Brake Controller 2010 Tour

[Tpflyer]

I have a 22ft trailer that I would like to tow with my 2010 Tour 42AD. I bought a Prodigy brake controller and I want to wire it in. I looked through all my manuals and couldn't find much about towing a trailer. i looked at the wiring diagrams and didn't find much help there either. I am hoping one of the experts on this forum can assist. My 2009 Denali has a connector specifically for installing a brake controller so the install there was easy. Wondering if there is a similar connector under the dash for a brake controller in my Tour. Anyone done this before? I know I can go to the dealer and have it done but I just like working on the motorhome myself. I guess its the aircraft mechanic in me! Any help would be appreciated.

[motohomer]

This may help;
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f26/wirin...er-114708.html

[Tpflyer]

Finally found the brake controller harness. Had to remove the top instrument cover to see the plug tucked up behind some wires. Invisible from below. Headed to the autoparts store to get pins for the connector they included. If they don't have them I will order the connector harness from Tweetys.

Appreciate the assistance.

Tom

[Ontour]

Originally Posted by Tpflyer

Finally found the brake controller harness. Had to remove the top instrument cover to see the plug tucked up behind some wires. Invisible from below. Headed to the autoparts store to get pins for the connector they included. If they don't have them I will order the connector harness from Tweetys.

Appreciate the assistance.

Tom

Hey Tom,

I am in the same quandary. I have mounted my brake controller and purchased the plug from freight liner for $145. How hard was it to remove the top instrument cover? I have a 2012 Tour 42 QD but suspect the plug will be in the same area. Also, the wires are labeled differently on the plug pig tail then the wiring diagram from "Just Because."

Thanks.

Alan

[Tpflyer]

I bought my plug online from Tweety's for $29.00.

There are 4 screws on the front edge if the cover. Remove the screws and lift the front edge and then slide it forward. It's pretty easy. You should be able to see the plug sticking out on the left side of the steering column. It will have a black male plug shell attached. Just slide the green clip back and depress the tab to remove.

Here is the wiring info from Freightliner. Complements from another member.

My harness from Tweety's arrives today.

Good Luck.


Dear Customer,
The circuits are as follows, Pin A is circuit 36G , red wire white trace,
this is the brake signal input. Pin B is circuit 29A, this is for
backlighting, if the controller lights up with the headlamps on ( this
circuit is hot when the headlamps are on). Pin C is circuit 36T , red
wire /white trace, 12 gauge wire, this is signal out of the controller to
the 7 way at the rear. Pin D is circuit 14T, red wire, this is accessory
power. Pin E black wire, this is ground and Pin F is pink wire circuit 52
J , this is ignition power.
Hope this is what you needed. If you have further questions, please let us
know.

[Ontour]

Thanks for the great information. Since my coach is in storage I will make a trip over this weekend and dig in to it.

I called Tweety's yesterday and they told me that they didn't make a wiring harness for the Freightliner chassis. Do you have a part number for the harness?

Thanks,
Alan

[Tpflyer]

Unified Tow Brake Pigtail Harness for Rear Engine Freightliner RV Chassis
94-7525 / N46-5060 1 $29.80 $29.80

Here are the numbers off my Tweety's invoice. Just got it in the mail yesterday

Here is a link to it on their website.

http://Tweetys.com/pigtailharnessfre...erchassis.aspx

Hope that helps.

You might want to get a few butt splice connectors at the local auto supply store as you will need to connect four wires from the pigtail to the four corresponding wires form the brake controller.

The red wire with the pin and fuse on the pigtail goes into slot F on the pigtail. As per the instructions that come with the pigtail.

I also bought some split black tubing to cover the wires so it looks like all the rest of the harnesses.

Took all of 15 minutes to connect and install.

Good luck

[Ontour]

Thanks a million. Ordered the part earlier today. Already have all the other electrical goodies (butt conectors and loom) to make the job look like the factory wiring.

The freight liner part will go back tomorrow. You just saved me $100.

Thanks again,

Alan

[Tpflyer]

Originally Posted by Ontour

Thanks a million. Ordered the part earlier today. Already have all the other electrical goodies (butt conectors and loom) to make the job look like the factory wiring.

The freight liner part will go back tomorrow. You just saved me $100.

Thanks again,

Alan

Glad I was able to pass on what I learned here on this forum to another member. That what makes this such a valuable tool.
Take the wife out to dinner with your new found wealth!

[Ontour]

Het Tom,

Yes these forums are very valuable tools. Even more helpful than the dealer themselves. My dealer actually told me that they just re wire for trailer brakes because the plug on the chassis is to difficult to locate and charge $520. What a deal!

I got my plug from Tweety's today. Funny thing though. The red wire that the directions say to plug into the F slot on the plug is actually in the D slot on the plug from Freightliner. Any idea why? I guess I can compare it to the plug from the chassis and make sure it's in the right location.


Alan

[Tpflyer]

Alan, I don't think that pin should be in D for your application. The instructions say F and that is where I put mine. My red wire did not come installed in the Freightliner plug. It was separate from plug. I think you will need to remove that pin and insert it in F just like the instructions state. Double check all the wiring connections based on their function. Power to power, ground to ground, brake signal in, brake signal out. You don't want any blue smoke.

[Ontour]

Tom, the red wire in the part from Tweeties is not in the plug. The plug that I got from the freightliner dealer has the wire in the D position. Sorry for the confusion. I have a feeling that the correct position is the F location. I will see how the plug on the coach is wired and match it.

By the way, how do you like your coach? I am new the the motor home arena. I have a 2012 QD. I like it so far but have anly had it for a few months.

Alan

[Tpflyer]

Alan, I think the harness you received from Freightliner has more than the four wires the brake controller needs to operate. I'll bet you also had a wire (maybe a different color) in the F pin slot also.

We have had our 42AD for a little over a year now and like you we are motorhome newbies. In a couple of weeks we will be taking our first 2 week trip in it. Up to this point most trips have been fairly local and mostly long weekends. Over the fourth of July we did our first weekend boondocking at Lime Rock Park racetrack in Connecticut. Spent 3 nights off the grid! I was a little concerned about running on batteries but overnight since I didn't know how much power would be used with the inverter on. So I unplugged all the TV's before bedtime since we couldn't run the generator after 10 pm. Woke up to 12.4V on the batteries. Piece of cake. Probably could have left everything on.

I haven't had it weighed yet. Been waiting to get it fully outfitted. I ordered a Splendide 7100 washer dryer which arrives today. Ours didn't have one in it originally and we thought we didn't need it but the more reading I do it kind of convinced me to add it to the wish list. We park it in our driveway and it does take up a lot of room so I am planning on adding a concrete pad extension to the driveway so it has it's own parking spot. I already have power and water which I will move. Right now my asphalt driveway has. a few divots where the jacks have made impressions due to the weight and heat of summer.

We really like the layout of the Tour over some of the other coaches we looked at. I think the tv over the windshield is a bit of overkill as we rarely watch that one. Same with the outside tv, although it did come in handy at the race track and drew lots of visitors to see who was leading the race.

We will be retiring next year and plan to winter down south in it which is why we bought such a big rig for our first motorhome. We bought a new Jeep Grand Cherokee to tow behind it. The jeep has our bike rack on the back and we are thinking about getting a pair of kayaks to throw on the roof! Can never have too many toys! We have a 22 ft enclosed trailer which we may bring our Corvette with us on occasion. That's where the brake controller come in!

Most of the issues we have had so far have been relatively minor. We had a flat tire. Turned out to be a loose valve stem extension which only showed up when I installed the tire monitor system. We had a leaking tag axel seal which was fixed by Freightliner. The lower set of louvres on our read radiator came unglued. I epoxied it back in place and added a couple of aluminum rivets to prevent it from happening again. There were a few things wired incorrectly from the factory like the drivers seat heater. It was on all the time! Boy was that ride home from the dealer warm! A couple of switches were wire backwards like the tank selector for checking front or rear gray tank ! Little stuff!

We did bring the coach in to Freightliner for the 6000 mile check. You should do it. They tighten every single bolt they can get a wrench on. Our mechanic said we didn't have any real loose but every one took a little turn. The also found some minor stuff that would have given me trouble later that I would have never noticed. It was good piece of mind!

Hope you have good safe travels in yours!

Tom and Janie Prevost
Southwick Ma.

[Ontour]

Hey Tom,

Glad you are enjoying your coach. Thanks for the additional good info. We have also only been on short excursions but have used the motor home several times. We are planning a ten day trip at the end of this month. I am heading to Phoenix AZ this weekend to pick up my 22' stacker trailer at BMS Navigo. I had a wrap done on it to match the coach graphics. Mine is Autumn Frost. Thus the need for the trailer brake controller.

We have also had a few little issues, broken interior trim, bad DVD player ect, but nothing major. Though, I did notice that the bottom of the oil pan is slightly wet with oil. Doesn't look like anything major.

I had 2-130 watt solar panels installed on my coach which keeps the batteries charged nicely when not plugged in. I have only started my generator once.

I feel like I am beating this wiring issue to death but the not used brown wire is actually in the B plug location.

You mentioned using butt conectors but my part from Tweety's has plugs on both ends. Did yours come that way? I need to go to storage to see if the plug on the controller end of the wiring harness is correct for the Prodigy controller.

Ironically the Prevosts own a Winnebago (a superior product!) That's funny.

Alan

[Tpflyer]

Alan, I cut the end off my Tweety's harness because the plug didn't match my brake controller That's the reason for the butt splice.
We also had a slight oil leak which Freightliner fixed when they changed the oil at the 6000 mile check.
I get asked alot why I didn't buy a prevost given my last name. My response is always the same .... It is way more important to me to have my name on the title than the outside of the coach!

Installed my new Splendide 7100XC Ventless Washer Dryer combo last night. It fit like a glove.

I like the idea of having the trailer wrapped to match. I think if we end up towing it more often I will do the same. I also like the fact that you added additional solar capacity. If I didn't have mine plugged in I think I would do that to. Last year I changed all my puck lights, sconce lights and basement lights to LEDs to reduce the heat generated from the halogen lights and save on battery power.

Enjoy your trip to Phoenix. We are headed to Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania in two weeks!

Happy trails

Tom Winnebago Prevost