Brake Controller Installation - 2007 Ford F-250 Super Duty - Video

Today on this 2007 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 more

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Posted: 10/29/2009 2:33:24 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 2008 Toyota Tacoma - Video

Today on this 2008 Toyota Tacoma pick up we will be installing Prodigy brake controller part number 90185 and we will also be using the brake control wiring kit part number ETBC7. We are going to start here at the rear of the vehicle and mount our 7-pole first. As you can see our vehicle here already has an existing 4-pole that we are going to be plugging our 7-pole adapter into. So in preparation I want to find a spot to go ahead and mount our 7-pole bracket to. On this Tacoma there is not a whole lot to work with. We typically like to mount it here on the back side of the bumper. Mounting at that angle would be kind of obnoxious. So I am actually going to be using part number 118136 which is a long bracket that will attach to the trailer hitch here with the use of a hose clamp. And then we can just mount our 7-pole bracket on like so. more

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Posted: 10/27/2009 2:20:14 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 1990 Ford F-150 - Video

Today on this 1990 Ford F-150, we are going to install part number ETBC7 and part number 118316 from Tow Ready. So with the ETBC7 kit we are going to install the brake controller part number 5500 from Draw-Tite and it is the activator to the brake controller. First off what we will do is we will start off by installing the 4-pole wiring flat part number 118316 and that will give us a 4-pole to work off of for ETBC7 kit. We are not going to use all of this wire here so what we will do is we will just go ahead and wrap it up next to the harness just to take up the extra slack because this is going to go right to the ETBC7 kit. And what will happen is we will plug this in to the ETBC7 kit which will get mounted onto the bumper. Which we want to install that bracket next. more

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Posted: 10/21/2009 8:04:21 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 1999 Dodge Ram Pickup - Video

Today on this 1999 Dodge 1500 Pickup, we are going to install part number 90185 Prodigy Brake controller. We are also going to install this T-1 harness part number 118329 from Tow Ready and we are going to install this brake controller also with part number ETBC7. First off we are going to start off installing the part of the T-1 wiring harness part number 118329. We need to do that so our ETBC7 has a 4-pole to plug into. The connection points are underneath the tail light over here. What we are going to do is push the button on top and pull down the bottom and it will come apart. And we are working on the passenger side. On the passenger side we will install the connector with the green wire. All right, we will go ahead and route our 4-pole wire over to the center and then we will run our yellow wire, run that over past the center to the driver side tail light and we will make the same connection underneath the driver side tail light. more

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Posted: 10/7/2009 6:16:46 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 1999 Dodge Pickup - Video

Today on this 1999 Dodge, we will be installing part number 90195-3020P. The P3 part. The first thing I want to note on this vehicle here at the rear is the 7-pole plug. This is actually a factory 7-pole plug which is going to allow us simply to plug our brake controller and adapter into place and go. To figure out if you have the factory 7-pole plug, you will note that this has got the welded bracket to the factory installed trailer hitch and if you actually look at the cover of the 7-pole, you will see the Chrysler logo and if you look closely you will see the actual Chrysler name written across the front. Those two indicators will help you know that you have got the correct factory plug. more

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Posted: 10/3/2009 9:00:16 AM

Brake Controller Installation - 2007 Dodge Dakota - Video

Today on this 2007 Dodge Dakota Pickup Truck we are going to install brake controller part number 90185 from Tekonsha. It is the Prodigy brake controller. What is going to be unique about this install is that the Dakota actually has a full tow package on it and we are going to use the adapter plug that came with the tow package to install the brake controller. more

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Posted: 9/1/2009 1:58:32 PM

Tekonsha Voyager Brake Controller Manufacturer Review - Video

Congratulations. And thank you for owning one of the most sophisticated trailer braking systems available today. Whether you tow for work or play, you can depend on Tekonsha to enhance your towing experience by working to make sure both your tow vehicle and the trailer it is pulling slow down and stop at the same time. Over the next several minutes we will show you some important set up steps to be sure you have the smoothest braking experience possible. If you have questions or need more specific information, please refer to the installation and owners guide enclosed with your controller. If this is your first installation, please listen for a moment for some important tips. Performance braking controls are directional. more

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Posted: 8/27/2009 6:58:04 AM

Tekonsha Prodigy Brake Controller Manufacturer Review - Video

Congratulations. And thank you for owning one of the most sophisticated trailer braking systems available today. Whether you tow for work or play, you can depend on Tekonsha to enhance your towing experience by working to make sure both your tow vehicle and the trailer it is pulling slow down and stop at the same time. Over the next several minutes we will show you some important set up steps to be sure you have the smoothest braking experience possible. If you have questions or need more specific information, please refer to the installation and owners guide enclosed with your control. If this is your first installation, please listen for a moment for some important tips. Performance braking controls are directional. more

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Posted: 8/27/2009 6:27:26 AM

Brake Controller Installation - 2009 Dodge Ram - Video

Today we are going to install part number 32810 from Valley this is their Odyssey electronic brake controller. We are also going to use an adapter, part number V30506, also from Valley. What this cord will do is plug between the Odyssey Brake Controller and plug into the factory port underneath the dash. All right, we are going to install this on a 2009 Dodge Ram. The bracket for the brake controller can be attached to the plastic right here. There is not much underneath here to really work with, so you cannot hide it very well underneath here. But there is nothing wrong with putting it here. It just depends on your personal taste and accessibility. more

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Posted: 7/30/2009 3:08:00 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 2008 Chevrolet Silverado - Video

Today we are going to install brake controller part number 90185 from Tekonsha, the Prodigy Brake Controller, and we are going to install this on a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado. And on the back of the vehicle, we are going to install part number PK11916. This is a 7-Way Car Replacement Socket, and we are going to use part number 20047 from Tow-Ready, the 7-way car replacement socket. The replacement socket is going to fit right here where it would normally be a factory connection. Since this vehicle does not have it, all you have to do is unscrew this counter-clockwise, pull it out, and there is actually the wiring harness right behind it. So all you do is just push down on this tab right here and it comes apart. Then we will take our connector and just pop it back into place. Make sure the latch is secured, and then go ahead and reattach it like the cover was. Now we will go underneath and inside the cab of the truck and go ahead and start installing the brake controller. more

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Posted: 7/23/2009 9:17:40 AM

Brake Controller Installation - 2007 Chevy Silverado - Video

Today we are going to install a Prodigy brake controller, part number 90185 from Tekonsha, along with the accompanying wiring harness, part number 3015-P, and we are going to install these two components on a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado pickup. The first thing we are going to do is install the bracket for our brake controller. There is a nice piece of steel underneath the dashboard here, so we are going to attach it directly to that. And you can put it anywhere you want, but just about right here is a good, even spot. And we are actually going to clamp it in place, and then we will just drill out our attaching screws. Now we are using self-tapping screws. These did not come with the brake controller we outsourced those. So let us go ahead and run those self-tapping screws in there. Just one more check to make sure it did not move on you or anything, and set the other screw in. more

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Posted: 7/23/2009 9:24:39 AM

Brake Controller Installation - 2009 Chevrolet Silverado - Video

Today we are going to install part number 90185 from Tekonsha, the Prodigy Brake Controller, and we are going to install this on a 2009 Chevrolet Silverado. The tow package wiring harness is located underneath the dash, below the steering column, a little bit off to the left side. It is stuck up behind some wires up underneath there so it is kind of hidden, but there is a little tag that comes with it to help you locate it. So we will just untape it from that bundle right here and pull it out, and then we will have room to work on it and make our wire connections. OK, we have got our wires pulled out, and we can go ahead and get them ready to install. And you want to take a second to look at the tag to see which wire does what. Blue is kind of a giveaway, that is the big wire that goes out to the brakes on your trailer. And then red is going to be your 12-volt battery supply right here. And the blue with the white tracer here, that is going to be your brake light circuit. And the white wire will be ground, and the orange wire will not be used at all. more

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Posted: 7/6/2009 12:23:01 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 2009 Honda Odyssey - Video

Today we are going to install part number 90185 from Tekonsha, the Prodigy Brake Controller, and we will also use T-1 Connector part number 118438. And also we are going to use part number ETBC7 as the install kit for our 7-pole going up to our battery and the brake controller, on a 2009 Honda Odyssey. Our first step involved is we are actually going to install the T-connector first. Normally it installs behind this panel here, gets run underneath this threshold, and usually gets stored in the jack storage compartment. Since we are installing a brake controller and it is going to be using a 7-pole connector on top of it, so what is going to happen is we need to run our wire harness from the inside out. First off, we are going to take off this threshold here. We have to take off these anchor points. There are plastic pins throughout the bottom here, so what you need to do is pull this out gently until they pop out, like so. And once you have them all loose, just a gentle pull, pushing up on it, will pop the pins that are in here. The next step we are going to is we are going to go ahead and remove this panel. We will pull it out just a little bit so we can get access to the plug. The port is located on this assembly right here. It is on the top right-hand corner, and it is usually the only one that is open. And there is a separate ground right here which we attach to the factory ground right here. Next what we will do is we will secure our module here. And we will just put it back here - anywhere where it is convenient back behind the panel here. The next thing we want to do is go ahead and run our wire along the factory harness here, and then it will go straight down. And we have made a dimple right here where we are going to mark our - and drill a hole right here. So we are going to drill out a 1/2-inch hole. We drilled a 1/2-inch hole and installed a little simple, rubber grommet. Now what we are going to do is we are going to cut our wire up here and then we are going to feed it from the outside in. And we will make our reconnection up here. That way, at least we have some connections that are not outside all the time. We will go ahead and tape up our connections now, secure them up. And for now we are going to leave our access just like this. We will just put it underneath there - hide it underneath our carpet. And at this point we can go ahead and start putting the interior back together. more

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Posted: 6/12/2009 8:07:53 AM

Brake Controller Installation - 2007 Chrysler 300 - Video

Today we are going to be installing Prodigy part number 90185 on a 2007 Chrysler 300. We are also going to be using the brake control wiring kit, part number ETBC7. What we are going to do is go ahead and locate a good position to mount the brake controller. We are inside the cab here, directly below the steering wheel. A good mounting location for the brake controller is typically right to the right of the steering wheel so it is within hands reach of making your adjustments. But before we go ahead and mount it I want to go ahead and locate the brake wire underneath the steering column, right above the brake pedal. This is a wire that we are going to need to tap into which is going to activate the brake controller for us. It is actually located on the brake switch and we are going to look for the wire that actually gets hot when we depress the brake pedal. There is a carpeting piece underneath here that is covering up all the wiring that is above the brake pedal. So the first thing I am going to do is to go ahead and remove that. There are two push pins: one here, and one here, that I need to remove. OK, now that we have got the carpeted piece up and out of the way, we have gone ahead and located the brake switch, which is that white box right there at the top of the brake pedal. If you follow behind that, you will locate the wiring harness that is feeding the brake switch. I went ahead and tested them and I found that the green wire with the white stripe is the wire that we are looking for that is the cold side of the brake switch - the wire that we are looking to tap into with the red wire on the brake controller. So we are going to go ahead and do that now, and then I think we will go ahead and mount the brake controller. more

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Posted: 5/18/2009 3:58:31 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 2009 Chevrolet Silverado - Video

Today we are going to install part number 90185, and we are going to install this brake controller from Tekonsha on a 2009 Chevrolet Silverado. This is where our wiring harness is it is tucked up behind the ventilation port. It is behind some wires. It is taped up, and you can see the blue and the orange wires. They are kind of on the heavy side, so it is a good indicator of which harness it is. We have got a label here that shows you which wire does what. But we will go ahead and cover them here. The white is going to be our ground wire. This blue, light blue wire with the white tracer is going to be our brake feed off the brake switch. The red wire with the black tracer is going to be our 12-volt power supply. And the blue is going to be our power output from the brake controller going out to the back of the truck. And this orange wire here is not used at all. Let us go ahead and connect our wires up per function. more

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Posted: 5/15/2009 4:23:24 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 2001 GMC Yukon - Video

Today we are going to install a brake controller on a GMC Yukon, a 2001 model, and we are going to be a brake controller using part number 90185. And we are also going to be using adapter part number 22283. All right, we are going to mount our brake controller on the bottom of the dash. And there is a steel component that is going all the way across. We will go ahead and mount to that. What we will do is actually take the bracket, find a position we like, and go ahead and clamp it into place. All right, we are going to use some self-tapping screws instead of the screws that came with the kit it is a little bit easier to drill into the metal. The screws that come with it are actually designed for plastic. more

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Posted: 4/20/2009 12:32:40 AM

Brake Controller Installation - 2003 Dodge Dakota - Video

Today we are going to be installing the Prodigy, part number 90185, along with the Prodigy Wiring Harness 3020-P, on a 2003 Dodge Dakota with a factory 7-pole plug. All right, we are going to go ahead and take a look at the rear of the vehicle here and show you what the factory plug actually looks like, because on the Dakota they are fairly rare. As you can see, this vehicle came with a factory hitch as well as the factory connector. And if you come in close, on the front of the plug itself it is actually stamped Chrysler. And the harness itself is all factory it runs directly to the front. So that is a way to tell if it is a factory 7-pole that you have or if it is one that was put on aftermarket. more

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Posted: 4/16/2009 3:46:01 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 2006 Honda Ridgeline - Video

Today we are going to install part number 5510, the Brakeman Digital Remote Electronic Brake Control, and we are going to install this on a 2006 Honda Ridgeline. The first step that is involved is to go ahead and install a 20-amp circuit breaker that will go between the battery and the brake controller itself. We want it right about in this area right here. The next thing we will do is go ahead and run our wires for our battery up to our circuit breaker, and then from our circuit breaker it is going to go behind the firewall and come out by this grommet right down in here. We will push this screwdriver through it just to give you an idea of which grommet we are going to run our wires through to get to the inside of the vehicle. What we did was, we pulled the grommet loose on the inside and pulled back up on the cable. We just made a slit in it with a knife and we are going to reinstall the grommet and then push our wire through. For now we will just trace along with the original wire harness down to our battery to check for length. We can cut into our cable and put our connection points onto the circuit breaker as well as down to the battery itself, but we will hook up our battery as the last deal. We will leave our white wire connected because that is going to carry ground to our brake controller. All right, then we will hook our terminals up here temporarily. We will use the copper-color one going to our battery, and then the silver one will go out to our brake controller. Now we need to strip our cable down to our negative terminal here, so we can have a connection point there, also. Now we will take a few zip-ties and just secure our wire harness, but, again, we will just leave these connections as the last thing we do. Now we will go back underneath the dash and start making our connections to the brake controller box itself. more

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Posted: 3/9/2009 3:22:31 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 2009 Ford F150 - Video

Today we are going to install a Prodigy Brake Controller, part number 90185 on our 2009 Ford F-150, and we are going to use the accompanying brake control adapter and show you how it gets installed. This is a little bit different from previous models. The plug for the brake controller is actually behind this tray right here. What happens is, this panel comes off, and then we get behind the tray - unscrew the tray - and the connection is right behind it. All right, what we are going to do first is go ahead and just take off this panel right here. And it is actually pretty easy. Just give a gentle pull on the bottom and just work your way up. And start on the right-hand side, so that way you can pull it out from underneath this piece here. When you do pull on this, this little panel here will come back toward you, too, and give you a little bit of extra room to pull it out. more

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Posted: 2/16/2009 4:17:32 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 1996 Ford Explorer - Video

Today we are going to install part number 90195 from Tekonsha, the P3 Brake Controller. We are also going to install along with it part number ETBC7. And this will all be installed on a 1996 Ford Explorer. To begin our install, we are actually going to start with the rear of our vehicle and then work our way forward. First off, we are going to install our bracket that actually holds our 7-pole in place. There are substitute brackets that you can use that this will go onto and mount onto the hitch tube itself. However, this particular 7-pole does not really work that good you have to get some extra-long screws and make new holes in the bracket. But in this case, it makes things a little easier and probably a little bit nicer. So we will go ahead with this bracket here that comes factory with it. We will drill out a half-inch hole, which will work perfect with the carriage bolt with a half-inch square hole in the bottom of the bumper. And we will end up with the bracket about right there. We have got our bracket in a bench vise and we will go ahead and put in a quarter-inch pilot hole first and follow it with a half-inch bit. We will our bolt into the bumper and then we will go ahead and install our bracket. And then we will put on the nut and then tighten it down and use an extra hand to hold the bracket while you tighten down the nut and bolt. All right, we will go ahead and install our 7-pole into the bracket. more

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Posted: 2/3/2009 3:30:30 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 2008 Ford F250 Super Duty - Video

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. more

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Posted: 1/29/2009 3:19:28 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 2008 Toyota Sequoia - Video

Today we are going to be installing brake control part number 90185, the Prodigy, along with the Prodigy wiring harness, part number 3040-P, on a 2008 Toyota Sequoia. We are inside the vehicle now, and the first thing that we are going to do is to locate the aftermarket port that we are going to plug the 3040-P into. The first thing we want to do is go ahead and remove this. There is actually a thumbscrew right here that needs to be removed and then there are a couple of pop rivets here that you just need to pry away from, then pull that out into position. You might need to actually remove a little bit of the bottom plate here, as well, to allow the plate to be removed. And you can see there are a bunch of electrical connections here. The port is kind of hidden that we are going to be connecting to. It is actually taped to this blue harness here, almost by the fuses. You can see I have already cut the tape here and I can pull the connector out, right there. more

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Posted: 1/19/2009 1:35:03 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 2007 Ford Expedition - Video

Today we are going to install a brake controller on a 2007 Ford Expedition. We are going to be using the Prodigy its part number is 90185. We also are going to use part number 3035-P, the Ford Brake Control Harness. OK, we are just going to show you a quick assembly outside the vehicle first. We will disconnect it before we go back in there. Essentially, how these two parts go together - it is really simple. This end here will plug into the back of the Prodigy Brake Controller, and then the other end of the harness right here, that will actually plug into the factory tow package port underneath our Expedition. more

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Posted: 12/23/2008 3:36:44 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 1993 Chevrolet Suburban - Video

Today we are going to be installing part number 90185, the Prodigy by Tekonsha, on a 1993 Chevrolet Suburban. We are also going to be using the Brake Control Installation Kit, part number ETBC7 as well. We are going to start at the rear of the vehicle and go ahead and install the 7-pole wiring adapter that is included in the ETBC7. We have already installed the 4-pole wiring harness under the vehicle, so that is going to be the basis of what the 7-pole is actually going to plug into. The installation kit also comes with a mounting bracket for the 7-pole. Typically, you would need to find a mounting point for the bracket itself, like on the bottom of the bumper, or somewhere of that sort. The hitch that we previously installed as well actually has a mounting bracket attached to it, so we are going to attach the 7-pole bracket there, and then mount the 7-pole inside of there. With the 7-pole attached and into position, we want to go ahead and make our connection with the existing 4-pole into the 7-pole here. These two wires here, the blue one and the black one, are going to be for the brake lead for the brake controller and then the hot lead that goes directly to the battery. And we are going to connect that to the double-bonded wire that came with the ETBC7. The purple wire here is for the reverse function on the 7-pole harness. If your trailer does not have reverse lights, you do not necessarily have to hook this one up - you can just kind of tape it up and out of the way. The white wire is for the ground, and that does need to be grounded directly to the frame here itself. I have an existing grounding point from the pre-existing 4-pole harness that we have in place so I am just going to use that one as well. We actually have put a smaller ring terminal on the white ground wire here to accommodate the smaller screw that I have used to attach the ground. OK, we are going to go ahead and attach the double-bonded wire that was provided in the ETBC7with the two wires on the 7-pole harness now. So I am going to strip back a little bit of the jacketing. And, as you can see inside the jacketing here, we have go two wires. We have got a white and a black. We are going to go ahead and use the white wire and connect it to the blue brake lead on the harness and we are just going to cut-connect black to black here. more

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Posted: 12/16/2008 4:31:21 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 2004 Chevrolet Suburban - Video

Today we are going to be installing the Prodigy, part number 90185, on a 2004 Chevrolet Suburban. We also are going to using the Prodigy adapter for the Suburban, part number 3015-P. The first thing we want to do is to locate the port that the brake control plug is going to plug into. As you can see, we are in the drivers side cab area, underneath the steering column. It will be located on the top row, second from the left. So what we are going to do is go ahead and remove the cover here, and go ahead and plug in the brake control plug. And we are going to go ahead and plug in part 3015-P. And it plugs in right there. And as you can see, the other end of the harness here has the plug end for the Prodigy itself. So I am going to go ahead and route these wires up and over, out of the way. And then we are going to go ahead and find a suitable mounting point for the Prodigy itself. OK, I went ahead and routed the harness up and out of the way. I have routed it over here to the right side of the steering column. On the Chevy Suburban here, there is actually a lip that is folded under on the bottom side of the dash here, which makes a perfect spot to mount the bracket for the brake controller itself. So I am going to go ahead and mount it in that location there. more

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Posted: 12/15/2008 3:30:43 PM

Brake Controller Comparison Review - Video

Today we are going to talk about the two main kinds of brake controllers, the proportional and the time delay. The two we have here are the Journey HD and the Draw-Tite Activator II. These are what you call the time delay brake controllers. Basically what happens is that when you hit the brakes, they come on at a certain speed that you set on the brake controller. Like on this one here, we have a sync switch here that controls how fast it comes on and then this knob here controls how much power it takes to stop the trailer. Basically you hit your foot brake and it comes on at the rate you determine and at how much power youve set aside for it, and then it stays there until you completely let off the brake. more

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Posted: 11/12/2008 6:30:05 PM

Draw-Tite Activator Brake Controller Review - Video

Today we are gong to show you part number 5100 from Draw-Tite. This is their Activator electronic brake controller. The 5100 is a solid state brake controller, which means it has no moving parts in it whatsoever. So you can actually mount this controller in any orientation that you would like: upside down, rightside up, sideways - it does not matter, because it has a time delay device, which makes it really easy to use, also. There are only three simple controls on this unit. Again, that makes it easy to use. First off, you have got the manual override right here, and that controls the trailer brakes just by themselves. And then you have got the output here. This output button - a slide switch, actually - it basically goes from no power up to full power. Depending on the trailer load you have, it can be anywhere in between these two settings right here. And then lastly there is a synch switch on the side here, farther away. The faster the brake controller reacts and closer to you, the slower the brake controller will react. more

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Posted: 9/22/2008 10:22:23 AM

Valley Odyssey II Brake Controller Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number 32810. This is the Odyssey II brake controller. This is manufactured by Valley. This is a total electronic brake controller. It is proportional so it is a really easy-to-use unit. We will go over some of the features here and then show you how it works. First off, we will cover some of the functions on the brake controller. It is a little bit different from most. You may be used to the slide lever being on the side, to activate the manual override. Well, this one has a pressure-sensitive switch on this corner here. And you push it down, and the harder you press, the more current goes out. What is different about this brake controller is that is has all push buttons on it. You may be used to brake controllers that have the lever on the side or underneath, but on this one it is all push buttons. And for your manual override, you use this button right here. It is a pressure-sensitive switch, basically the harder you press the more current goes out. more

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Posted: 9/2/2008 1:13:03 PM

Tekonsha P-3 Proportional Brake Controller Review - Video

Today we are going to show you Part Number 90195 from Tekonsha. This is their P3 trailer brake controller. This is pretty much their top-of-the-line brake controller that is out on the market right now. What you need is, obviously, the brake controller itself, plus the mounting bracket, which is pretty unique. It actually grabs it from the top of the brake controller and snaps into place. And this little bracket here actually gets bolted on to the top here, and then this gets bolted onto your dash. And you can angle the brake controller in whatever direction you need. It also comes with a quick disconnect harness, which plugs into the back of the brake controller, and if you want to take it off when you are not using it, you just disconnect from the harness and tuck this away. And then you do not have it on your dash when you are not needing it. more

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Posted: 9/2/2008 9:15:22 AM

Brake Controller Wiring - What are the Wire Colors? - Video

Today we are going to cover a frequently asked question. It really turns up a lot. And actually it is easier than you think. Basically, if you have a pickup and you got a tow package with it and you got one of these wire harnesses that plug underneath the dash and plugs into your brake controller, you might have five or sometimes even more wires coming off of it. And you notice that your brake controller only uses four. We have got one over here, we will show you, that has just the four wires and what do you do with the extra wires? The short answer is do not worry about it, because the brake controller has all that it needs from these four wires. more

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Posted: 8/29/2008 12:54:26 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 2005 Dodge Durango - Video

Today we are going to do our install on a 2005 Dodge Durango with the tow package from the factory, and we are going to install Part Number 90185, the Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller. And we are also going to install the accompanying brake control harness for the Dodge tow package, and that is Part Number 3020P. To begin our install, we will start with the bracketry to hold our brake controller. And that is actually pretty easy. There is already an existing screw underneath the dash, and we are going to use that. We use a torx bit and we are going to go ahead and take that down. Then we run our bracket right back through it, and we are going to overlap so it will sandwich the plastic back up there like it was originally. more

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Posted: 8/28/2008 9:47:01 PM

Testing Wiring on an Electronic Brake Controller Demonstration - Video

Today we are going to cover a few notes on testing an electronic brake controller. What we are going to cover here is going to apply to virtually all brake controllers. Basically, if you run into a problem where you think your brake controller is not working, well, it could be a the brake controller or b it could be something in the truck itself, in the connector or c it actually could be problems in the trailer. What we are going to show you today is how to look for problems that will either rule out the brake controller or make sure that it is the brake controllers fault. Just like any electronic devices, they seem to have a limited lifespan some will work for years and some will not. But this way you can also verify that it is working good. more

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Posted: 8/29/2008 7:37:24 AM

Brake Controller Installation - 1999 Ford F250 - Video

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. more

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Posted: 8/29/2008 6:05:40 AM

Brake Controller Installation - 2008 GMC Sierra - Video

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. 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 that 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 actually going to 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 and you want to line up the notches and just rotate it and it locks 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. more

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Posted: 9/2/2008 12:30:05 AM

Tekonsha Prodigy Brake Controller Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number 90185 from Tekonsha. This is their Prodigy controller right here. This is actually Tekonshas most popular brake controller, the Prodigy. And this is what you get in the box. Obviously you get the brake controller itself. Then you get the pocket that holds the brake controller especially if you have to transport it between 2 different vehicles. You also get the permanent mounting bracket which is actually nice and takes up less room. You also get the hardware to install the brake controller to the dash and to the bracket. A few butt connectors are in there to use for any wire connections. Speaking of wiring, it comes with a universal wiring harness that will plug into the back of the brake controller then you run your lines to the various circuits in the vehicle. Also to help you out it comes with a little informational DVD. more

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Posted: 8/6/2008 4:11:35 PM

Valley Odyssey Proportional Brake Controller Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number 52801 from Valley. This is their Odyssey electronic brake controller. This is a proportional brake controller which means it works with the inertia within your vehicle. For instance when you hit your brakes there is something in the brake controller that moves forward. As it moves forward it sends out how much current is needed to apply to the trailer brakes. When you left off the brake it lets off the brake at the same time. So your braking will be the same between your truck and trailer. What you get with the kit is obviously the brake controller itself, a mounting bracket, and an adhesive square to attach the brake controller to the dash or the bracket. Also it comes with assembly screws and even directions on how to install the brake controller. more

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Posted: 5/21/2009 12:54:28 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 2003 Ford F250 - Video

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. more

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Posted: 7/14/2008 3:41:46 AM

Brake Controller Installation - 2005 Ford E250 without Tow Package - Video

The parts we are going to be using on our van today are the prodigy brake controller and the standard harness that comes with it. We will be adding a harness that will plug into the port in the van. This is one of those tow part packages we are going to fill in a blank with. Right now we are going to put our harness with our other harness here that came with the brake controller. It is a pretty simple procedure. We are going to match color for color. If you were using a factory brake controller harness, chances are there would be different colors and you just match the labels to the brake control wires. more

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Posted: 7/18/2008 1:05:38 AM

Activator II Brake Controller by Draw-Tite and Reese Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part # 5500 from Draw-Tite. This is an Activator II brake controller. This is a time delayed brake controller. Basically what it means is that power is set at a predetermined rate that you control. And then you control also through a slide lever how soon the power comes on. You can set it for a half second or a whole second before the power in the brakes kick in and activate. This brake controller can handle up to 4 brake axles. It does have digital output indicator. It will also tell you if you have an overload situation or a short in your wires somewhere in your brake line. This unit is 100 percent solid state with no moving parts, so you can mount it anyway you like it, upside down, sideways it does not matter. It is really great in smaller vehicles with very limited space to sit in. Next we will cover how it works. more

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Posted: 8/6/2008 11:14:42 AM

Activator III Brake Controller by Draw-Tite and Reese Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part # 5520 from Draw-Tite. What we have here is a 1 to 4 Electronic Brake Controller by Draw-Tite and is also manufactured by Reese. We will start off with some of the key features of this brake controller. Again it can work for 1-4 brake axles. It has a digital output meter on a scale of 1-10 on how much power you need. It also has an easy to use thumb wheel output adjustment. It will also tell you if there is an overload commission, like a short in your blue wire. It does come with a limited lifetime warranty. The unit is 100 percent solid state. Which means you can mount it upside down, sideways, whatever is most convenient for you when installing it to the dash of your vehicle. It is totally electronic, although no hydraulic connections are needed. We will go ahead and show you some features and show you how it works more

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Posted: 8/6/2008 11:14:16 AM

Pilot 2-6 Brake Electronic Brake Controller Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number 39518 from Hidden Hitch. This is the Pilot 1 to 3 axle electronic brake controller. This is the time delay version. What is really nice about this brake controller is that it offers you 2 different options on mounting it to your vehicle. You can mount it with the traditional bracket or the ballmount where you can mount it at an angle and put it in any position you want. It does have a LED numeric display that shows the voltage output, which is nice. There is even a way that, if you want to mount it upside down, the numbers on the display will stay right side up. Another nice feature is that it has diagnostic that tells you if a wire has a short or not. more

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Posted: 7/18/2008 6:34:29 AM

Valley Journey HD Electric Brake Controller Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number V52740 the Valley Journey HD 2-8 Electric Brake Controller. This here is designed for 1 to 4 brake axles. It also has an easy to read digital display. It has a simple to use thumb wheel that controls output and sync. Basically output is how much power needs to be given to the trailer. Sync is how fast or slow the brakes come on. It also has a built in diagnostics system to check for shorts in the wires. This brake controller is also a solid state unit. Which means no moving parts so you can mount it anyway you want. Upside down, right side up or even sideways it does not matter. One of the other features is the easy to use disconnect socket. We will go ahead and show you how it works. more

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Posted: 7/23/2008 9:09:31 AM

Tekonsha Powertrac Electric Brake Controller Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number 39523 from Tekonsha. This is their powertrac electric brake controller. This brake controller is good for up to 2 axles. We will cover a few quick notes about this. When you hook up the trailer, it does come with a power on LED that lets you know you have a positive connection between the truck and the trailer. And also, that green indicator that lets you know that you are connected, changes to orange and then to red as the power to your trailer brakes increase. It has an easy to use thumb wheel adjustment on the side. It is also a solid state so you can mount this in any direction that you want. You can put it vertical, you can put it sideways, whatever way is most comfortable for you. Now we will go ahead and demonstrate it and show you how it works. more

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Posted: 7/22/2008 3:55:43 AM

Brake Controller Installation Wiring Kit Review - Video

Today we will show you part number ETBC7 brake controller installation kit. What this kit does is it fills in the blanks between your 4 pole connector and the brake controller. Basically on the instructions of your brake controller, it will show you a link between the foot brake and stop light switch, a battery, and then a line going out to the connector out back. This kit here fills in those missing pieces. We will cover each individual part. First we will start from the rear of the vehicle and work our way forward. This part here is 7 and 4 pole to 4 pole adapter. This will plug into your existing 4 pole that you have on your vehicle. It just plugs in like normal while this white wire gets grounded to the body of the vehicle. You will have a couple extra wires. The black wire will be ran to the battery. This blue wire here gets run to the blue wire on the brake controller. more

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Posted: 8/6/2008 4:19:11 PM

Valley Journey Electric Brake Controller Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number V52650 from Valley. This is the Valley Journey Electric brake controller. This is good for 1 to 2 axles. We will cover a few features of this brake controller for one it is a nice and small device. It can fit anywhere in a compact vehicle. It has a simple to use LED indicator light. There is also a little thumb wheel on the side to adjust the power as needed. It also comes with a slide adjustment for the ramp time. Basically it is how slow or how soon the brakes come on. It also has a little built in diagnostic system that constantly check for shorts in the blue wire system. This brake controller is solid state. Which means it does not have any moving parts and you can mount it virtually anywhere in the truck. Just as long as it is comfortable for you and easy to reach. more

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Posted: 7/23/2008 4:07:37 AM

Valley Odyssey Electric Brake Controller Typical Installation - Video

The first step is to figure out where we are going to mount the brake controller. Usually, typically, it is on the right hand side, on the driver side, right about here. And we will go ahead and mark it and then put it up there, mark it, and drill it out to mount it. And next what we will do is mount the brake controller into the bracket and then locate where we are going to run our wires underneath. more

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Posted: 7/18/2008 10:20:39 AM

Brake Controller Installation - 2007 Dodge Sprinter without Tow Package - Video

The first thing were going to do is mount the wiring harness to the van. Well have to make a few connections. Well run this to the stoplight switch, the red wire, the white will get run to the battery ground, and the black will be ran to the positive ground. The blue wire will get run all the way to the back to the seven pole connector. Well do the brake pedal switch wire first, this gets connected to the cold side of the brake switch. Which means when you hit the brake, the wire comes on. Next well run our last three wires, which well have to go out the firewall. Theres a nice handy grommet here, well put a slice in it, poke our wires through and make our connections to the outside. Be sure to leave enough on the inside to be able to reach your brake controller. To mount our bracket for the brake controller we have this nice flat spot right here across this gap. more

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Posted: 7/23/2008 12:22:23 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 2003 Ford F250 - Video

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. more

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Posted: 7/23/2008 2:21:09 AM

Brake Controller Installation - 2004 Ford F150 - Video

If you are throwing around the idea of installing a brake controller or needed one yesterday this video will show you step by step what is required. Many trucks come with a factory provided brake control wiring harness which is usually tucked into the glove compartment. On this video we will demonstrate how to install the Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller using this OEM harness. Since this truck has the tow package the only hardwiring required is between the factory harness and the controller. If you want to eliminate all hardwiring and make installation even faster you can opt to purchase the Tekonsha custom wiring harness if one is available for your vehicle. more

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Posted: 7/17/2008 7:25:05 PM

Brake Controller Installation - 2006 Ford Ranger Part 2 - Video

This is the second video showing the final steps required to install the Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller on the 2006 Ford Ranger truck. It can sound like a lot of work but finish watching the video, you will see it really is not as hard as it may sound. You will see where the brake controller is actually mounted in the drivers area and how the connections to the battery are made more

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Posted: 8/6/2008 11:15:44 AM

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