Hopkins Trailer Brake Controller Does Not Work with Brake Pedal on a 2003 Chevy Silverado

Question:

I HAVE PURCHASED THE BRAKE FORCE BRAKE CONTROL 47225 AND THE BRAKE CONTROL CONNECTOR #47795 BY HOPKINS TOWING SOULTIONS I HOOKED IT UP JUST LIKE THE DIRECTIONS SAID BUT THE LIGHT ON THE BRAKE CONTROLLER ONLY COMES ON WHEN I PUSH THE MANUAL SWITCH AND NOT THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE BRAKES ARE ONLY WORKING WHEN I MANUALLY PUSH THE BUTTON DOWN ON THE BRAKE COTROLLER ...IS THERE SOMETHING I AM MISSING ON MY 2003 CHEVY SILVERADO

asked by: STEVEN J

Expert Reply:

The wiring harness, # HM47795, for a 2003 Chevy Silverado, comes with a loose red wire that you will need to place in the connector yourself in the correct location. This red wire senses when you are stepping on the brake so the brake controller can send power back to the trailer.

The manual override works independently of the brake pedal so that is why it works.

It looks like the red wire should be directly to the left of the blue wire (if the blue wire is at the bottom of the connector). If that is how you have it oriented then the red wire may need to move to another location. At the port where the connector attaches to the truck, use a circuit tester like # 3808 if needed to test the pins in the port.

Apply the brake while you test each pin. The one that shows a signal when the brake pedal is pressed is the one you need for the red wire. Once you figure out which one it is, place the red wire in the corresponding spot in the connector and you should not have any further issues.

If you cannot find the signal on any of the pins, you may have a blown stop light or center high mount stop light (CHMSL) fuse and you will need to check that by finding their locations using the owners manual.

expert reply by: Michael H