Wiring between trailer and tow vehicle?

rancherwilli · 09-06-2018, 09:20 AM

Just purchased used 2010 f150 with original factory tow package. Plugged in new 2106fbs but no action with brakes or lights. Is this a common thing when hooking up old versus new wiring? Have made appointment with trailer folks to work on it. Just curious,,, willie

old_engineer · 09-06-2018, 12:50 PM

Have you towed with the truck before? Are you using an OEM or aftermarket brake controller? If you installed the OEM unit on your own you will need to go to a Ford Dealer to have it enabled in the computer.

rancherwilli · 09-06-2018, 02:16 PM

Never towed with it. No brake controller installed,,

al1florida · 09-06-2018, 05:06 PM

You or someone is going to have to troubleshoot the truck and trailer to find out what is wrong.
About the brakes on the trailer, you need a controller in the truck. I don't think that was an option in 2010 to have a factory installed trailer brake controller.

rancherwilli · 09-07-2018, 05:56 AM

I made appointment with trailer folks to install controller and troubleshoot wiring,,, Thanks,,,

old_engineer · 09-07-2018, 06:55 AM

Model years 2009 - 2014 have an OEM brake controller available. It fits in the small cubby to the right of the steering wheel. An aftermarket such as the Tenkosha P2 would work well too. You are also going to need to install the 12VDC Aux line relay and fuse. These are normally found in an bag in the glove compartment. There should be something in the owners manual about them. I would also verify that the other trailer fuses and relays are installed and good. Again the owners manual should cover this.

The lights and signals should always work as they are part of the basic truck wiring and those pins are paralleled on the 4-pin and 7-pin connector.

rancherwilli · 09-08-2018, 10:17 AM

Amazingly,,,the 12vdc aux line was in jock box just like you said! I will show it to my wiring guy on Thursday. Thanks

old_engineer · 09-08-2018, 10:51 AM

Another thing comes to mind. I'm not sure about pre-2015 in this regard but there might also be a connector with a pigtail. This is the adapter from the truck's brake controller connector used to hook up an after market controller. The truck side connector will either be behind the cubbyhole or near the steering column. Again this is model year dependent it might either be plugged into the back of the cubbyhole or have a dummy connector plugged int it.

Bigbird65 · 09-14-2018, 08:17 AM

So rancherwilli, what did your wiring guy find out?

rancherwilli · 09-15-2018, 01:35 AM

Success! He installed new brake controller, the 12vdc wire and it all worked! Also made mod to hitch setup to better fit the truck. Thanks again for your right on input. Happy travels.

Bigbird65 · 09-15-2018, 06:01 AM

Congratulations and glad you got it fixed.