Caps

Ok, I am logging in here to try & find answers to help my husband. Please bear with me if I do not explain the problem properly or sound too much like "a girl"! LOL!

OK - we have a 1999 Silverado 1/2 ton. We have a trailer. My husband needs to install the electric brake to take the trailer this weekend & will be driving around some mountains so it is important he gets the electric brake installed & working. Now his truck originally came with the proper wiring & stuff but the previous owner cut it away so he needs to do an installation & rewire. He can't do a simple plug in & go- so to speak.
He has a generic electric brake install kit and of course the wiring did not match up to his wiring so he had to go through everything to figure out which color wire was really doing what. Everything was working at testing time. Then he started his connections and now nothing is working. He is a mechanic and knows his way around vehicles very well so he is not an amateur but he is really frustrated at this point trying to figure out what went wrong. Not to mention he needs this done before his trip in just a couple days.

DOES ANY OF THIS MAKE SENSE???? I know I am explaining this poorly.

EDIT:
OK, I called my husband to getting better clarification of what his problem is......

1) The trailer brake accessory plug has no current coming to it. He also explianed it as the 12v source terminal has never had any power before he started this installation or after.

2) The brake terminal used to work - it had voltage - he could press the brake & the terminal would light up. It now has no voltage & no longer works......he said the terminal where he plugs in (hot) is dead.

Maybe this will help someone be able to help him - he sends his thanks to you for reading & trying to help and to me for posting on this site.

I did ask him about the J-Case fuse mentioned in a previous post & he believes he put that fuse in last night & nothing changed.


Any advice or emails he can write to??? Thanks for reading!!

777stickman

Caps: Welcome to the forum. Been reading your post for sometime now trying to figure how to help. Keep in mind that this a typical installation.

The contoller needs a 12v batt signal to the black wire through a 20-30a fuse or c/b.

The red wire is connected to cold side of the stop light switch. In other words that wire should read 12v when the brake pedal is pushed.

The white wire is connected to a good ground.

The blue wire is routed back to the trailer plug.

Most controllers will have a sensor light that comes on when the trailer is properly hooked up electrically for the brakes.

Another thing is to have a good ground on both the trailer and the truck going thru the plug. Don't rely on the hitch point for a ground.

Hope this helps some............Steve

__________________
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Caps

OK, my hubby is back outside working on this thing. Both stud #1 & #2 are working good fuses but still nothing. He "hotwired" it so he can work the brake manually but he'd prefer it work automatically...he is STUMPED and FRUSTRATED (and freezing his butt off in the 20 degree Cleveland weather we have!). He is hooking the truck up to his trailer to be sure that the hotwire method is working. Still could use some help on getting it to work automatically as it is suppose to. Can give our # out if anyone would like to talk with him live - just email us.
THANKS AGAIN!

EDIT: Ok, hotwire did not work.....he says....
He can hear the trailer brake control clicking when he manually operates it while it is hooked up to the trailer & manually applying the trailer control. The brakes are not applying on the trailer......
He is now in the process of checking continuity on the blue trailer supply wire from inside the cab to the plug at the back of the truck.
At any rate, no power at the plug under the dash.

Sonny01

What your hubby should do is take the truck to a trailer dealer. The truck should have a jack under the dash to plug the brake controller into. Then there will be either wires run or a 6 or 7 pin jack at the back of the truck. If someone has cut the wires and you can't figure it out it's time to call in the experts. They will have a breakout box that will tell instantly what is wrong.