Recommended Electric Brake Controller and 7-Way Trailer Connector for a 1995 Dodge Ram  

Question:

Expert Reply:

The # 5504 brake controller and wiring adapter kit # 20127 would be a good choice for your 1995 Dodge Ram 1500, as long as your truck came with the factory 4-Way plug. This kit would allow you to plug in directly, for an easy installation.

If your truck does have the 4-Way plug, you would just need a 4-Way to 7-Way adapter, like part # 37185, to equip the vehicle with the 7-Way connector. This adapter would plug into the 4-Way, and you would connect the additional wires on the adapter to complete the installation.

The wires and their functions are:

White: Ground wire, connected to a suitable grounding point on the vehicle frame.
Blue: Electric brake wire, connected to the electric brake wire coming from the back side of the brake controller. On your truck, this wire is ran back to the end of the drivers side frame rail, so you would be able to tap into it at this point in the rear of the vehicle.
Black: 12v power wire, connected to the vehicle positive battery terminal with a 40amp circuit breaker, part # 9510.
Purple: Used to power reverse lights on the trailer if present, or to power a reverse lockout function or other auxiliary power function. If not needed, this wire can be tied up.

If your truck does not have the factory 4-Way plug, you will need to hard wire to install the brake controller. First, you will need to install a 4-Way plug if you have not done so already, part # 118329 if needed.

Instead of the # 5100-20261 kit, you would only need the # 5100 brake controller. In this case, I would recommend the # ETBC7 brake controller installation kit as well, which includes the 4 to 7-Way adapter, as well as the rest of the items needed to complete the brake controller installation. You would connect the wires for the brake controller as follows:

White: Ground, attached to a clean piece of unpainted metal.
Black: 12v lead, attached to the vehicle positive battery terminal with a 20amp or 30amp circuit breaker, included with the installation kit.
Blue: Electric brakes, attached to the blue electric brake wire on the 6 or 7-way plug.
Red: Stoplight switch, normally located directly off the vehicle brake pedal.

The # 37185 adapter is included with the # ETBC7 kit, and would be installed as I described above.

I have included links to more information below on wiring for a brake controller, as well as a typical installation video.

expert reply by: Sarah L

0