Brake Controller has No Power, No 12 Volt or Trailer Brake Connections at Rear of 2002 Chevy Pickup

Question:

I have the Prodigy 90185 with the GM cable plugged into factory connector. There is no power to the unit. I also wired a Pollack 7 way trailer connector. I cant find, probably not there, both the blue trailer brake and -12vdc wiring this is at the bumper. Turn, run, ground and backup are there and connected. I do see a red and a blue inside not connected the under hood fuse panel. I can fuse and connect the 10Ga red wire has a ring terminal on it, but I dont know where it runs to. Same thing with the blue wire, except it has a black plug it looks like what it plugs into isnt there maybe an auto resetting circuit breaker ?. The brake feed is fused with a 30A, but again, nothing on the terminal. The -12vdc terminal is called Stud 1 the brake feed is called Stud 2. Can you shed some light as to where I go from here. I have no problem running wiring from one end to the other, but if factory wiring can be used, I prefer to use it. Please let me know. Thanks

asked by: Clinton J

Expert Reply:

Your problem is both well documented and easily overcome. The good news is that you are looking in the right place. The bad news, well, there is no bad news! Here is what you need to do.

Under the hood, where you found those red and blue wires, you will need to make some connections. Place the red wire with the ring terminal onto the nearest positive post. Place a 30 amp fuse in the spot closest to the positive post. Next, clip off that connector you saw on the blue wire.

If you have not done so, you will need to route a wire (duplex cable) from the 7-Way you installed, under the truck, and up into the engine compartment. If you need the wire, use Jacketed 2 Wire, # 10-2-1. Be sure to avoid areas that might pinch or burn the cable.

This cable has two wires in it. The black wire connects to the black wire on the 7-Way and the white wire connects to the blue wire on the 7-Way. The black connects to the positive battery terminal via a 40 amp circuit breaker, # PK54540. The other wire (white) connects to the blue wire you found under the hood. With these connections made, you will have power and a functioning brake controller.

I have included a link to an FAQ article on installing a brake controller on 1996-2006 Chevy and GM pickups below.

expert reply by: Michael H