tite Activator III Trailer Brake Controller - 1 to 4 Axles - Time Delayed
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer
installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Video Transcript for Trailer Brake Controller Installation - 2008 GMC Sierra
Today we are going to be installing a brake controller on this 2008 GMC Sierra. The part number is 5520 along with the 7-way replacement socket for the GM products part number PK11916. OK, we are going to start in the rear, installing the 7-Pole replacement socket. We are back behind the bumper here and if you can see this unit here is actually the 7-pole factory socket we are going to be plugging into. So we want to go ahead and disconnect this, off of the knockout that goes into the bumper. We are back on the outside of the bumper here and this knockout here is going to actually be removed. This is where the 20047 is going to be put in place of. Now that the knockout is removed we want to go ahead and put the replacement socket in there. It just slides in, you are going to line up the notches and just rotate it. Then it will lock right into place.
I am going to take the socket that we removed from the backside of the knockout earlier and plug it into the back of the 7-way here. We are back behind the bumper now and you can see the socket that we removed earlier, we are just going to plug it back into the back of the 20047. We are back inside the cab now down below the steering column, down by the brake pedal. If you look up under here you can see a bundle of wires taped up with this white tag. This is going to be our bundle for the tow package for the brake controller itself. We will need to cut those wires down to give us a little more room to work with. Alright I went ahead and pulled all the wires out here and the brake controller that we are using is going to require you to purchase a universal plug as well the 20127. It is going to have the 4 loose wires here. We are going to connect the red wire here, off of the GMC, into the black wire of the brake controller. The dark blue will connect with the dark blue. The light red on the harness here will connect to the light blue. Finally the white, light gauge wire will connect to the white on the harness. Once the connections are made we are going to go ahead and tape them up with electrical tape. OK, now that we have the plug wired in we just want to find a suitable mounting location for the mounting bracket.
Typically you want to mount the brake controller to the right side of the steering column like somewhere in this area. It has to be somewhere you can have easy access to the brake controller in an emergency braking situation. On this GMC there is a roll over flange on the bottom edge of the dash. We will mount the brake controller mounting bracket sit flush here on the end of the dash. With the brake controller now mounted in place you want to go ahead and route the wires in an area where you are going to be away from anything hot and or moving. Objects such as the gas and brake pedal. We want to just go ahead and plug into the back of the unit. Once we have gone ahead and plugged the unit in we want to zip tie all the excess wires back up and out of the way.
We are under the hood here we are going to finalize the connections for the brake controller to remove the cover for the fuse. There are going to be 2 wires that we need to connect. The first one is the power feed for the brake controller which is located right here on the side. Which we will run it to this post in the front right side of the battery. We also have the accessory power 12 volt feed which is right here with the ring terminal. Once again we are going cut the tape and we will run it to this post here. The ring terminal for the brake controller is going to go on the far left post. The 12 volt lead for the plug is going to be ran over here to the far right. For these posts you are going to need to provide your own nuts to tighten these down. You will also need to fuse these as well. The post the brake controller needs to be fused with a 30 amp fuse and the post for the 12 volt hot lead will need a 40 amp fuse. That completes the installation of part number is 5520. A brake controller installed on a 2008 GMC Sierra. along with part number 20047. The 7-way replacement socket for the GM products and the 20127 replacement brake control plug-in harness.
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GMC Sierra Accessories
4.8 out of 5 stars (6 Customer Reviews)
by: George12/14/2012
Installation Details
