Brake Controller Stop Light Switch Wire Hookup on a 2007 Suzuki XL7

Question:

suzuki 2007 xl7 When hooking the wire for the brake signal do I hook it directly to the wire coming off the switch on the brake pedal or somewhere else? someone said hooking at the switch might screw up the signal going to the computer. Thanks

asked by: Bob

Expert Reply:

I have not heard of any problems when installing a brake controller on a 2007 Suzuki XL7. The issue you heard about may have been due to hooking the red stoplight switch wire from the brake controller up to a wire dedicated to the cruise control system. I have heard of problems with the cruise control wiring on the XL7. A brake controller only draws a small amount of current from the stoplight circuit for activation of the brake controller. The actual power sent to the trailer brakes comes from the black power wire going into the brake controller.

When installing the brake controller, like the Prodigy P2, # 90885, just be sure to use a multimeter, # PT89ZR if needed, and connect the red wire from the brake controller to the brake switch wire that only has power when the brake pedal is activated.

To install a brake controller on the 2007 XL7 you will need a working 4-Way connector, # 119178KIT, if you do not already have one, and the brake controller installation kit, # ETBC7. We have detailed installation instructions, and installation videos that should help out, see links.

If you wanted to connect to another source for the brake light circuit, you could run a wire, # 12-1-1, to the back of the vehicle and attach to the dedicated brake light circuit behind one of the rear tail lights. You could also use the CHMSL (center high mount stop light) circuit for attaching the brake controller stoplight switch wire, if you can locate this circuit. Just be sure that any circuit you connect the stoplight switch wire to only has voltage when the brakes are applied, or the trailer brakes will activate when not needed.