Brake Controller that Shows No Power and Starts Smoking
Question:
I have a 2000 Dodge Ram and I installed the brake controller to the factory harness and there was no power to the unit. I check fuses and the were ok. As I started to drive, the controller was pluged in and started smoking, even though no power lights were showing. I quickly unplugged it. When I installed the controller harness to the factory harness, I color matched the wires. Was this wrong to assume color matching the wires was correct? Any advice?
asked by: Mike
Expert Reply:
The wires DO NOT match up color for color. It sounds as if the controller was wired incorrectly, and is most likely inoperable. There are two different color wiring harnesses that Dodge used. If one of the wires on the harness was green, the wires should mate up as follows: The white wire on the harness with the red stripe would supply the 12V, and would connect with the black brake controller wire. The blue wire on the harness with the white stripe provides the braking signal from the vehicle, and connects with the red wire on the brake controller. The Green wire with the black stripe is the ground feed, and connects to the white brake controller wire. The blue wire no stripe on the harness is the brake output, and connects with the blue controller wire.
If there is NO green wire on your factory harness, the red wire with the black stripe would connect to the black wire on the controller. The white wire with the tan stripe would connect to the red wire on the controller, the black harness wire connects with the white brake controller wire, and the blue wires would connect together. I will link you to a page with all our brake controllers if you need to purchase a replacement.
