Should Brake Lights on the Tow Vehicle Come on When Manual Override is Used on Brake Controller

Question:

should the brake lights on the vehicle illuminate when the manual override with on the brake controller is activated?

asked by: Wayne

Expert Reply:

No, the brakes lights on the vehicle are not tied to a brake controller.

For example, the Tekonsha Prodigy P3 # 90195 has four wires that are connected to it that go to the following functions:

Black - 12V Power
Blue - Brake Controller Output (to 7-Way)
White - Ground
Red - COLD Side of Stop Light Switch (only gets hot when brake pedal is pressed)

When the manual override is used it only sends power back to the brakes on your trailer via the blue wire.

I have linked a picture that displays the functions a brake controller go to. This is the same whether you spliced it in or connected it to a connector under your driver side dash.