ltborg

Well I finally bit the bullet after two years of talking about it and got myself a truck. It's a 2010 Chevy 1500 with the HD Trailering Package (not the Max Trailering Package) so I will be needing a brake controller. This option comes with the wiring hook ups under the dash but it didn't come with the factory ITBC and apparently that is near impossible to add. It seems people like their Prodigy controllers but I would still be interested in current recommendations. Also, I can't seem to find a wiring harness for the NBS Chevys. Does anyone know what the deal with this is? Is the wiring for the controller just loose wires that the controller get hard wired too? TIA

trackboss

The pigtail harness should be included with your truck. It plugs in under the dash near the lower firewall. Check your underhood fuse box. You probably need to install the maxi fuse for the 12v and brake wire. Install after you wire everything up. There are generally two types of controllers. Time based and inertia. I've had both. They pretty much do the same thing. The simplest is a time based unit. I had either the draw tite or reese basic one. They're both the same. Now I have a tekonsha inertia based and it really is no advantage for what I tow (up to 14k gross sometimes). I actually like the simplicity of the time based units. There are two dials. One for how much brake which you will change from loaded trailer to unloaded. The other for time/inertia. With time it simply allows you to add delay to the trailer brakes from the moment you apply the tow vehicles brakes. With the inertia that adjustment is pretty much set once and rarely adjusted, but I do find myself occasionally making changes.
On your 1500, if it doesn't have the trailer plug in the back don't worry. The wires are strapped up underneath the spare tire area and labeled. There are probably 6 wires. On my old 2000 silverado 1500 I didn't have the factory tow package so I ran the 12v and brake wire from the front fuse panel all the way back. If you are not trickle charging a battery on the trailer or otherwise have no need for 12v back there you can skip that wire. Depending on the plug you choose to use you will probably only use 7. The one generally not used (when using a 7 pin) is the center high mounted brake light.

naschmitz

Starting in 2009 there is no pigtail harness. Check out this video: http://www.etrailer.com/tv-brake-con...silverado.aspx

I have a 2009 Silverado and installed the Tekonsha P3 Controller. You will connect the controller to the loose wires under the dash. There is also a 30A fuse you need to add and a 40A fuse if your trailer uses the auxilliary power connection. In addition to the fuses there are wires that need to be connected near the fuse block under the hood.

The etrailer video explains all this. etrailer.com is a very informative site.

Bert

c4cruiser

I think that the GMT900 trucks staring in '07 didn't get a controller harness connection. Don't what GM was thinking when they just left a harness with loose wires for hooking up a controller but it was not a good idea.

The owner's manual has information on how to connect the 12v aux lead. There are two studs at the forward end of the underhood fuse panel (STUD1 and STUD2) and only one is for the 12v lead. That red 10-gauge lead should be wire-tied along a harness under the brake master cylinder.

If your trailer has a breakaway box for the electric brakes, the 12v accessory pin on the trailer harness connector will be needed to keep the small 12v battery charged.

The 12v pin is good to have if you want to have a power supply at the back of the truck. Get a 7-pin connector and 30' of 2-wire cable and build a trouble light or for a small floodlamp. Great for providing light if you need to do emergency repairs at night (like changing a trailer tire)

As far as controllers, I had a Prodigy on my 99 and it worked great. Easy to set gain for the trailer brakes and I mounted so I could easily reach the trailer brake actuator. Tekonsha has some new controllers out and is supposed to be better than the Prodigy.
http://www.tekonsha.com/product/acce...%20Controllers

Painrace

A GM Master Mechanic can install all of this for you in an hour including the sbility to charge the battery for your winch if you have one. My winch battery is also a extra battery for my car.

Jim

davidfarmer

My 07' 3/4 ton Yukon has the wires under the dash, but the "hot" wire wasn't actually connected to anything. I had to do a lot of digging in the engine bay to actually make the the hot. Fortunately it came with the hookup in the back already attached.

alextz

You have to put in a fuse in the box in the engine bay

then solder (I recommend soldering for a more permanent connection than simply twist tying) I think it was 4 wires.

For my 2007 silverado HD new body style crew cab, that was it. It took about an hour, most of that time was finding the wires and lying on my back under the dash to solder. pretty easy. The truck is pre wired with the connector at the back, so you dont need to do anything there.

Prodigy is an awesome controller, wouldnt recommend anything else.

Do a google search on the wiring, then match signals with the owners manual for the prodigy....

CorvetteZ51Racer

I had a Prodigy controller in my Dodge 1500 until I bought a 2010 2500 Dodge with the built-in. I actually kept the Prodigy just in case I needed it for something (couldn't stand to leave it in the trade-in). GREAT controller (didn't have to mess with loaded/unloaded settings, etc). Send me an email if you're interested. I'd be willing to part with it since it doesn't look like I'll be using it anymore.

parsonsj

Agreed. I've used a bunch of different controllers... the Prodigy is install once and forget. It handles all kinds of trailer types too.