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dasman7580
Dodge Dakota
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7/26/2004
16:11:21
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 Subject: Trailer Brake Wiring
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I have a 2000 dakota w/out the trailer tow package but am slowly installing my own. The 7 pole connector installed directly to the 4 pole connector, and now the lights work. This left 4 unconnected wires; black (neg), white (pos), red (spotlight switch), & blue (trailer brakes). From the 7 pole connector I know the black and white wires are connected directly to the truck battery. The blue wire is connected to the wire labeled brake, but is it connected in the cab or engine compartment? Where is the red wire connected? Has anyone done this before or should I take down to the local U-Haul dealer?
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TexasTodd
Dodge Dakota
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7/26/2004
16:56:34
|  RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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That's one option, have you tried a wire spice kit made for your truck to do this?
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DSW
Dodge Dakota
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7/26/2004
20:20:59
|  RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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If you take it to a U-haul dealer you'll probably wind up with a sh1t install consisting of a bunch of splice and butt connectors that are going to corrode and fail in a couple of years. Seen it before ;-(
My truck didn't come with the heavy duty service group so I had to do the same thing your doing right now, wire a 7-pole connector into the 4-pole harness. I cut my aftermarket 4 wire harness about 3' from the connector and connected the turn, brake and ground wires to the 7-pole connector, this made connections to the 7-pole and 4-pole connectors for turn and brakes.
From the 7-pole I pulled white & black wire to the battery and blue wire to the cab. White is ground which connects to the battery - terminal and to the 7-pole ground (I also spliced in the 4-pole ground to this wire at the 7-pole connector) Black is 12V+ which must run through a circuit breaker (I used a 20 amp) and then to the battery + terminal. The breaker should be close to the battery, without the breaker you could cause the wire to melt and burn the truck to the ground if the wire shorts out ;-( The blue wire goes from the brake connection on the 7-pole to the electric/electronic brake controller in the cab.
I had to wire up the electric brake controller in the cab, your probably going to have to do the same unless you have the brake controller connector under the dash and the Dodge harness for the brake controller. If you have to wire up the controller your going to need another circuit breaker for the controllers 12V+ connection.
All in all, it's a real pain to wire up a 7-pole so it won't have problems in the future. Routing the wires so they wont get snagged or chaffed, soldering connections, sourcing the correct guage and color of wire, and finding screw lug breakers took some time. You could hack it together in a couple of hours, but it took all day for me to find the parts and install everything.
Nice thing about having the 7-pole along with the 4-pole, I can connect my boat trailer to the 4-pole and connect a jumper harness to the 7-pole which charges the boat batteries as I drive to the lake.
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irq3
Dodge Dakota
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7/26/2004
20:29:33
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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(This is the setup on a 2003 factory installation). There are two connectors for trailer brakes.
The 7-pin connector at the rear of the truck is wired as follows:
Center: Back-up Lamps (VT/BK)
1-o'clock: Battery (RD/TN)
3-o'clock: Stop/Right Turn (BK/PK)
5-o'clock: Electric Brake (LB)
7-o'clock: Ground (BK)
9-o'clock: Stop/Left Turn (DG/RD)
11-o'clock: Running Lights (BK/OR)
There is also a 4-pin connector under the driver's side dash (inside the truck) for an electric brake controller. It has 4 wires (connector P/N 56020142AB).
Black: Ground
Red: Battery
Blue: Brakes
White: Vehicle Brake Sense
I've never used it but I hope it helps you...
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DSW
Dodge Dakota
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7/26/2004
20:31:35
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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Oh, one more thing, the headlight switch on the Dak could have problems if your trailer has a bunch of running lights. From what I read the Dak headlight switch might not be able to carry the extra current drawn by the trailer running lights. I was going to run a relay for the running lights on the 7-pole but never got around to it. I towed for a couple of hours in the dark without problems, but my camper only has 6 running lights. I think the trucks with the factory 7-pole have a relay that pulls the trailer running lights current from the relay, not the headlight switch.
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Exocet
Dodge Dakota
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7/26/2004
20:35:56
|  RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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For $100 (or slightly less), you can buy a wiring harness from your local friendly Dodge dealer. This includes a 7-pole connector and all the associated wiring connections. It takes less than an hour to install.
This harness includes a relay for the trailer running lights. Apparently, the Dak's headlight switch is prone to burning out if your trailer has too many marker/clearance lights on it.
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DSW
Dodge Dakota
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7/27/2004
02:09:58
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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Yeah, you can buy the 7-pole harness from the Dodge dealer, but you the truck needs to have the proper plugs to accept the harness. My truck didn't have the proper plug to accept the 7-pole wiring harness, or the plug for the brake controller. The 4-pole harness took less than 30 minutes to install, but the 7-pole is another animal all together unless the truck is pre-wired to accept the harness.
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RadioMan
Dodge Dakota
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7/27/2004
07:10:04
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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I've owned two Dakotas and one Ram without the
tow package. All three were very easy to install
the 7 pin round connector. First off, I got the
*kit* from a RV dealership. Took an hour to insall
and NO cutting or splicing. You simply unplug
left and right connector to rear lights and
plug the kit in and replug tail light connectors.
If you need pin 1 (hot) and 7 (ground), run at
least a number 10 guage pair direct to your
battery. I ran mine in the center of the frame
rails. Use wire ties as needed. Also make sure you
fuse the number 1 (hot) wire at no more than 30
amps at the battery connection.
The blue wire (number 5) gets connected to your
brake controller that you install inside the cab
on drivers side at bottom of dash. RV dealerships
sell the brake controllers and they come with
all directions.
I must say, it's nice to have all that already
done and ready to go if you buy the tow package.
Even your brake controller just plugs into a
outlet under the dash. Male end for the under
dash plug is in a package in glove box. That even
has directions. Dealership also sells that plug
if yours got lost or you bought truck used.
Good luck..
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dasman7580
Dodge Dakota
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7/27/2004
08:06:55
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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Thanks guys! It sounds like I'm not the only one out there with problems. I'll hook the brake controller up over the next few days after work. Hopefully everything will run smoothly.
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Woodshed
Dodge Dakota
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8/13/2007
12:16:14
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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A different twist on the trailer wiring subject:
We have a 2005 Dodge Dakota and the circuit for the trailer running lights is gone. Brakes and turn signals are fine, just the running lights are bad. Worked for 2 years, now doesn't work.
The wiring on the trailer is good now - works on our other vehicle and has been checked and redone (however there WAS a problem with it that blew out the whole headlight circuit on our van, and I'm guessing it caused this problem in the truck too.) The trailer wiring harness on the truck is also good - continuity in the wires from the connect point to the plug. The fuse for the Tow Parking/Lamps in the fuse box by the battery is good. The headlight circuit on the truck is good. Is there another fuse in the tow circuit somewhere? Anybody else had this problem or any insight into what it might be?
Thanks
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Kowalski
GenIII
8/13/2007
16:14:50
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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According to a schematic I have, the position posted above by irq3 is backwards - perhaps he was looking at a trailer plug diagram; rather than the truck plug as he stated. So the position for the running lights should be 1 o'clock - not 11 o'clock. Have you checked that terminal in the back of your truck with a voltmeter to see if it's passing 12 volts with the lights on ? Maybe you are having a fuse problem, but often its just a continuity problem at the plug - where cleaning the contact and maybe using some dielectric grease could take care of things. Probing the terminal should tell; but other than that, I'm not familiar with '05 fusing.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way
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Woodshed
Dodge Dakota
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8/14/2007
11:18:19
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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There is continuity in the plug and in the wire from the plug to where the wiring harness connects to the truck wiring. However, when testing the point of connection under the truck with a voltmeter and lights on, there is nothing.
The guy that got under there and checked it all for us is wondering if there isn't another fuse in the circuit other than the one in the main fuse box by the battery. Something in between where the wiring harness connects to the truck and the main fuse box. The fuse in the main fuse box is good, and there is juice in the socket where the fuse goes in, too. It's just deader than a doornail at the point under the truck where the wiring harness attaches, so something in between (we're hoping it's a fuse!) must be fried.
Thanks
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Jared Judy
Dodge Dakota
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9/13/2007
12:37:46
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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Don't know if anyone will check this post in the near future, but I'll give it a shot....
I bought the 2005 Dodge Dakota light kit from a local dealership and installed it piece of cake (except for running the brake wire through the firewall into the cab....that sucked). Anyways, after I got the brake wire into the cab, the instrucitons just tell you to tie it off without connecting it to anything.
So I go into the dealership and they sell me a pigtail (was supposed to come in the glove box...don't think I ever had one) to run from the truck to the brake controller. But (and I told them this), that still leaves the brake wire I ran into the cab hanging there, meaning my brakes are not hooked to anything in the wiring. So after almost 1.5 hours in two different dealerships, the best answer I got was to splice the all three brake wires together...from the controller, the truck, and the wiring kit. Is this right?? It doesn't seem right to me for some reason.
Thanks.
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Stick Shift
Dodge Dakota
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9/15/2007
06:36:13
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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Yes, I did my own on an '03 QC - it works great! But most of the advice I see here is scary! Burnt wires comes to mind.
First, read your owners manual. If you are going to pull a trailer that needs 7 pins, you probably are going to have enough clearance lights you will overheat your light switch. You need either the factory kit which has a set of relays or a "Modulite" from Draw Tite. (DONT' buy the "Lite" or the one at U-Haul.) Get it from a travel trailer dealer or off the web. It comes with instructions. A word of advice, splice in 7.5 or 10 amp fuses in each line between the Modulite and trailer to protect it. http://www.etrailer.com/faq_wiring.aspx has a good diagram for reference. They also carry the Modulite.
Tap the white w/brown stipe wire off the brake pedal for your sense lead for the brake controller (double check with a volt meter first). Pull the tape off the big gromet where all the wires pass through the firewall and push your wires for the brake controller (hot, ground, & blue for trailer) through it.
If you are pulling a trailer with a battery you will be charging off the truck, you should install a battery isolator relay so you can't accidentily draw the truck's battery down and not be able to start it. You'll need to find a switched lead for the control circuit for it.
Building the whole system is more than I care to write about on a forum. So, if between the instructions from the parts and pieces you're going to install and info off the web, you can't figure it out, buy the factory harness or take your truck to someone who sells travel trailers and thell get you fixed up for a few 100 bucks!
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Stick Shift
Dodge Dakota
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9/15/2007
06:46:15
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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OOPS. Who dragged up this old post? dasman's probably traded the Dak by now for all the headaches this caused him!
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wilsoc7
Dodge Dakota
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9/30/2007
09:35:59
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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Just leased a 2008 dodge ram 1500 w/ trailer tow package and looking for the brake controller plug to install a prodigy brake controller. Found a blue plug under dash but not sure if that's it. Want to install a prodigy but the harness Prodigy has available for a dodge is a bit different. Would anyone know if the brake controller plug has changed for a 2008 from the factory ? Is a picture available of the brake controller plug for a 2007 or 2008 for reference ? Thanks for your help.
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Pete
Dodge Dakota
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10/20/2007
13:26:11
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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I also have an 08 dodge ram and went up under the dash and coudn't find out where to plug the brake control harness. Does anybody know where it is located?
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blaneo
Dodge Dakota
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11/16/2007
02:44:56
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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If you have a tow package look behind e brake look for 4 post female plug with blue red white black wires should have a tag that says trailer brake. rectangle shaped plug.this is for the ram pu 2003 1500.
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lee
Dodge Dakota
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12/15/2007
18:06:37
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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my 08 has the plug, and a 4 wire under the back... gotta splice the
trailer brake wire though.
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GWD
Dodge Dakota
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12/15/2007
23:25:51
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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Is is safe to run an extra ground wire for my trailer brakes directly to the battery. I am having trouble grounding my trailer brakes. They are hit and miss and do not lock up totally . I think it is the grounding
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Kowalski
GenIII
12/15/2007
23:31:22
| RE: Trailer Brake Wiring
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Yup, but you shouldn't have to.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way
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