Brake Controller Needed to Actuate Electric Trailer Brakes

Question:

I have AL-KO 10 electric brakes on the front axles of my 16 car hauler. The brakes are installed in a manner that when the brake light comes on, it energizes the electric brakes as well. Is this a proper installation? If not, what is a proper controller for these brakes. Not sure what the weight of the trailer is, but my race car and equipment weighs about 2500lb total. Thanks for any help.

asked by: Bob S

Expert Reply:

If your trailer brakes are wired into your brake light circuit on your tow vehicle as you describe, as soon as you apply the vehicle brakes, a full 12-volts will be immediately sent to the brakes which will typically lock them up unless they are incorrectly adjusted so that they merely apply a slight drag.

The correct method to actuate your trailer brakes is to use a brake controller. Brake controllers are not vehicle specific, so you can use whichever controller you wish. Brake controllers have two different actuating methods, time delayed and proportional. Time delayed controllers will always send the same preset amount of current to the brakes, regardless of how quickly the tow vehicle is braking. In my opinion, the proportional system offers greater safety with stops that are more predictable. A proportional controller features an internal sensor that can immediately sense how quickly the vehicle is braking and will then send the correct voltage to the trailer brakes so that the vehicle and trailer brake at the same rate.

I would recommend the Tekonsha Prodigy P2 part # 90885. From your question, I am not certain which trailer connector your Liberty currently has.

Your car hauler most likely uses the 7-way connector. The lead that is currently tied to the brake light should be ran under the vehicle to the engine compartment and through the firewall to the cab.

The controller is typically mounted under the dash to the right of the driver so that it is within easy reach. The Prodigy P2 I recommended will have four wires exiting the rear of the unit. The black wire would run to the positive battery terminal, via a 30-amp inline circuit breaker such as our part # 38630. The white brake controller wire grounds to the negative battery terminal. The blue wire carries the output from the brake controller to the trailer brakes and would connect to the wire ran forward from the trailer connector at the bumper. The red brake controller wire is tied into the brake stoplight switch located at the top of the brake pedal. This switch can have several wires extending from it, use a circuit tester like part # PTW2993 to probe each wire. When you locate the wire that ONLY shows voltage when the brake pedal is pressed, tap the red wire from the brake controller into that circuit.

We offer several brake controller installation kits. Part # ETBC7 or # ETBC6 is the full kit, which includes all wire, hardware, circuit breakers and an adapter that will convert an existing 4-pole connector to either a 6 or 7-way. If you already have the 6 or 7-way connector, part # 5506 provides the wire, connectors and circuit breaker.

We have some online resources to assist with your installation. We have a brake controller installation guide, as well as an installation video which I will link to below. The video shows the controller being installed on a different vehicle, but the procedure will be similar.