How to Wire a Brake Controller on a 2003 Tradewinds Motorhome with a 6-Way Connector

Question:

I have a 2003 Tradewinds motohome on a Spartan chassis. It has a 6 round plug on the rear of the coach. It has air brakes and I need to install a controller for electric brakes for my car hauler. I have 1 wire that is for the LT 1 for the RT and 1 wire for the running lights There is also one that is for a backup alarm that is spliced into the backup lights 1 for ground and 1 for the brake. When the brakes are or the flashers are on the turn signal and the brake light wire is hot. Do I need to run another wire back to the back for the trailer brakes? And where do I wire into the brakes to get the power to the controller when the brakes are applied? Thanks for your help

asked by: Dale B

Expert Reply:

Assuming the 6-way connector on your motorhome was wired correctly, you should have one wire for running lights, one wire for the brake controller output, one wire for the right turn and brake, one for the left turn and brake, one for ground and the center should be for 12 V battery power. I have attached a photo showing how it should be wired.

When you are wiring your brake controller, you will have 4 wires coming from the brake controller, red, black, blue and white. The white wire from the brake controller wiring harness is the ground and can either be connected to the negative battery terminal or to a clean, bare metal surface. The black wire must be attached to the positive battery terminal via a 20 amp circuit breaker. This will provide power to the brake controller.

The blue wire from the brake controller must connect to the brake controller output wire coming from the 6-way connector at the rear of your motorhome. It may be easier to run a length of wire, # 10-1-1, to the brake controller output wire at the 6-way connector. Finally, the red wire must connect to the stop light switch at the brake pedal. You will need to use a circuit tester like part # 3808 to ensure you are splicing into the correct wire. The stoplight switch wire will be the wire that has signal only when the brake pedal is pressed.

I have attached an article on brake controllers and a diagram showing how the brake controller should be wired.

expert reply by: John H