Trailer Brake Controller Woes

[tjferris]

i got a brake controller and jumper harness from rjay's. I got them and wired everything up but I don't appear to have power to the controller. I took a tester and it doesn't seem that there is power in the block under the dash for the trailer jumper hook up. I put a 40a fuse in the stud#1 space and there is a 30A in the stud#2 space. Both fuses test fine with a tester. I plugged the harness in the 2nd spot from the left on the top row in the block under the dash by my left foot marked trailer. however there is no power on the 12v wire in the harness, nor is there power to any of the 6 pins where you hook the jumper to. Any ideas? i'm at a loss on this one. it is a 2001 silverado ext cab.

thanks

[tjferris]

ok I spent most of the evening looking and can't figure this out. I have installed the fuse in stud #1 and the fuse in stud #1 & #2 test fine with a fuse tester, so they are not blown. but under the dash where the harness plugs in, I take my 12v tester and there is no power to any of the terminals under the dash. The one marked trailer has no hot wires at all. if I go back to the 7 pin harness on the rear bumper and test the pins there, there are also no hot terminals. I turn on the headlights still NO hot terminals............what could the problem be? are there additional wires I need to hook up at the UH fuse panel? Please Help before I pull out what little hair I have left.

Thanks

[Triki_Dick]

I'm not 100% sure, but the wire's, aren't they dangling in the locations under the hood like the NBS, do a search, wire's are around Brake Booster and Right of Fuse box. Not attached, just taped.

[tjferris]

i thought that was only on the 07's and up??? can anyone verify this or do i have to go digging around in my wire harness to find the loose wires on a 2001???

[tjferris]

Well I figured it out and I am posting this for anyone with similar problems...........

 

 

I pulled the underhood fusepanel box completley off, not just the cover but the WHOLE box. so now you can get to where all the wiring harness come into the lower part of the fuse panel. The wiring harness that comes out of the cab has a red wire with a ring on it, that isn't hooked to anything. I took a continuity tester and clipped on that ring and then to the spade in the box under the dash that is supposed to supply the 12v power to the controller. The light on the tester came on so I knew that was the correct wire for the 12v power. There are two post at the front of the UH fuse panel a 6mm and 8mm post. I tested these with a 12v tester to make sure there was positive power there and there was. I slid the ring over the 8mm post (the one on the right) and took a 8mm nut and tightend it down.(you have to supply your own nut there isn't one on there. I tested the spade under the dash and it now has power and the controller is functioning. If you need power to charge batteries on the trailer hookup, I believe there will be a similar wire in the harness that goes under the cab down the frame rail. And you will have to put a 40a fuse in the stud#1 location. I haven't looked into this yet but I am assuming there will be one with a ring on it that will fit the 6mm post I just didn't go digging in that harness as I just wanted to get the brake controller working first.

[asilverblazer]

Didn't know this was on the 800's too, My '99 was plug and play.

[Hidebinder]

Go figure. I have a 2001 extended cab and it was plug and play.

[Midwestcruiser]

My '02 Tahoe was plug and play. I have yet to wire in the brake controller and wiring harness I took from the Tahoe to the Silverado. I won't start towing until next Spring. Wish me luck.

[c4cruiser]

My 99 Silverado was also plug and play. Some people have reported that they had to connect wires in the underhood fuse box. Guess not all trucks had this done as they went down the assembly line.

 

Does your truck have the Z82 trailering packsge? It might be that trucks that weren't factory ordered with the trailer package did not get those leads connected even if the harness was installed for the trailer connector at the back.

[SinisterSS]

Hmm...sounds much like this...

 

Trailer Brake Controller Install (GMT-900)

 

[2017HD]

For the most part, all of the GMT800 trucks (99-07) had some sort of brake controller wiring built-in either as a connector or wire stubs. The only thing you had to do was install the fuse. My 99 Tahoe required full under dash wiring and my 07NBS 2500 came with the factory controller.

[Woodcutter]

Well I figured it out and I am posting this for anyone with similar problems...........

 

I'm glad you figured it out. Connecting the power lead for the brake controller sounds a lot like how it is done on the GMT900s. I've never been too keen on electrics so I had a friend help out to make sure all the wiring was connected properly. Happy towing!

[tjferris]

Hmm...sounds much like this...

 

Trailer Brake Controller Install (GMT-900)

 

 

 

yep, thats what got me thinking that could be why I had no power, even though when I talked to the dealer, I was told it should all be plug and play and i shouldn't have to hook any wires up to the fuse panel. But if it wasn't for that post, I prolly would have never started to dig around in my wireing harness