How to Install a Brake Controller in a 2005 Jeep Liberty

Updated 02/17/2016 | Published 02/15/2016

Products Featured in This Question

Tekonsha Prodigy P2 Trailer Brake Controller - 1 to 4 Axles - Proportional

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Wiring Kit for 2, 4, 6, and 8 Brake Electric Trailer Brake Controllers

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$57.18

Hook Probe Circuit Tester

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Question:

Hi, does this brake controller come with the plug and play wiring harness, if I the option of having a factory 7 pin plug installed ?

asked by: Exavier

Expert Reply:

To wire in a brake controller on your 2005 Jeep Liberty that has a 7-way you will need to hardwire it since there isn't a port on your vehicle that allows for a simple plug-in install.

The four wires on the back of the brake controller are:

White: Ground, attached to the vehicles negative battery terminal.
Black: 12v power lead, attached to the positive battery terminal with a 20 amp or 30 amp circuit breaker. Use the 20 amp breaker if your trailer will typically only have 1 to 2 sets of brakes, or use the 30 amp if your trailer has 3 to 4 sets.
Blue: Electric brakes, attached to the blue electric brake wire on the 7-Way connector at the rear of the vehicle.
Red: Stoplight switch, normally located directly off the vehicle's brake pedal. Attach to the wire on the switch that only has a signal when the brake pedal is pressed.

I am including a link to a FAQ page on brake controller wiring.

Since you have a factory 7-way connector at the rear of your Jeep then you will want to look for a blue (brake controller) wire to be stored up under the drivers side of the dash. It will be taped to the back of another wiring harness. You will run the blue brake output wire from your brake controller to this wire.

The stoplight switch will be underneath the driver side dash as well. I would recommend using a circuit tester like part # PTW2993 to verify which wire on the stoplight switch has voltage when the brake is applied and none when the brake is not being applied. You will attach the red wire from the brake controller to this stoplight switch wire.

Next, you will want to run the black power wire of the brake controller through a breaker to the positive side of your battery and run the white ground wire to the negative side of your battery.

You can use the Draw-Tite Wiring Kit, part # 5506 which has a 30 amp circuit breaker to connect the black and white wires from the brake controller to the vehicles battery.