Troubleshooting Trailer Brakes Not Working with 7-Way to 6-Way Adapter

Updated 09/23/2019 | Published 09/20/2019

Question:

Have a 6 way plug, only five wires trying to figure out which is brakes because it has them. Now I have a new truck and trying a adapter to a rv plug. No brakes. It says something about swapping a blue and black wire on adapter. Will this cure my issue?

asked by: Douglas W

Expert Reply:

It sounds like you are using an adapter like the Hopkins # 47549 to connect the 7-Way on your truck to the 6-Way on your trailer. You are on the right track with your troubleshooting as there are two common ways for a 6-Way connector to be wired; one with the center pin wired for 12V power and the other that uses the center pin for brake output. These are the black (12V power) and blue (brake output) wires that you mentioned.

This particular adapter is set up for the center pin to carry the hot lead. If the 6-Way connector on your trailer is wired for the center pin to carry the brake circuit then you can just swap the blue and black wires on the 6-pin side of the adapter and you should be good to go. I have attached a link below that includes a short video on how to do this.

If this doesn't resolve the issue just let me know and I will be happy to look into this further.

expert reply by: Chris R