Elec brakes w/'99 suburban .....

[Insp Gadget]

Ok guys, I have a 99 suburban with a towing package and have wired it up a 7 blade coupler. My buddy and I are building a 22' tow behind trailer/house with elec brakes.

Do I need a controller or actuator or is the braking circuit built in going to operate it by itself??

thanks for the help,

gadget

[bbqhead]

you will have to have a controller installed.

randy

[Surface Tension]

"99 suburban with a towing package and have wired it up a 7 blade coupler"

If you have the controller it would be an add-on. Should be mounted below the dash.

[Insp Gadget]

Thanks Guys! Guess I'll be getting a controller.

[Valv]

Get a Tekonsha Prodigy, they are one of the best controllers out there.

[Insp Gadget]

Ok, got the tekonsha and the rumored gm quick connect .... I say rumored because they say the '99 has the place in the convenience center to plug in the plug and play thing.

Well, our '99's have the old style and need to be hard wired. I was under the dash long enough get a headache. I can find the heavy battery cable that goes to the rear for the 7 pin, but can't find the heavy blue for the brakes ....... any one have any idea on this model where to find it?

I've googled and looked etc ..... found a site that shows a tap for the brake lights but no info on the missing blue wire.

Thanks for the help!

[Jeremy airjer W]

If it has a factory 7 pin connector on the vehicle than according to the wiring diagrams the blue wire (auxilary lead) is "taped to the harness". I would assume they mean the trailer wiring harness. Where exactly I couldn't tell you but I would imagine if you found it at the connector on the suburban you will be able to find out where it goes/ends.

Good luck!

I seem to recall something about it being under the brake booster near the fire wall but I could be way off base. Might be worth a peak.

[Insp Gadget]

The thing is that the wiring harness is there, I had to install and the 7 blade connector but all the wires were there in the back. I'll check around the brake booster, not sure what that is but will figure it out. Of course Chev has ZERO info anywhere public on the web, I'm guessing so you have to go to their service for help or install but I know the wire is somewhere and I'll just start taking stuff apart until I find it!!

Thanks for the point toward the brake booster.

[Jeremy airjer W]

as your looking into the connector on the vehicle the pin on the bottom and to the right is the pin for the brake control. If you can see wich wire is attatched on the back side of the connector than you sould be able to trace it back. If the seven pin that you installed was plug and play (plugged into an existing factory harness connector that you should be able to fing the dark lue wire there also.

The brake booster is what the master cylinder is attached to by the way.

[Insp Gadget]

Airjer ...... Thanks for the point in the right direction, the factory installed brake and Aux pwr wires were indeed under/behind the brake assist. I'm good to go except one thing ..........

Is there an easy way to get the brake wire into the cab? Or do I just drill a hole? sorry to seem lame ..... a few years ago I would have not bothered to ask and drilled a hole but now a day with tech the way it is I don't want to mess anything up.

The last (i think) question is to power the controller, is it best to run a sep line from the cab to the eng compartment and battery, or can I use a pin I found 12v on in the convenience center, near the stop light access pin? Trouble is I'm not sure what fuse it goes to so don't know the size on it.

Thanks for all the help, I stopped at a Chev dealer today and they were nice enough to give me a service guy, computer, and 30 mins to try to figure this out. They couldn't even tell me where the wires were.

[Jeremy airjer W]

There should be some places that you can run the wires through. The hood release cable grommet in the firewall comes to mind as one possibility.

I would run power and grounds to the battery as suggested in the installation directions. They also recommend a 20 or 30 amp auto reset breaker between the battery and the power wire for the controller. If a fuse blows the trailer brakes are done until the fuse gets replaced. The circuit breaker will pop and reset itself if a problem occurs making the trailer brakes more likely to do what there intended to do.

[Scott K]

Airjer, whats "For Sale" ?

[Jeremy airjer W]

[Insp Gadget]

Airjer,

Thanks, I'll check that grommet, had looked at a couple but felt they were too tight, didn't check that one. I was planning on the breaker too. Once we get the "go" covered we need the stop too!!

Thanks again.