Factory 30 Amp Fuse for Trailer Brake Control vs Auto Resetting Fuse on a Ford F-150

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Question:

I have a ford f150 that is factory pre-wired for towing with the jumper harness F85Z-14A348-A under the dash that connects to a controller and the trailer tow harness XL3Z-13A576-A at the rear bumper. It seems all the controllers require a 20 or 30 amp breaker. With the factor tow harness already installed and according to the owners manual it has a 30 amp maxi fuse at fuse/relay location #108 labeled Trailer Tow Electric Brake. Is this ok or do they require a auto reset breaker ? Also the wire that feeds the trailer connector does not appear to be more than 14 gage. Is this large enough ? Depending on where I look or what I read some are as large as 8 gage. I will be towing a 24, 4000lbs trailer with two axels. Not sure what size drums but the tires are 13. Could you also recommend a controller for this application. Thank you for your time

asked by: Joe

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Expert Reply:

Having the factory fuse is perfectly fine for an aftermarket brake controller. The benefit of a circuit breaker is that it can reset itself so you do not have to replace a fuse should it blow. So you are good to go with the 30 amp factory fuse installed.

If the 14 gauge wire is output to the trailer brakes or even if it is 12 volt power to the trailer connector, 14 gauge is small. I would use 10 for 12 volt power to the connector and 12 for the brakes. However, gauge is determined by the actual copper strands inside and not the overall diameter of the insulation. The wiring could just have a thinner layer of insulation and still be the proper gauge on the inside. I would not go larger than 10. The larger the gauge the more resistance there will be.

For a brake controller I recommend the Tekonsha P2, # 90885. This controller is easy to set up, easy to use, and very reliable. I have included a link to the installation details for it. Since you will be using your factory harness you will need to connect it to the controller by function. On the controller, white is ground, black is 12 volt power, blue is output to the trailer brakes, and red is input from the brake switch.

expert reply by: Michael H

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Answer 1

If your 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 came with a factory 7-way trailer connector then you will not need to do any wiring to install the Pollak 7-Pole, RV-Style Trailer Connector Socket w/ Wiring Harness and Mounting Bracket part #PK11898. If this…

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Answer 2

Grounding the white wire is an important part of any electrical wiring. Without a proper ground the circuit is not complete. If the circuit is not complete then no current is moving through the system. Without any current there is nothing powering…

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Answer 3

The wires exiting the rear of your controller serve the following functions. The blue wires carries the brake output from the controller, the white wire is the ground, the black wire supplies 12 Volt power, and the red wire is tied into the vehicle…

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Answer 4

This is a common issue on Chevy trucks like your 2006 Chevy Silverado. There are some connections that need to be made under the hood to make everything fully functional. We actually have an FAQ article that explains what you will need to do to…

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Answer 5

The black wire of the Hopkins 7-Way Molded Trailer Wire Connector #HM20048 carries the 12 volt accessory circuit. This is the circuit that will typically power interior lights or charge a trailer's battery. I attached a help article that…

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Answer 6

You can still use the connector you have but you would need to move the red wire of the connector that plugs in to the vehicle to the opposite corner of the connector. Once you do that the brake controller will work just fine. I attached a picture…

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Answer 7

If you connect the trailer brake light circuit to the trailer brake circuit your brakes would lock up immediately since 12 volts is max braking voltage for trailer brakes. You'd need a brake controller that can vary voltage so that you can…

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Answer 8

For a trailer with 4 brake assemblies (10 or 12 inch assemblies) you should be seeing 15 to 16.3 amps at 12 to 13 volts. If the trailer has 7 inch assemblies it would be lower, 12.6 to 13.7 amps at 12 to 13 volts. Individual magnets on 10 or 12…

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Answer 9

I have a suspicion about what might be causing the problem you mention. Do your trucks have 6-way trailer connectors? Or, do the trucks have 7-way connectors, but you are using a 6-way to 7-way adapters because the trailers use 6-way connectors?…

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Answer 10

Your trailer's brakes will still activate like normal if you have your breakaway kit not connected. It's not recommended to tow a trailer with a non-functioning breakaway kit though.

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Answer 11

The factory plug is located above the spare tire on your 2006 Chevy Silverado. I have included a picture of what it looks like and where it is located. You will probably have to lower the spare for easy access to the plug. The tow package wires will…

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Answer 12

The copper side of a circuit breaker like part #9510, is the side that attaches to the positive side of the battery. The silver side gets connected to the blue wire that goes to the brake controller. To answer your second question, a 20-amp automatic…

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Factory 30 Amp Fuse for Trailer Brake Control vs Auto Resetting Fuse on a Ford F-150

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