What is Needed to Wire a Brake Controller on a 1996 Dodge Ram Pickup

Expert Reply:

If your 1996 Dodge Ram has the factory 7-way connector at the rear of the vehicle, then all of the wires for the brake controller have been run. You will just need the Universal Brake Control Wiring Adapter, Dodge, part # 20261. This adapter plugs into the brake controller plug under the dash, to the left of the steering column taped to another harness near the emergency brake pedal. The four pigtail wires on the other end will be butt-connected to the brake controller, color to color.

If your Dodge Ram has the factory 4-flat connector on the rear of the vehicle you will need the # 20261 adapter mentioned above and the Hopkins Adapter 4 Pole to 7 Pole and 4 Pole, part # 37185. The # 37185 adapter will plug into the factory 4-flat and give you a 7-way at the rear of your vehicle. There will be four remaining wires that will need to be hardwired to your vehicle.

The four wires and their functions are:

White: Ground wire, connected to a suitable grounding point on the vehicle frame.
Blue: Electric brake wire, connected to the electric brake wire coming from the back side of the brake controller. On your truck, this wire is ran back to the end of the drivers side frame rail, so you would be able to tap into it at this point in the rear of the vehicle.
Black: 12v power wire, connected to the vehicle positive battery terminal with a 40amp circuit breaker, part # 9510.
Purple: Used to power reverse lights on the trailer if present, or to power a reverse lockout function or other auxiliary power function. If not needed, this wire can be tied up.

If your Dodge Ram does not have the factory 4-flat, you will need to hard wire the brake controller to your vehicle. You will not need the # 20261 adapter. You will install the Tow Ready T-One Vehicle Wiring Harness, part # 118329, to get a 4-flat connector at the rear of your vehicle.

Then, you will need to hardwire the brake controller to your vehicle with the # ETBC7 kit. The # 37185 adapter mentioned above is included with the # ETBC7 kit, and would be installed as I described above.

I am sending a link to detailed instructions on how to install the # ETBC7 kit on your vehicle and a video link of the # ETBC7 kit being installed on a 1999 Dodge Ram.

expert reply by: Mike