Hardwiring a Reese Brake Controller to Factory Brake Control Harness on a 2011 Dodge Ram Sport

Question:

I have a 2011 dodge ram sport, I am trying to hook up a reese trailer brake controller, the wire colors on the harness on the dodge donot match up to the brake controller wiring harness colors. Does anybody know which colors go with what. the dodge colors are green, white with purple stripe, yellow with red stripe and black with green stripe. The colors on the reese brake controller are red, black, white and blue. Thank you

asked by: Andy N

Expert Reply:

On your 2011 Dodge Ram Sport the wire colors you have do not match anything that I have on the factory brake controller harness so to determine the functions the factory harness will have to be tested using a circuit tester such as # 40376.

There should be a wire that has power all the time. This is the 12 volt wire and connects to the brake controller black wire. There should also be a wire that only has power when you step on the brake pedal. That wire will connect to the brake controller red wire.

That leaves ground and output to the trailer brakes. The safest way to determine which wire is which is to apply 12 volt power from a separate battery to the 7-Way connector pin in the 5 o'clock position. Then test the remaining 2 wires. One will have power and one will not. The one that has power connects to the brake controller blue wire and the one that does not connects to the brake controller white wire.

The other option is to use # 3021-S which plugs into your truck and the wire colors will match the brake controller color for color.

expert reply by: Michael H