Trailer Electric Brake Controller

robbiocal · 11-22-2005, 11:31 AM

My 04 needs a rtrailer electric brake controller. Has anyone installed a brand they like. How easy is the installation?

bestatchess · 11-22-2005, 12:04 PM

I have seen quite a few posts about people liking the Prodigy controller. If you do a search on this forum for Prodigy I think you can turn up some info.

2Titans · 11-22-2005, 10:32 PM

I have a Prodigy. Very easy to install and it works great. Order the optional $10 wiring harness from Prodigy. It plugs in under the dash and right into the controller-no wires to splice together, no electric tape to fumble with.

keane · 11-23-2005, 07:30 AM

Got the Prodigy - love it.

rarjar · 11-23-2005, 09:40 AM

Agree with the others- Prodigy is easy to install and works great-- plus, if you have an LE (or possibly an SE) with Big Tow, wiring harness comes with the truck (look in glove box).

2gen454 · 11-24-2005, 08:15 PM

I have the SE with the tow package, so I do have the wiring harness. Does this mean that I won't have to purchase a separate harness with the brake controller to plug into my truck? Or do I still have to purchase a harness that is compatible with the controller itself?

akangl · 11-24-2005, 09:46 PM

I have an Endeavor and love it. Just hooked the truck's brake controller wiring up to it, plugged it in and its been great. Have been using it for over a year. Only once have I had to fuss with it and that was when I went from an 11,000 lb trailer down to a 3800 lb trailer (after dumping the trailer)........brakes on the trailer got way too sensitive......could have stopped the Titan with just the trailer brakes, lol.

Word of caution, hubby has a DrawTite controller in his truck, he has to adjust it continuiously and its no where near as easy as the Endeavor or Prodigy. I would avoid that brand.

scr38 · 11-24-2005, 09:46 PM

As 2Titans posted, buy the adapter harness with the Prodigy. Or, you can wire the pigtail that comes with the Big Tow to the controller. Just be carefull with the wiring - the wiring colors on the pigtail and Prodigy do not match. There is a tag on the Nissan pigtail that identifies the function of each wire. Match these to the function on the controller. There is one wire on the pigtail that you won't use, it is for lights, and it isn't used on the controller.

CHEIF · 11-24-2005, 09:51 PM

If you have the BigTow, you should have gotten the adaptor for the controller with the truck. Usually in the glovebox on delivery.

Prodigy is above the rest. Also sold under another name. My brother-in-law picked one up on the internet for about 100 dollars. You can buy worse, but they all cost about the same if you shop.

Most important, you want a controller that operates proportionally. Measures stopping G's in your vehicle and applies varying amounts of brake to your trailer. It is still manually adjustable. the prodigy is this type of controller.

If you have the harness adaptor that came with your truck, there is no need to order another with the controller, although some sites may include it free.

2gen454 · 11-24-2005, 09:52 PM

Well that answers my question. Thanks scr38. Looks like I will be purchasing the harness with the controller.

onetitan · 11-25-2005, 08:31 AM

The Prodigy is also sold as Intellastop. It is about 20$ less, but the internals are the same. My Intellastop actually says Prodigy in some of the literature. Nate

2gen454 · 11-25-2005, 11:46 AM

So according to scr38 I should buy the extra harness with the Prodigy, and according to Cheif I don't have to. Forgive me for my confusion, but now I am not sure what to do. I would like it to be strictly plug-n-play, so Cheif, I do have the harness in my glove box from Nissan. With this harness, is it all just plug-n-play, or will I have to pigtail the wires together? Thanks for all the help guys, I just want to make sure we are all on the same page.

CHEIF · 11-25-2005, 12:26 PM

I've come to trust SCR on these issues cuz he's always right

But hopefully he'll agree with me that getting the vehicle-specific harness is duplicating the harness adaptor that you got with the truck. If you have to pay, it's not worth it.

Either way it will be plug-n-play. Connect the bare wires on the controller to the bare wires on your harness adaptor. Now you have one piece with a plug on each end. One side fits the plug on your truck (under the dash) the other side plugs directly into the controller. Your Beautiful Ride remains unscathed

scr38 · 11-25-2005, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2gen454

So according to scr38 I should buy the extra harness with the Prodigy, and according to Cheif I don't have to. Forgive me for my confusion, but now I am not sure what to do. I would like it to be strictly plug-n-play, so Cheif, I do have the harness in my glove box from Nissan. With this harness, is it all just plug-n-play, or will I have to pigtail the wires together? Thanks for all the help guys, I just want to make sure we are all on the same page.

Maybe I wasn't clear on my previous post, so let me go over it again.
Your Titan came with a brake controller pigtail in the glove compartment. It has a plug on one end that connects to another plug that is found taped to a wiring harness to the left of the steering column. The other end of the pigtail has no connector, just bare wires. The Prodigy that I used came with a pigtail for it, with bare wires, no connector. I connected these wires to the Nissan pigtail, being careful to connect the functions, not match the wire colors (mentioned in my earlier post). I understand that with the later model Prodigy you can get a pigtail that plugs directly into the Nissan connector, without having to do any wire splicing. I haven't seen this, so I'm not sure. If you can get this Prodigy pigtail for no cost with the controller it will save you a little work. If you can't get one, or the dealer wants to charge you for it then I would use the Nissan pigtail and do the splicing. It is easy to do, all the wires are identified.

CHEIF · 11-25-2005, 08:51 PM

If I could get the vehicle specific with no splicing, I'd get it!!!

Once again, something I wasn't aware of. Thanks Again SCR.

AKA, just wanted to say the drawtight you mention sounds like it's on a timer, and not proportional. Mine is on a timer and I too must adjust it. Mostly for city/highway. It's not the brand, but the type of activation that makes it inferior.

Robbiocal, what trim do you have? I believe the '04 XE was the only trim that lacks some of the wiring needed although it is easily fixed. If you have an '04 SE, LE, or any '05 trim, the wiring plug is near the seering column.

Chief