Factory Brake Controller Install

[bulldogger]

Here you go, did it with my wife, absolutely ridiculous how this has too be done. My truck is a lariat crew cab. To start the install, you have to locate the Yellow and Blue wires in the front under the dash. Ford tucks this wire folded up and taped together with blue tape. Ford was kind enough to leave you about 2 inches of wire. This amount of wire makes it extremely difficult to connect the wires using the provided connectors using the hot air gun. Inside the connector is a round tube of solder that has to melt to secure the contact of the wires. I had to use a lighter to get that to melt. I had to protect the rest of the wiring with foil throughout this part of the process. Now with the bottom of the dash apart and the moldings on the rockers removed, you have to run the wires that will tie into the third brake light in the roof at the back of the cab. I had to use a coat hanger to run the wires under the molding of the pillar post between the front and back seats. Now we get to the most frustrating part. The connector that the wires plug into is attached to the back wall of the cab right by the third brake light. The only way to get to it was by dropping the headliner down. Hence from this point started the removal of all of the upper moldings, sun visors, overhead console, interior light, rearview mirror shield, seatbelts that attach to the pillar posts. Once the headliner is down, you now have access to the clip for the new wires. After connecting the wires, we had the fun of putting the truck back together. I don't know where people are getting the idea this is a 30 minute job unless they are getting confused with the 30 minute application in the directions. The 30 minutes in the direction is after you wipe the Redarc modules down with alcohol and apply the foam tape they tell you to wait 30 minutes before sticking them to behind the dash panel. If anyone wants to under take this task I am more then willing to answer questions but they should be pretty soon as I am 59 and will probably forget I own the truck in a few days

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[RangerAJS]

Glad I put a tekonsha in mine…this looks painful

 

[BassRanger]

You really don't have to pull the entire headliner down, at least not on the super cab. Just popping a few of the rear clips gives you more than enough access to get to that plug.

 

[bulldogger]

In the crew cab the headliner is pressed into the raised rear lip on the sliding rear window, it needs to be moved forward after the rear pins are released otherwise it is impossible to get your hand up to the third brake light harness plug. My wife has thin arms and she couldn't even get her hand back to the rear harness, if you have a regular rear glass window it probably could slide straight down, but the crew cab rear widow has a sliding window with about a 1" track the sticks out into the headliner area.

 

[BassRanger]

In the crew cab the headliner is pressed into the raised rear lip on the sliding rear window, it needs to be moved forward after the rear pins are released otherwise it is impossible to get your hand up to the third brake light harness plug. My wife has thin arms and she couldn't even get her hand back to the rear harness, if you have a regular rear glass window it probably could slide straight down, but the crew cab rear widow has a sliding window with about a 1" track the sticks out into the headliner area.

Makes sense looking at it now. If I had to do it again, knowing what I know now, I'd just splice the CHMSL wire in the factory harness under the dash.

 

[Fawnbuster]

My redarc was a breeze. As part of my truck purchase I had them uncover the wires on the left lower toe kick on the driver's side. Only had to remove the fascia because I went with Lightforce

 

[bulldogger]

Not sure what the lightforce one is but wanted one that works with co-pilot 360 and adaptive cruise control and braking feature. This unit is suppose to work with all that crap.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Hi Folks,

I have been puzzled by this CHMSL access. Seems to me the wire required for the brake controller has to come from the floor pan area which is so much easier to access than the headliner. I may be wrong but it seem flat crazy to have to drop the headliner... Since I have no intention to pull a trailer that needs a brake controller I have not investigated further....Gotta be an easier way....

May be wrong on this one....

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[dmeyer302]

Hi Folks,

I have been puzzled by this CHMSL access. Seems to me the wire required for the brake controller has to come from the floor pan area which is so much easier to access than the headliner. I may be wrong but it seem flat crazy to have to drop the headliner... Since I have no intention to pull a trailer that needs a brake controller I have not investigated further....Gotta be an easier way....

May be wrong on this one....

I've linked the location at the fuse panel multiple times but for some reason it never has caught on. Oh well y'all's loss, it took me less than an hour.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

I've linked the location at the fuse panel multiple times but for some reason it never has caught on. Oh well y'all's loss, it took me less than an hour.

Hi Daniel,

Ah Ha! Thought that might be the case.....

Thanks!

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[BassRanger]

I've linked the location at the fuse panel multiple times but for some reason it never has caught on. Oh well y'all's loss, it took me less than an hour.

If I'd seen your post before I installed mine, that's where I would have tapped. Unfortunately, I didn't have the 4 wire bundle for the TBC, so I had an added layer of problems to go with it.

 

[Ranger_Rocks]

I've linked the location at the fuse panel multiple times but for some reason it never has caught on. Oh well y'all's loss, it took me less than an hour.

Link (again) please ?

 

[BassRanger]

Link (again) please ?

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/ford-licensed-tbc-install-instructions.5971/post-105637

 

[bulldogger]

Okay if you tie into that one wire then you need to modify the factory brake controller with the six wire pin leads so how would you do that and what guarantees do you have the module will work properly after you modify the harness

 

[BassRanger]

Okay if you tie into that one wire then you need to modify the factory brake controller with the six wire pin leads so how would you do that and what guarantees do you have the module will work properly after you modify the harness

That 6 wire pigtail terminates down to one wire(CHMSL brake lamp 12+), which is the only wire going back to the lumen module. The other wires on the pigtail are simply there to bridge the ground and bed lamp 12+ back together.

Literally the only reason for the long pigtail is to get a signal from CHMSL brake lamp 12+ and keep the unit plug and play. The alternative would require splicing into the factory harness.

All you need to do is take the long pigtail that is supposed to go back to the CHMSL, cut it and splice it into the corresponding CHMSL brake lamp 12+ in the foot well.

.....edit
I did a crude diagram of what the pigtail effectively does

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