2017 factory brake controller

[Don Plata]

They didn’t even use the brake signal wire that is already in the back they ran a new one and spliced into the factory brake controller plug.

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Wow! I get the OBD2 tomorrow in the mail and will let everyone know how it goes with ForScan. Thanks for getting back to me Char17EL. I really hope it works. It doesn't make sense that the instrument cluster has the tow settings, the wire harness is installed, the trailer brake wire goes from the harness to the back, fuses and relays are all installed from factory, but they can't turn on a switch to enable it. The dealer gave me the reason that if they enabled it and then the factory wouldn't know to notify me of recalls. It is their system, when they enable it, just updated the system to note the brake controller is installed. Just an excuse, I think. I am going to use Forscan, but I did call other dealers to see what they say. Still waiting on them....

 

[jeff kushner]

Char17....you were smart to look at their work....electrical tape? COME on man!


jeff

 

[Black]

I have a high suspicion it will work just fine with ForScan.
As for their nonsense about not being notified of recalls add that to the list of people who buy used vehicles and never take it to a Ford dealer for service.

That wiring job is absolutely unacceptable.

 

[chuck s]

I believe an aftermarket brake controller just plugs in under the dashboard. Did on my '07 where I used a Tekonsha Prodigy. Heck, the Ford OEM controller probably plugs in the same connector.

-- Chuck

 

[Char17EL]

Yes the brake controller plugs into the factory harness and with an adapter harness you can use any aftermarket brake controller. The 3rd party installer that did the job told me it would not work because the blue wire in the back that says brake signal is not connected to anything and they do not “fish” in the factory harness to hook wires up or anything. So i checked my self to confirm that it is hooked up and functional.

 

[Don Plata]

Me 1 Dealer 0! ForScan worked wonderfully! I went into the As-Built and changed the numbers as suggested on the spreadsheet. 8 for the Brake controller and 4 for the Gain. It was fantastic! Connected the 7 pole and immediately got the trailer connected notification on the dash. Tapped the brakes and got notification of the gain.

When I connected the OBDII to the computer and ran Forscan, every time it asked me to switch from HS-Can to MS-Can the program would crash and close. I just selected, I did not have the MS-Can toggle and it finished with just the HS-Scan and I was able to make the change in the IPC As-built. Some videos showed just click and play on the IPC module, but when I did that the Trailer brake controller didn't show up. So I clicked and played the IPC As-built and located the matching codes to change then wrote all. Worked like a charm! Only $30 for the OBDII and now I can check on error codes and do other things if I so desire. Oh don't forget to get the extended license of ForScan to do the module work. It is free as a forum member.

Thank you Black, Chuck S, and Char17EL for the help! Gave me confidence it would work!

I also found this on the ForScan forum site that gave me confidence that it would work.

f=16&t=5425&p=24158#p24158 https://www.forscan.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5425&p=24158#p24158

Also I got notification today from the supplier I got the Factory brake controller from that they would not take my controller back since it was an electronic that had been opened. So I had nothing to lose but in the end saved a quite a bit of money.

 

[Char17EL]

Glad to hear everything worked!!

 

[chuck s]

Good news!

Hopefully Char17EL can get his working too. The in dash unit is every bit as competent as my Tekonsha Prodigy was. Most "add on" controllers, and all the "free" ones are simple time delay devices that wait a few seconds and then hit the trailer brakes to whatever you set the to. If set to not lock the wheels at every stop sign they won't stop you from highway speeds and vv. The Ford (and Prodigy) controller is proportional.

-- Chuck

 

[Char17EL]

I got the prodigy P3 from the dealer. They wanted to give me some cheap Draw tie controller and I told them it was cheap and i couldnt find any information on it.

 

[mossback]

Great to hear it worked. The power of ForScan really is amazing. So grateful we have it as a resource.