Electric Brake Controller Installation

[Old.Tony]

What would be a better controller then? Or perhaps I should ask "which is the best?" because I don't want to buy "3rd best" any more. I just want the top of the pile.

 

[d22dave]

I have the tekonsha primus had it put on nav last june, Have done 3 return trips to Barham from Ballarat no complaints. Took my existing brake controller in to be fitted and wasnt real happy about placement, Saw this one on the shelf, Perfect fit for where i wanted it mounted, Looks to be same place as old tonys in the photo a few posts back.

 

[Laith]

Don't know Tony. I'm still using my P3 as I don't want to waste money on something else I'm not happy with. My P3 does it's job 95% of the time. It's disapointing though.

There seems to be tons of people with them that say they are great. Maybe you would be fine. Maybe I shouldn't of said anything

I was going to get a basic plain jane unit for my nav but decided to save some coin and transfer the P3 from my Cruiser to Nav when needed.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[Old.Tony]

I'm glad you posted, it's set me off on a search for "the best" and rather than reading through advertising blurbs by companies on their products (or pages that appear to be sponsored by one company's product) I've been wading through dozens of forums.

It would appear that the cream of the crop is the Prodigy P3, and the problem most often experienced with it is that a slight bump of the manual control causes the vehicle's brake lights to come on, resulting in a flat starter battery if left unnoticed. There have been one or two warranty complaints (no service) but at least one of those was related to a change in Tekonsha's phone number.

I won't actually buy until I've done some more reading, but the P3 seems to be the leader of the pack so far, in spite of the (seemingly few) problems.

 

[nathand22]

I'm glad you posted, it's set me off on a search for "the best" and rather than reading through advertising blurbs by companies on their products (or pages that appear to be sponsored by one company's product) I've been wading through dozens of forums.

It would appear that the cream of the crop is the Prodigy P3, and the problem most often experienced with it is that a slight bump of the manual control causes the vehicle's brake lights to come on, resulting in a flat starter battery if left unnoticed. There have been one or two warranty complaints (no service) but at least one of those was related to a change in Tekonsha's phone number.

I won't actually buy until I've done some more reading, but the P3 seems to be the leader of the pack so far, in spite of the (seemingly few) problems.

thought i might dust off this old thread.......

So what's the verdict Tony?? is it the p3??? or did you choose another unit??

I just ordered a new camp trailer that will come with electric brakes, so i would
be keen to see how happy you are with the one you chose.

Cheers,
Nath.

 

[Old.Tony]

Tekonsha Prodigy P3 has been purchased, installed and used several times now.

Verdict: happy as a pig in mud. Fully automatic on inclines, the only thing it doesn't handle automatically is its boost level on slick surfaces, so I use this regimen:

* On dry, sealed roads boost level 2 is enough, 3 if I feel like it
* On gravel roads or wet roads boost level 1.
* On icy, muddy, agae-covered fords etc - boost OFF (yes, I tried).

If I had to buy another one all over again, I'd get the P3. Beats the shit out of the Voyager and the Redarc (which was supposed to be proportional and I paid $600 for mine to be fitted and it never ONCE braked like you'd expect it to).

I don't know how good the Hayman Reese Guardian is, but the sales guy I spoke to about it tried to convince me that I didn't want a proportional brake controller. He just stopped short of dangling a watch in front of my face and saying "you are getting sleepy..." but he pushed SO hard in that direction I was wondering what the smell was.

I'm glad I've gone the way I have.

And I'm glad you reminded me - I have just updated my garage to reflect this, I'd forgotten to do it!

 

[nathand22]

Ok Tekonsha prodigy P3 it is, and at $153 off flee bay it seems like a bargain.

Thanks Tony.

 

[BIGCOLL]

Nathand22 mate i'm an auto elec and have been for the last 10 years an in my time i have come accross redarc ( not worth pissing on if on fire, to y could back that up) and i have found best value for money is tekonsha unit, the voyager is an old reliable unit once set properly but the prodigy is where it's all at. Install is very easy and should take around an hour or so. Before buying of ebay check out repco or a company called ashdown/ingrams for pricing (they sometimes have great specials). Hope this helps

 

[the_bluester]

I changed the Voyager in my R51 pathfinder for a P3 prodigy, best thing I ever did. The voyager is a pain in the arse by comparison, either too gentle when I want some trailer braking or very aggressive and jerky if you tweak the level control to get the trailer brakes to lead the car a little.

I transferred the Voyager to my xtrail but I am thinking of ditching it for another P3. I have had no problems with the P3 at all.

 

[nathand22]

Nathand22 mate i'm an auto elec and have been for the last 10 years an in my time i have come accross redarc ( not worth pissing on if on fire, to y could back that up) and i have found best value for money is tekonsha unit, the voyager is an old reliable unit once set properly but the prodigy is where it's all at. Install is very easy and should take around an hour or so. Before buying of ebay check out repco or a company called ashdown/ingrams for pricing (they sometimes have great specials). Hope this helps

Thanks BIGCOLL, its good to here from some one like your self with allot of experience, and has confirmed that i bought the right unit.
I ended up with a new prodigy 3 off of ebay for $153 delivered, which i thought was ok.
I didnt even check repco or anyone else, (which was prob a bit stupid) just being lazy again.

Thanks again.

 

[pac1977]

Sorry for digging up an old thread but it seemed pointless to start a new one.

I'm after a bit of help after installing my Tekonsha P3 int my 2012 ST. The install went well and all seemed to be working well. Unit operated correctly and brake switch worked fine. Tested power to the trailer plug and the voltage adjusted as expected.
Problem is when I connected the Jayco Swan the brakes didn't operate at all (so I tested them on our other car and they worked fine), next step was to go through the P3 troubleshooting menu, everything looked good BUT the 'Current Output', the highest this would go is 0.09 amps.
So I'm stuck. Has anyone else had a similar problem and might be able to provide some assistance. I spoke to the place where I purchased it from and they suggested by-passing the Brake control unit by picking up the brake signal from the rear of the car. Do you think this would help (I'm not sure as the brake signal seems to be fine).

Any help would be great (sorry for the long post).

Thanks

Paul

 

[Old.Tony]

Hi Paul,

The P3 should pump out around 12A (mine does, and it works nicely on 2 axles).

I'd have to hook mine up again and measure the inputs - Nissan wired mine in originally (as a Tekonsha Voyager, and I've upgraded by connecting to the wires they'd installed). I do know that brake power in mine is coming directly from the battery (through a 30A thermal breaker) into the controller in the cabin then out to the trailer plug. I just don't know what the switching power is - I'm not sure if it's going "NC -> Neg" or "NC -> Pos".

I'll have to try and do that tomorrow afternoon, but I know I'm going to be pressed for time - fingers crossed.

 

[pac1977]

Thanks Old.Tony,

Yeah power is coming directly from the battery via a 30 amp auto reset circuit breaker. The voltage on the unit seems to operate correctly and adjusts when the brake pedal is pressed, just very little current.

 

[Old.Tony]

Ours only produces current when the vehicle is actually slowing down. If I'm stopped in my driveway or at a set of lights, I get very little current too.

How are you testing it?

 

[pac1977]

Thanks Old Tony,

Looks like I may have solved the mystery. Not sure which one but I re-did all of the connections and all seems to work much better. Haven't taken the trailer for a run yet but plugged it in and the current seems to adjust as expected. Had the wife press the brakes and I could hear the trailer brakes activate.

Thanks again for your help.

Paul

 

[jack2840]

Wiring

The live wire to the trailer i used 6mm though an anderson plug, fused at battery, for chargeing the deck of batterys in my trailer it give a good 35amp constant if you are real worried and want to start a truck back there go bigger but 6mm dose the job for me.
i like anderson plugs because the take the stone hits better then any of the others, the bogie of mine just runs a large round 7 trailer plug and it takes the load fine. and sometimes useing the plugs "spare" ports can be a problem as i remember borrowing a horse float only to find the doubled up the eletric brakes and the reverse points, took a bit to figure why the reverse lights came when i was brakeing

 

[boostin_7]

Im going to Install a p3 also for our eagle camper in the next few days.
Is it necessary to have its power source (blake wire) running through an aux switched relay, or does the unit switch itself off.

 

[pac1977]

I wired mine directly to the battery (with fuse etc) as I would prefer to have brakes available in the unlikely event of needing them while the ignition is off.
The unit goes into a standby mode and does not use much power. I have only had my battery go flat once and that was after an overseas holiday when the car sat for two weeks.

 

[Old.Tony]

As Pac says, the unit goes into standby. Mine is active all the time, ignition on or not. I don't think I want to change it for the same reason as Pac.

In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, there might be value in bypassing the main fusible link and going directly (via its own fuse or thermal breaker) to the battery terminal for the brake control unit.

 

[boostin_7]

yeah thats the way it is in the installation diagram Old Tony, ive got a thermal breaker for it from the ebay seller to.