Chevy Tahoe Vertical Doors
This controller allows the use of electric trailer brakes. Many vehicles are prewired to accept it.
This wiring color code is supposed to be the standard, but vehicle manufacturers don't always follow it. Check with a test light or you risk blowing fuses.
Whoa, Nellie
This leads to the concept of electric trailer brakes. These are actuated by a controller in the vehicle that increases the voltage to the brakes proportional to the vehicle's deceleration. This requires a wire from the controller to the trailer brake. (This is why some connectors have as many as seven pins, to make provisions for the multiple circuits.) Use 12-ga. wire for this circuit. If you have electric trailer brakes, there must be an auxiliary battery and a breakaway switch in the circuit to slow the trailer if it comes loose from the hitch.
Keeping It All Together
How to make the connections? We've seen plenty of trailers lumbering down the road with blinking or dim lights. Odds are, if you looked at the wiring on one of these rigs, you'd see wires twisted together and insulated with electrical tape. Almost as bad are the automotive-style crimp connectors, which can't handle the vibration and moisture. Any crimp connector exposed to the elements will have a short life span. Don't even think of using household-style wire nuts--they'll unscrew themselves within a few hundred miles. We use the screw-in Posi-Lock connectors illustrated here for quick jobs. Our own trailer has every connection made with solder and PVC shrink tube.
As you button up, smear a film of dielectric grease on the hitch connectors to prevent moisture from corroding the pins.
Chevy Tahoe Vertical Doors
This controller allows the use of electric trailer brakes. Many vehicles are prewired to accept it.
This wiring color code is supposed to be the standard, but vehicle manufacturers don't always follow it. Check with a test light or you risk blowing fuses.
Whoa, Nellie
This leads to the concept of electric trailer brakes. These are actuated by a controller in the vehicle that increases the voltage to the brakes proportional to the vehicle's deceleration. This requires a wire from the controller to the trailer brake. (This is why some connectors have as many as seven pins, to make provisions for the multiple circuits.) Use 12-ga. wire for this circuit. If you have electric trailer brakes, there must be an auxiliary battery and a breakaway switch in the circuit to slow the trailer if it comes loose from the hitch.
Keeping It All Together
How to make the connections? We've seen plenty of trailers lumbering down the road with blinking or dim lights. Odds are, if you looked at the wiring on one of these rigs, you'd see wires twisted together and insulated with electrical tape. Almost as bad are the automotive-style crimp connectors, which can't handle the vibration and moisture. Any crimp connector exposed to the elements will have a short life span. Don't even think of using household-style wire nuts--they'll unscrew themselves within a few hundred miles. We use the screw-in Posi-Lock connectors illustrated here for quick jobs. Our own trailer has every connection made with solder and PVC shrink tube.
As you button up, smear a film of dielectric grease on the hitch connectors to prevent moisture from corroding the pins.
Chevy Tahoe Vertical Doors
