At the end of the month I'm getting a trailer that has brakes. This means I need a brake controller.

If I'm not mistaken, the JK comes with a 4 pin trailer connector, correct?

I bought my JK used, and it now has a 7 pin connector, and there are a couple holes in the dash where it looks like the previous owner had a controller hooked up before.

My question is, what should I be looking for in the form of wires for hooking up a brake controller of my own? I'm assuming that since the 7 pin connector is there, the wiring should be too?

 

Most brake controllers come with a detailed wiring diagram, but if you already have the plug your half way there. To do brakes you only need one more wire usually blue that is the brake wire it runs from the plug to the front and under the dash it will connect directly to the controller also the controller has a +positive –negative and a brake light wire that needs to be connected to the brake light switch.
There are a lot of good sites for trailer wiring like etrailer.com
Hope this has helped

 

Thanks for the link, some good info there.

Really, I just need to take a couple minutes to dig around under the dash to see what I've got in there. Like I said, I've got the plug, and it looks like there was a controller there previously, so I'm really hoping all the wires will be there and I can just hook them up to a new controller

 

Just be very careful using someone else's wiring I have seen that turn in to a clusterf%$# well you got the idea. Do yourself a favor and don't get a bottom of the line controller you will be surprised how much better a name brand works

 

If the wiring is there I'm not too worried about it. From what the salesman told me, and from the state of the Jeep itself, this guy had too much money, and didn't do anything himself. I guarantee the wiring will have been run professionally.

That being said I'll still check it to make sure everything is still in good shape...I may be dumb, but I ain't stupid!

 

I forgot to mention this in my last post, but I'd read somewhere else to just pick up a cheap controller and that they all work the same, but now you're telling me otherwise (and it makes sense, you often get what you pay for).

Is this due to the price difference between time delayed vs. proportional designs, or is it just a quality thing?



edit: Are there any particular brands you'd recommend? Clearly I don't know which are good and which aren't

 

When I was out today I took a look under the dash and found that there was actually a plug there, presumably from the previous controller that was there?

The wires coming from it don't quite make sense though, I've got two black ones, one red, one white with a blue stripe, and one white with a red/pink kinda stripe.

 

I have watched my friends fight all kinds of troubles with their controllers, I have a Tekonsha Prodigy one of the best features is you can take it to other vehicles and lots of other things like short protection.
If there’s a plug that’s a good start trace them wires out and you may be in business

 

You should have four wires--One from the brake switch, this activates it, one from the battery, this is power, a ground, and one that goes to the 7 pin plug that activates the brake controller.

There are essentially two types of brake controllers, static and progressive (i'm not sure if that's the actual terminology). The static is just that, it sends the same power to the brakes no mater how hard you push the brakes. The progressive, will apply a varied amount of current depending upon how hard you brake. I've used both and the progressive are much better. I would recommend a prodigy brake controller. I have it in my truck and it works great. I have an old static drawtite in my jeep since i don't tow with it much, and I really hate it.

 

Right, only on this plug I have under the dash, there are 5 wires...red, white with a red/pink strip, white with a blue stripe, and two black

If this wiring isn't for a brake controller, what else would be mounted up under the dash like this?

I've got a 7 pin plug, so those wires have to be in there somewhere, right?