Do All of the Wires on a 7-Way need to be Connected for the Brake Controller to Recognize a Trailer  

Question:

Expert Reply:

I spoke to my contact at Hopkins and he stated that both the 7-Way on the vehicle and the 7-Way on the trailer, # H20046 that you have referenced, should be completely wired before setting up and/or adjusting the Hopkins Agility Brake Controller, # HM47294. For the brake controller to recognize the trailer, in addition to the blue wire you have connected, you will need at least the ground wire on the trailer connected, ground wire on the vehicle side 7-Way connected, and the trailer on the ball in order to complete the circuit. I have included a video showing installation of the H20046 7-Way trailer side connector below.

On the 7-Way Molded Trailer Wire Connector, # H20046, the wire colors and functions are as follows.

White wire = ground
Red wire = left turn and brake
Brown wire = right turn and brake
Green wire = tail lights
Blue wire = Brake power
Black wire = 12 volt
Yellow wire = auxiliary or reverse lights

I have also included a trailer wiring FAQ article that explains typical trailer wiring. Once you have everything wired up and properly grounded, plug it in again and it should recognize that a trailer is connected and show one red dot in the bottom right corner of the display screen. At this point I would go ahead and follow the OPERATING / SETTING YOUR CONTROLLER and TESTING / ADJUSTING THE BRAKING RESPONSE sections of the instructions linked below.

expert reply by: Michael H

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