Brake Controllers In Cab for trailers

wawajake · Apr 22, 2013

I am buying a dual axle trailer to tow my Kubota (with my 2008 Dodge 4 x 4 pickup Hemi) , and it will have one axle with electric brakes . I have a old Tekonsha Brake Controller I used in the 1980's to tow a travel trailer. I have saved and have not used it for almost 30 years , it has the typical four wires, one red, blue, white , black.
I see Tekonsha is still in the Brake Controller business (eg Prodigy units etc) All seem to still have those same four wires. Does anyone see anything risk in my buying the plug and play wiring harness for my Dodge and just joining the same colours together and then plugging it into my brake plug under the dash like the plug and play wiring harness will tell me ?
Although the brake controller is old , it has all the similar features and I remember how I set the brake sensitivity like before. A new unit in Canada is $140 , bucks plus plug and play wiring harness $29.

I figure what can wear out .......was dry in the garage where it was stored , it is solid state , only marking on it is Tekonsha 12-85...thoughts anyone , anyone still using a controller that old ???

RedNeckRacin · Apr 22, 2013

I had a tekonsha prodigy in my 2005 but it wasn't 30 years old. It was a good controller and the plug and play harness was fantastic. I wouldn't want to cut up a brand new harness but to save $140 i'd be pretty tempted. Worse case scenario, you can rig it up to a battery and meter the hot wire for the brakes and see if its still accurate. That would give me enough peace of mind to give it a shot. Im sure the safety police will chime in here in a second and tell you otherwise. Just remember, if it fails, you gotta be able to stop the trailer without the trailer brakes. Might be something to think about when your saving that $140.

Diamondpilot · Apr 22, 2013

Won't hurt to use it. Just be aware its not always color to color so check the schematic first.

Chris

RobertN · Apr 22, 2013

I looked on Tekonsha's website a year ago and found info for my old controller... The colors ARE DIFFERENT for the wires in the pigtail for what I saw(older ?Tekonsha "Sentinel" controller).

After buying a Prodigy, because I thought my controller was flaking out, I found it was actually a ground issue with my in-bed 5th-wheel pigtail. So, I have kept my old controller for a "spare", along with the documents for it.

In my case, the controllers are in my '01 Ram2500 with factory tow package/wiring; the controller plugged in to the factory harness/connector under the dash.

Like DaimondPilot mentions; fine to use that older controller, but verify the wiring first because it probably IS NOT color to color...

that said, I really like the Prodigy, for the 5th-wheel, and for the flatbed with tractor on it(16' dual axle, one axle with brakes).