Today on this 2008 Ford F250 Super Duty we will be installing the Prodigy brake controller and adapter plug, part number 90185-3034-P. We are inside the cab of the truck and the first thing we want to do is locate the port we are going to be plugging our adapter into. On these newer F250s they have the option of having the factory installed brake controller in the dash area. Since this does not have one, the plug is actually mounted on the back side of this knockout here. :37
So we can remove this knockout holding our audio jack and access the plug that way. To remove the knockout, take a flathead screwdriver, and just pry it back. With that removed you can see the large gray connector on the backside. That is the plug we will be using to plug our brake controller adapter into. To remove the plug from the housing there, there is a little push tab at the very bottom that is holding it into place. Get in there and push that tab in and pull the connector out just like so. You can see with it pulled out there, what our connector looks like. 1:23
Next we will take our brake controller adapter and plug it in here. Then what we want to do is take our other end, which will plug into the brake controller, through the backside of the dashboard here to our mounting location. That is going to be here on the right side of the steering column. I have taken a piece of stove wire using it as a fishwire to help feed the plug through the dash area because it is pretty tight in there. 01:56
Now that we have the harness fed through, we can re-install the audio jack cover here. I do want to note that on the prodigy there are two possible mounting brackets. The first is the standard bracket which has two holes here on the top. The prodigy mounts in using these holes on the side which allow you to pivot it. It is more of a permanent mount, while the second mounting bracket again has holes at the top for mounting. The prodigy itself slides in and clips in on the side which makes it more of a temporary mount. This is good to use if you do not want to leave in the prodigy at all times or if you will be using it between different vehicles. For this install we will be using the more traditional bracket. Again there is a metal lip here under the dash that we will be drilling through to mount the controller. 03:01
Next we will take our prodigy and mount it to the bracketry. Then the last thing we want to do is take the plug from our adapter and plug it into the back of the prodigy. You can see as soon as we plug it in there we are getting a “N C” flashing there. That tells us the trailer is not connected. When the “N C” stops flashing you will see we have two dots here which also tells us there is no trailer connected to the vehicle. Now you can see with a trailer connected that we are showing a “C” on the brake controller indicating that a trailer is connected. When we hit our brake pedal you can see we have our numeric output on the brake controller. That will depend on how severe the vehicle is breaking. You will get the same thing on the manual slide bar. That will automatically ramp up to the setting you have output to. The only thing we have to do now is tie up any loose wires we have and our installation will be complete. That will conclude the installation of prodigy brake controller and adapter plug part number 90185-3034-P on a 2008 Ford F250. 04:41
Trailer Brake Controller with Wiring Installation - 2000 Ford F-250 Super Duty
Today on this 2000 Ford F-250 Super Duty we are going to install part number 90885-3035P. The Tekonsha Prodigy P2 brake controller with the adapter cord that will plug into the factory Ford outlet. The first thing we need to do is get access to the port near the panel underneath the steering wheel that we have to temporarily remove. You can simply use a coin to undo the latches. Right here is the port that we need to plug into. That is kind of hard to get the wire harness in there and plug it in so you can use a screwdriver or a trim panel tool like we are using and just pop it up a little bit, get underneath of it and pop it loose so you can get a better angle at it. Take the cord and plug it in and take the cable and route it below and put the panel back into place. 00:55
Trailer Brake Controller Installation - 2008 Ford F250 Super Duty
Today we are going to be installing brake controller part number 5500 from Draw-Tite on a 2008 Ford F250 Super Duty. Inside the cab here, the first thing you want to do is go ahead and locate the factory-installed brake control port that the Super Duty has. If your vehicle does not come with the in-dash brake controller, which is typically in this location here, the plug will actually be in a holder, mounted on the back side of this piece right here.
Trailer Brake Controller Installation - 1999 Ford F250
Today were going to install the Prodigy brake controller from Tekonsha, Part Number 90185, on a 1999 Ford F250, the light-duty version. This will also apply to the same year Ford F150. Were going to start off with this one vehicle that only has a factory 4-pole package on it and does not have the 7-pole in the back. So were going to have to upgrade the 4-pole to make it a 7-pole and then we can install the brake controller up front. The first thing we do is install one of two brackets on the hitch itself so we have a place to mount our electrical connector, and basically were going to be using Part Number 18140 from Tow-Ready. And basically this is one that clamps in place right here. Basically its just a hose clamp that goes around the hitch and back through itself. And then you just tighten it down with a clamp set. You might want to hold the bracket in position while you tighten it down, too. Next were going to install a bracket by a hole in the connector right here. And this comes with the Part Number 37185, and thats a 4-pole to 7- and 4-pole adapter.
Trailer Brake Controller Installation - 2003 Ford F250
Before we begin our install we need to take down this access panel here to get to the port thats located behind the panel towards the center. Well point that out to you. Inside this cavity here you can see all the wire harnesses and what not, behind this harness is a gray port. Thats the port for the tow package we need to use. Well run it from the inside here out behind this steel here and come back around to the outside. Since this is tight quarters you can take a screw driver and force this up a bit so its facing towards you and its easier to install. Next were going to mount our bracket, were going to use a standard one like so. This vehicle had a brake controller before, so we use the existing holes. The hardware that came with this is a little small so were going to replace it with some number nine screws to take up the holes in the dash already.
Trailer Brake Controller Installation - 2003 Ford F250
Just to give you a reference point, this is the top, right here of the gas pedal, so basically its across up on this pillar here. While were here well plug in our brake controller adapter and that will be part # 3035-P. Now we can plug the other end of this into our brake controller after we install the mounting bracket. Next well mark our bracket for positioning, well just hold it up here on this bottom edge where its nice and flat. In this corner right here, well just make a small dot for reference and then well put our first screw there. Afterwards well put our brake controller inside and eyeball it to make sure we get it straight. When we have positioned the way we want it, we ll make our secondary screw install here. Okay at this point we can simply install our adapter cable in then well just mount right here. We have the brake controller installed now, the last thing we do is take the wires and zip tie them into a safe position and all we have to do is test.
