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Installing brake controller
It looks like I may need to install a brake controller (for trailer) today, in prep for a trip tomorrow.  Ugh.  Hate doing things last minute, but it is what it is. 
I have a 2000 FL on the E350 Super Duty chassis.  Anybody been down this road recently? (It seems as if there are write-ups left over from Yahoo, but I cannot get to any pics/diagrams as joining group had no result.  No time left to spend on that.)

Anyways, what can I expect to find pre-wired at the dash?  Any likely pre-wiring from front to back of vehicle, for the "blue" circuit of brake voltage, or the "black" circuit of battery charge for topping up emergency breakaway battery?  I have a decent local ground back there.

I've installed several of these in Mazdas, Chevys, but never Fords. Sadly, my go-to controller (Jordan Ultima proportional) is long out of production. 

I'll be diving in in an hour or two...  It's always somethin', and I've gotta have brakes.

Thanks in advance for any specific LD insight.  "Companion" links on the subject are mostly 404 nowadays.

Chip
2000 Front Lounge
Re: Installing brake controller
Reply #1 –
Chip, I installed a Tekonsha Prodigy 3 in my Tahoe a couple years back. It was easy with the correct, optional pigtail.  Plug and play into the OBD2 port.  I have one for sale, by the way!  ;)

Tekonsha Prodigy P3 Trailer Brake Controller - 1 to 4 Axles - Proportional...
Greg & Victoria
2017 Mid-Bath  “Nocona” towing a manual 2015 Forester
Previously a 1985 TK
SKP #61264
Re: Installing brake controller
Reply #2 –
Yup, thanks, I know it's easy in Chevys; I've done several.  Looking for 2000 Ford E350 input for this one...

Chip
2000 Front Lounge
Re: Installing brake controller
Reply #3 –
So I found what looks like the connector to install the brake controller, but it's already plugged into something else. Also the blue wire seems to be in the wrong spot on the vehicle connector. Thoughts?
Chip
2000 Front Lounge
Re: Installing brake controller
Reply #4 –
Turns out the radio installers are stealing power from the brake controller port. They're going to have to share.

Now I just need to find the other end under the coach and we'lll be in good shape.
Chip
2000 Front Lounge
Re: Installing brake controller
Reply #5 –
Chip-

If your E350 is built like the E450, there are two Ford connectors under the coach, one with four wires and one with three. The one with three contains the electric brake controller wire and the wire for the 12V charge line. You'll need to open the loom directly behind the connector and butt-splice wires onto the pigtail to extend them to the rear.

The connectors are usually found inside the driver-side frame rail, about five feet from the rear of the coach. On our mid-bath, they were in a hard-to-reach corner at the front of the grey water tank and behind the gas tank. Can't say what might be in the way on your FL.

Mark H.
Former owner, 31-foot gas Class A
Former owner, 1997-8 mid-bath
 
Re: Installing brake controller
Reply #6 –
Well hey, that was just a hoot. 

The 'candidate' for the brake controller under-dash convenience plug was in use to power the previous-previous owner aftermarket in-dash stereo.  So I temporarily unplugged that, and plugged in the Curt-factory-issue adaptor harness, consisting of the usual four wires and the Ford & Curt proprietary connectors on each end. For grins, I fired things up and measured the power output and polarity before plugging in the controller.  Interestingly (ahem) the polarity was reversed by the time it got to the Curt (by color code and pin position).  I had also picked up a "no-name" pigtail Ford harness, so I plugged it in and the polarity was also reversed, by color code.  So... the harness in the LD is either miswired, mis-re-wired by a PO, or not really the right connector... although it's the only one I could find under there with the correct shape/number of pins. What was also 'interesting' was the fact that the stereo interface used a Ford factory pigtail harness with color codes that didn't seem to relate to controller customary colors, and made use of all six pins... Furthermore, they were getting power from pins not even populated on the brake controller connector, and pulling the relevant fuse for brake controller did not kill power to the 'candidate' brake controller connector power pin... or any of it.  So it may be some other power interface, and I may have missed the real one.  So, I hailed the mothership.

Vince came on the line, and said he couldn't pinpoint for sure whether a given chassis from Y2K would be pre-wired for brake controller interface or not.  He agreed with my proposed course of action: to proceed as if there was no pre-wire at all, stem to stern.

So like I said, that was a hoot.

Yes, Mike, there are a couple connectors back near the gray water tank.  They are apparently in use for the actual coach rear lights, and the trailer wiring plug on the spare tire. Since I need 7-wire RV connections for electric brakes, I picked up the existing trailer wires and moved them to the 7-wire connector, along with the new blue wire from the front, and a new ground from the frame.  I still need to either pick up a 12V feed for charging the breakaway kit battery,so I'll check to see if the rear-frame-area 3-wire connector Mike mentioned has that circuit live, and if it is indeed controlled by the fuse (or relay) under the hood in power-distribution land.  Or, I could just pop a small solar panel on the trailer to do it independently.

It's all buttoned up and ready to test.. tomorrow.  Also changed over the trailer from hydraulic to electric brakes today, so what could possibly go worng?

Chip
2000 Front Lounge