Does A Brake Controller Wire Harness Need An Inline Fuse On The Brake Output Wire To The 7-Way

Question:

when having to splice into the blue brake wire from the controller to run back to the 7 point connector is a fuse recommended when running the wire back to the 7 point trailer connector? or is the harness from the van already fused going to the electric brake controller.

asked by: Rick R

Expert Reply:

Hey Rick,

The 7-Way connector # ETBC7 would need an inline fuse on the power wire running to the battery and the brake controller # 90885 would also have an inline fuse on it's power wire to the battery. The # ETBC7 comes with a 20a, 30a, and 40a circuit breaker for this purpose.

If you're starting from scratch on your 2000 Ford Van then you'll want to first install the T-One Vehicle Wiring Harness with 4-Pole Flat Trailer Connector # 118344 you were looking at. From there you can start installing the # ETBC7 and get it mounted. If you don't have a great spot to drill into then we also offer no-drill brackets # 18136 that can wrap around the hitch. Once mounted you can then run the Romex wire up to the front of the vehicle with black running to the battery and the white passing through the firewall into the cab to connect to the P2.

Once all that's ready you can then mount the P2 in the cab and start making your connections. The red wire from this harness will need to tap into the cold side of the brake light switch. Ford usually uses a purple/white wire for this but you can confirm with a tester # PTW2993 which is the correct wire.

expert reply by: Kevin C

Brake Controller Wiring Diagram
(click to enlarge)

Rick R.

2/14/2024

Kevin, I’ve already installed the #ETBC7 at the rear of the van from the 4 wire flat pigtail. The brake and 12v power wires are waiting to be hooked up. The wire harness to power the P2 brake controller i have located and I have the harness to connect the van harness to the P2 controller. It has 12v power but I don’t know how power is going to go to the ETBC7 except to splice into the blue wire coming out of the controller and run it to the blue wire at the ETBC7. Is this right and will I have to put an in line fuse in it ?

Kevin C.

2/16/2024

@RickR The # ETBC7 gets power from the black wire that you'll run all the way up to the battery and would require an inline 40 amp circuit breaker # 9510, which is provided with the # ETBC7. The 4-pole connector you have connected to it is only providing your light signals. The P2 with a universal wire harness will have it's own power wire which will run to the battery and require an inline 20 amp or 30 amp circuit breaker depending on the requirements of the brake controller. If you have a plug-in wire harness # 3035-P for the P2 then the port the harness plugs into is protected by a fuse in the fuse block.