Troubleshooting Brake Controller Installation On 2014 Chrysler Town And Country

Question:

Hey how are you. Im having a big problem. So I installed tekonsha p3 brake controller. I also installed all the wiring for 7way trailer hook up. So all went well until the end i was done and slide the manual override on the brake controller and the wire on the cold side of the brake switch burnt completely apart! I have no idea what I did wrong but will do more trouble shooting later. I might have used the quick splice connector wrong. On the red wire coming off pig tail for brake controller I skined the jacket off and I think I wasnt suppose to? Could this have made the wire burn apart? Any ideas you could think of please let me know. Thank you very much. Please help

asked by: Mike L

Helpful Expert Reply:

It looks like the wires are pretty cooked in the photo you sent. I am not sure where the wiring went wrong but it should not have burned the jacket off the wiring or burned a wire in two. I am afraid you may have also fried the brake controller along with the wiring.

I would remove the wiring that was installed and first check the vehicle wiring to make sure it is working properly. If you installed a 4-way trailer harness, run through the functions and check to make sure it is working correctly.

You will then need to replace any damaged wire used with the # ETBC7 7-way. For 12-gauge wire you can use # 12-1-1. For 10-gauge brake wire you can use # 10-1-1. These are both sold by the foot.

Since there is no plug-in adapter for the brake controller to be plugged in to, the controller has to be hardwired. If the harness from the back of the brake controller was not damaged you can use it but if it was also burned you will need a replacement harness like part # 3016. One end will plug into the back of the brake controller and you will then want to cut off the connector on the other end so it can be hard-wired. Use the circuit tester that came with the # ETBC7 and test the wires on the vehicle before attaching the wires from the brake controller harness. I have attached a link to an installation of a brake controller on a 2014 Town and Country you can check out.

To troubleshoot the brake controller you can hook up the black wire to the positive battery post and the white wire to the negative battery post. The brake controller should turn on and show no trailer is connected. If it does then continue installing the controller. If not, then the controller will need to be replaced.

I also attached a drawing that shows how the wiring is run when installing the ETBC7 and a brake controller.