To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
The Tekonsha P2 is a classic brake controller you know you can rely on. It's easy to install, and with the custom harness, it's plug-and-play.
Features:
Specs:
Gain is the maximum amount of power that will be applied to your trailer's brakes. How much braking output you need is determined by the weight of your trailer; a heavier trailer will need more power to bring it to a stop. You want to go as high as you can without the trailer brakes locking up.
You can adjust the gain by turning the thumbwheel on the front of the controller.
The boost setting controls the aggressiveness of your trailer's braking, meaning how quickly the brakes reach the maximum braking level. If your vehicle takes too long to come to a stop, increase the setting. If it stops too abruptly, decrease the setting.
Depending on the level of boost, your trailer brakes can start at either 13 percent or 25 percent of the set gain. So instead of starting at 0, the brakes will start at 25 percent and get to 100 percent sooner. This keeps the trailer from pushing your tow vehicle forward.
Boost Levels:
| Approximate Gross Trailer Weight | Boost Level | Increase in Initial Power Output |
|---|---|---|
| Less than tow vehicle GVW | B1 | 13% |
| Equal to tow vehicle GVW | B1 or B2 | 13% or 25% |
| Up to 25% more than tow vehicle GVW | B2 or B3* | 25% |
| Up to 40% more than tow vehicle GVW | B3* | 25% |
*Both B2 and B3 offer a 25-percent boost in initial power. But the braking curve for B3 is more aggressive than that of B2. This means that, even though you will start out with the same intensity when using these boost levels, you will get an overall more aggressive braking experience with the higher level. So if you use B3, you will reach maximum braking sooner than if you use B2.
To engage the manual override, twist the rotary-style lever from right to left. This will activate the trailer's brakes and brake lights independently of your vehicle, great for stopping sway or controlling your trailer's momentum in an emergency.
The Prodigy P2 offers key safety features to prevent damage to your towing setup:
- Integrated reverse battery protection shields the brake controller and your trailer's breakaway system from shorts.
- When the P2 is not in use, it draws only 3.6 milliamps to minimize the drain on your vehicle's battery.
- Any time your vehicle and trailer are at a standstill with the brakes applied for more than 5 seconds, the hold feature will kick on and reduce power to just 25 percent. This will keep your trailer in place without your brakes overheating.
The Prodigy P2 also runs continuous diagnostics to check for problems as they come up, including:
Installing the P2 is incredibly simple. You'll mount the bracket to your dashboard then mount the unit to the bracket. Plug the custom harness into your vehicle and into the unit. Done!
Keep in mind that the P2 must be horizontally level and parallel with the direction of travel to work correctly.
With a replacement wiring harness (sold separately) and replacement bracket (P7685 - sold separately), you can even transfer the Prodigy P2 to another vehicle.
Note: If you don't already have a 7-way plug at the back of your vehicle, take a look at our exclusive 7- and 4-way brake controller installation kit (ETBC7 - sold separately).
Proportional braking means that your trailer brakes mimic your tow vehicle's brakes. If you slam on the brakes, your trailer brakes will activate with the same intensity; if you brake lightly, your trailer brakes lightly too. The trailer's braking is in proportion to your vehicle's braking. This saves wear and tear on the tires and the brakes on both your vehicle and trailer.
The Prodigy P2 uses an internal inertia sensor to detect how your vehicle is braking so it can send the right amount of braking power to your trailer. It measures the inertia of your tow vehicle and activates the trailer's brakes to slow at the same rate. The result is uniform braking across your towing setup. No push-pull action - just smooth, proportional braking every time.
Alternate Instructions
California residents: click here
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
All right, today on this 2012 Toyota Tacoma were going to install a brake controller, part number 90885 from Tekonsha. This is a Prodigy P2. To help us install this were also going to use part number 3040-P. This is a cable that will go between the brake controller and the port on the truck. Well start off with this part number. Well go ahead and look for the port underneath the dash on the left hand side by the drivers side door.
When we look for a wiring harness going vertical well see a mass of wires. Now, look for a rather thick blue wire compared to the rest of them and our port should be connected to that. Now in this particular vehicle the port was actually hidden behind the wires and you could not see it at all. You have to use your fingers to feel around for the back side of the wires to help pull the port around. We have it pulled out just enough to give you an idea of where to look for it.
Now well go ahead and pull the rest of the wires out, and well go ahead and plug in our adapter cable. The two white ends match up and well plug them together. Now well also take the white wire with the ring terminal and we need to ground that to the body so well take a self-tapping sheet metal screw and well attach that to the inside sheet metal of the vehicle. Now lets go ahead and find a place for our brake controller. You want the brake controller more or less in a straight position.
It can be tilted up and down as needed to, but not too much of a twist so because of this were going to locate ours on the left hand side. Well make sure our brackets straight, well hold the bracket up a little bit lower than we would and make a couple marks on the dash. Well go ahead and attach it to the plastic using the sheet metal screws provided. With our bracket in place we can go ahead and attach the adapter cord to our brake controller, and then well attach the brake controller to our bracket. Therell be two screws that attach it from the side, and then well take a few zip ties and zip tie the excess cable behind the dash.
When we plug in our trailer youll see that our brake controller will display a C for connected. If theres not a trailer itll display NC for no connection. Now well check the manual override. You can see we have the numbers show up from zero to eleven, and then well go ahead and turn the boost on to position one then well hit the brake pedal. That will let us know that we have signal from the brake pedal. So that looks like everything is working. And with that that will finish it for our install of part number 90885 from Tekonsha, the Prodigy P2 brake controller on our 2012 Toyota Tacoma.
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