Brake controller - Tacoma TRD

Hi,

Does anyone know where to start to find a wire for activating a brake controller on a 2000 Tacoma TRD. i.e. which wire attached to the switch that activates the brake lights.

If someone knows, I'd prefer not to have to test them all.

Thanks for any assistance, Robert

Reply to
Robert Smith
Loading thread data ...

Its not there. You will need the regular tail lamp converter, in addition, you'll need the brake controller and some large wires coming from the battery to the controller. This will be the black wire, then going to the brakes will be a blue wire. These need to be protected, so use 10 gauge wire and a 20 am breaker for a single axle braking setup, use a 30 amp for tandem axles. And if your trailer needs a charging circuit, add another 12 gauge wire and a 30 amp breaker, this will protect it and also act as a current limiter. Then you'll need the connector for the plug, usually the 7 way RV type is the most common. I've set mine up for tandem axles and charge system. I purchases another fuse block lid and mounted my controller to this, then I hooked my controller to a 4 pin connector, now I unplug my fuse block cover, then snap on my controller and plug it in. That way I wont have it in my way when I'm not towing.

Reply to
MDT Tech®

Thanks.

Reply to
Robert Smith

The capacity of the auto-reset circuit breaker you need for the trailer brake controller will be specified in the instructions for the controller. Some brands require a 20 amp breaker, other brands require a 30 amp breaker.

With the 30 amp breaker, it's wise to use #10 wire, both for the brakes and for the charging line. Connect these postive wires either to the battery + terminal or to the positive stud in the fuse box.

You will need to find the wire from the brake light switch to the brake lights for all except the Jordan controller. As you say, this wire activates the brake controller.

I prefer to run a #10 negative wire from the trailer connector to the battery negative post. I feel that the circuit is more reliable, especially for the trailer brakes, with a negative wire rather than depending on ground connections through the chassis for the negative side of the circuit.

The only two trailer brake controller that I feel are worth consideration are the Tekonsha Prodigy and the Jordan Ultima. Either of these are far superior to everything else on the market.

formatting link

Ken

Reply to
Ken Shelton

On my '03 Land Cruiser with tow package, I've finally located the trailer brake controller connector (had to remove a heat duct to find it well concealed behind the instrument panel). But there was no pig tail with mating connector in the car when I bought it. Toyota web site email communiction says it should have been in the glove compartment.

I called the dealer where I bought it and they said LC doesn't come with the pig tail, although they were able to find one in a Tundra. Why isn' t this item included with the LC? Other SUV's like Tahoe and Yukon always include it with the trailer tow package.

Tekonsha lists a Toyota harness to use with their Prodigy controller, but says it is not yet available. That would eliminate the need for the pig tail harness.

Dick Ballard snipped-for-privacy@att.net

Reply to
Dick Ballard

Dick, the new 03 rigs are now prewired and your connectro should be in the glove box. If not, have the dealer give you one from the Tundra and they can order a repalcement for the Tundra one!

Reply to
MDT Tech®

I can see it now. They forget to get a replacement so the fellow who buys the Tundra comes back, looking for one and they have to "borrow" one from another Tundra, and on it goes until they get to someone who doesn't plan to tow a trailer... :>))

Tom - Vista, CA

Reply to
TOM

Don't know what you mean by "It's not there". If the '00 is the same as the '02, the wire he is looking for is the cold side of the vehicle brake light switch. It is a green with white stripe wire. It's a bear to get at up at the switch itself. I tied into it farther down in the wiring harness under the plastic kick panel on the drivers side. My '02 had a factory tow hitch and wiring harness installed . It did not, however, have any wiring for a brake controller. I used a Tekonsha Prodigy controller which needed a brake light signal to activate. Just tie the appropriate wire into that green one with the white stripe (after confirmation test, of course) and you are good to go. I guess you could go farther back and get into the actual trailer brake light wiring but I found that not to be necessary.

Reply to
Rod Thompson

Robert, For what it's worth: I just hooked up my 02 Tundra today with a Tek-Prodigy. On the Tundra, there were 4 wires coming out of the brake sensor. Fortunately the Green with white stripe is the same as at the taillight and tested out with the right voltage. (Tapped red to this wire). Had to remove the panel by the seat and the panel to the left of the brake (just held in by clips and one finger screw) to get to the wire. Way to hard to get up under the dash.

Ran power, ground and brake (blue) from prodigy through the grommet for the heater control. Hooked direct to battery (in line fuse) and ran blue all the way back to the hookup in rear.

Hope that helps! Took me and a friend 4 hrs to do everything. The beauty part was that the controller fit into the opening in the dash for the ashtray. Just remove the ashtray and the metal and plastic holder, unclip the plastic clips and makes a great mounting plate for the controller.

Best of luck.

Reply to
oops_I_live_in_Jersey

That is very helpful, thanks. The Tacoma has the Green and White at the controller as well. I'll tap and check that one first.

Another great idea. I had not considered that before.

Reply to
Robert Smith

Shh!! That's supposed to be a Secret Plan. If you go running off at the mouth and tell everyone... ;-P

-->--

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

Now go back, remove the inline fuse holder and install an automatic reset circuit breaker of the right size, RIGHT NOW. Fuse elements will sometimes pop from fatigue for no particular reason even if they are not overloaded, while a thermal circuit breaker will reset in 15 seconds or so, and electric brakes are a critical safety item.

The LAST thing you want is to be heading down a very long, very steep pass with a fully loaded truck and trailer and have Murphy's Law pick that moment for the electric brake fuse to pop. They'll be scraping you and the truck off the canyon walls for a week. ;-P

-->--

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.