Two Wires on 2011 Kia Sedona Receiver Power Only When Brake Pedal is Depressed

Question:

Hi, I am installing a brake controller in a 2011 kia sedona. I am testing the wires above the brake pedal to find which one controls the stoplight to hook up to the red wire on the brake controller. There are five wires coming off the brake pedal two of which are white. Both of these white wires are powered only when the brake pedal is depressed. Neither of them power up when the headlights or turn signals are engaged. Does it matter which one I tap into? Is that normal or should it be only one specific wire I am looking for?

asked by: Austin

Expert Reply:

I spoke with my contact at Tekonsha regarding the brake switch wire on your 2011 Kia Sedona. While this is not very common, they have seen instances like yours where there appears to be two possible brake switch wires that will be used for a brake controller like the Tekonsha Prodigy P2 # 90885.

Typically, when this is the case, one of the wires will be the correct brake light/switch while the other is actually the cruise control circuit. The potential issue to connecting to the cruise control circuit is that these will usually attach to ground with the brake pedal depressed, which can lead to damage in the brake controller.

He stated that the easiest way to differentiate between the two is to use a standard voltmeter on the wires. If it goes straight to 0, then this is your cruise control circuit. If there is some resistance to ground, then you are looking at the correct brake switch wire.

expert reply by: Chris R