Troubleshooting No Power to the Red Wire of a Brake Controller Harness on a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado  

Question:

Expert Reply:

Your 2002 Chevrolet Silverado was the last year before a wiring change from GM, which led to a new wiring harness. I tried looking up your order to make sure you have the correct plug-in-play adapter, but was unable to locate an order.

The correct harness is the Tekonsha Plug-In Wiring Adapter for Electric Brake Controllers # 3025-P, if you have the # 3015-P it would be incorrect because it would be the correct adapter starting for the 2003 model year. The reason this is of concern is because the red wire is the wire that was moved from 2002 to 2003.

Another possibility is there is an issue with the trucks wiring. The red wire is the brake light switch wire and should only receive power when the brake pedal is pressed. If there is no power, a common issue for the Silverado's around that year is the third brake light fuse blowing.

You have a few testing options that you can perform. To test the third brake light, press the brake pedal and have someone see if the third brake light comes on. If it does, you can use a circuit tester like the # PTW2993 to test the brake controller port. Just test where the red pin lines up in the port. Press the brake and make sure it gets power, if it does not then you may have the wrong harness. Check the rest of the port to see if there is a terminal that only has power when the brake is pressed. If there is, you can move the red wire to that terminal, if there is not then there is an issue somewhere in the truck that will need to be tracked down.

expert reply by: Scott S

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