brake controller 98' Silverado

[eisterd]

I'm hooking up a trailer brake controller to a 98' Silverado, that I bought not too long ago. The previous owner, at one time, obviously had a brake controller hooked up but, he left little signs of how.
The black and blue are run through the firewall, with wire loom around them, he's got the 2 (black and orange) connected to the posts on the under hood fuse box but, I can't tell where he had the red (brake light) wire attached, or the ground. There's NO sign of a ground run outside the cab for it, and no sign of any wire having been attached for the brake (red from controller)

Any ideas??
Thanks

 

[eisterd]

Found 1 answer

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Now looking for a ground

 

[BoxerPitMix]

Take a look at the wire harness just below the brake booster under the hood... You SHOULD find an Orange and a Blue wire coming out of that. The orange wire should already have a ring terminal on it and should go to an empty post on your fuse block underneath your hood. You'll need a metric nut to fasten it there, then a large fuse to put in for it to work... Can't remember which/where off the top of my head on OBS trucks. Do not connect this until you're sure it is correctly connected in the rear. If you can't find it in the rear, trace the tail light harness along the frame. On pickups, it's usually around the area of the spare tire. Sometimes they are looped around and taped to the outside of the harness, sometimes you have to cut the harness open to find them.

The blue wire runs inside the cab and goes to the BLUE wire on your brake controller.
The majority of brake controllers are usually the same color wires...
White - Ground. A lot of people simply run this to the metal frame the dash is fastened to with a self tapping screw - but you can also run it back through the firewall to the frame or battery if you like. Either way, it you'll be fine.
Blue - Brake (Blue wire that runs to the rear of the truck)
Black - 12v+ (You can run this to the same spot you run your charge wire, put a fuse in it though).
Red - Stoplight wire. This needs to be tapped into the brake switch. Just above the brake pedal you'll see a harness coming out of the brake switch with a few wires in it. Take a test light and probe the WHITE wire. I'm almost positive that's the correct one, but it's been a while so test it. If it illuminates when you press the brake switch - that's where you need to run the red wire from your brake controller.

What wire is plugged into your fuse box in the picture? Does it have a fuse in it?
I wouldn't recommend using that spot if it's where you get your power (black wire). This is where the power comes from to power your trailer brakes... I recommend coming directly from a post on your fuse block with a fusible link and probably a 30a fuse or so. I don't recommend circuit breakers... Trailer brake shorts are very common and the last thing you want is to overlook a failure due to the breaker resetting. I'd rather have a blown fuse.

If you're looking for a good place to mount it - I suggest looking along the bottom lip of your dash - usually to one side or another of the steering column. The majority of trucks already have 2 holes pre-drilled that will line up with the bracket your brake controller came from. This way you don't have to drill holes in your dash!

 

[eisterd]

What wire is plugged into your fuse box in the picture?

That is the red stoplight wire from the controller. I found that on another thread.

 

[BoxerPitMix]

Ah cool, much easier than digging up to the wire in the switch! I haven't done a ton if controllers on the 400's... Sounds like you've got the hardest parts out of the way

 

[eisterd]

Yeah, I'm just amazed how the previous owner kept everything so neat. This thing has 443,000 miles on it and everything is completely like it was when it left the factory. Other than the plug by the hitch, and 2 small holes under the dash, you'd never know he had a controller hooked up. I expected wires hanging, or bunched up someplace..lol

 

[BoxerPitMix]

That's awesome, I hated working in older trucks and sorting through hacked up wiring

 

[1997chevydriver]

Word of advice...... Don't use a fuse for the brake controller. You will want a self resetting circuit breaker. If you have a fuse and it blows you could end up with no trailer brakes at the wrong time.


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