Wiring Brake Controller to a 2009 Chevy Silverado 1500 that Uses Non-Standard Colors

Question:

I have a 2009 Silverado 1500 and the wires on the truck come taped off under the dash. The wire colors you give above does not match what I have on the controller. I have a blue wire, a black wire, a red wire, and a white wire. Under the dash I have red, orange, light blue, and dark blue. Which goes to which ?

asked by: Gerald

Expert Reply:

The colors you have are definitely different from most trucks of your generation. This isn't totally uncommon as we have seen where manufacturers will run out of one color of wire and just substitute it with whatever is convenient.

What you would need to do is test the wires with a circuit tester like part # PTW2993 to determine the function of each. Most likely the red will be 12 volt power so test to verify that it has 12 volts all the time. It would get run to black wire of the controller. Dark blue would most likely be the brake output so it wouldn't see any voltage, it would get ran to the blue wire of the controller. But we can come back to this one later.

The next wire you need to find is the one that sees 12 volts when the brakes are applied but none when released. This will go to the red wire of the brake controller. Most likely this will be the light blue or orange.

Ground the tester to the constant 12-volt power wire, then probe the remaining two wires. The wire that lights the tester will be the ground, the other will be the brake output circuit.

expert reply by: Jameson C