Hi all, new to the forum and I have enjoyed reading everyones posts, very informative, nice to see people in the know helping out. I'm hoping I can corral some help here myself.

Here is my situation:

I have a 98 SLT,5.2 (with a JET chip module), which did not come with a tow package. I added the hitch a few years ago, and also used a Non-factory 4 flat connector to satisfy my trailer needs back then. Now, I need to upgrade the wiring as I have bought a new car hauler that has a 7 round connector, PLUS I need to add a brake controller. ( The 4 flat was just a tap into the left rear brake light) I have a 4 flat to 7 round adapter but there are other wires that get connected to anything and I need trailer brakes of course, and power to the emergency break away battery located on the trailer. I would like to use my adapter and connect the odd wires to the appropriate places, if possible, but if a factory harness will plug into the vehicle I'd prefer to do that.

I have done many hours of research on controllers and have settled on a Tekonsha Products, Prodigy model. Tekonsha offers a "Dodge Harness" that is a direct plug in, " IF factory wired for a tow package." I don't know if all Durango's (1st gens.) came pre-wired to the underdash with a brake controller plug, or not. ???? I don't know what my Durango has or doesn't have....??

I was thinking even though every Durango didn't get equipped with a tow package, maybe the factory prewired the underdash to some degree for a local dealership option of adding a factory harness to the trailer and the brake controller port.

Does anyone know or familiar with the wiring of a 98 Durango that can tell me and possibly others out there, what should I look for under the dash to find out if I can buy a factory harness for the trailer? Also, is there a prewired factory connector for the brake controller to plug into? Factory part number for the 7 round harness to plug in? I'd prefer not to splice, I'm color blind. (yikes)
Does the factory trailer harness come with a port for the brake controller or that already in place?

If there are prewired ports, can someone please point out the pin connectors (# how many?) and what color the connector might be, or post a schematic that will allow me to accomplish my goals of adding a 7 round and brake controller....

Thanks in advance, sorry for the long post, but I wanted to be specific so I get the right answers.

Happy Motoring,
Chris
Medina, Ohio

 

First thing I would do is to go down to the dealer and ask if they can get a wiring kit for a 7 pin setup. As I understand it this wiring kit comes with the necessary connectors, relays, instructions, etc.

 

I did call a buddy in the parts department, he said not one dealer in the state of Ohio had one in stock he could even get transfered so he could look at it.

What is killing me is that the dealer doesn't know wether or not the under dash is prewired. I looked under my dash, and I did see two plugs, that are capped and taped up with their respective harnesses, but I have no idea what they are.

Thanks for the help on places to shop for a harness.... I just don't have a clear cut answer on if it is a plug set up, or hard wire.
Guess I will have to make some more dealership calls till I find a knowledgeable parts guy who has worked with this set up before.

I appreciate everyones help, would still like a wiring schematic to find out what the the two pig tails under my dash go to.
Keep the ideas comming....

chris

 

Tell me where the connectors are, how many wires in each and what color wires...I have a subscription to Alldata for the 98 but there are 500 wiring diagrams. If you can get the part# from your buddy for the mopar harness maybe that might help me also. I have a few resources of my own.

 

Here is the Dodge Part no. for the harness. 82204721

I have ordered the harness and it will arrive tommorrow morning ( thurs. the 2nd). I will have to drive to the dealer and look at it in person, to see if it is a hardwire kit or wether it will plug into the harness under the dash.

I will return to this thread tomm. and post up what I have found out. I am praying that the factory harness will plug into one of the two harnesses under the dash, and not have to be hardwired.

thanks to all who help, I thought this question would have been easily answered days ago, but then again......

 

I found this while poking around in a Mopar accessory book...maybe it means something to the parts man?

Durango 2000-1998 Trailer Tow Wire Harness Kit, 7-way round trailer 82204091
0.8 109.00
connector, plugs directly into vehicles wiring, no
splicing required, includes external running light relay

http://store.yahoo.com/performancedo...receiver5.html

 

Chump-
Here is the low down on my dilema: (be prepared to grab a drink, this is going to be long)

The factory harness arrived, (the part no. I used was right), ending in 721 I believe, is the perfect set up for the Durango with out the trailer tow package. (This is the harness only, no hitch.) The harness comes with relays wired in the loom, and you simply unplug each tailight, plug in the harness to both sides (left and right), then there is a long part of the harness where it runs under the truck to the front of the truck up into the engine bay. There is only 3 wires that run from the rear bumper up to the engine bay, one is power, the other is the blue trailer brake wire, and one is a short wire that dead ends into a 20 amp fuse for the power wire. Pretty simple, and all connections have the appropriate connectors with the exception of the blue wire that gets fished through the firewall.
The connections on the harness simply go the power distribution block (underhood fuse box- drivers side near the battery), and the only "non-plug in" part of the whole "plug N play" harness is the single blue wire that you have to fish through a factory grommet in the firewall, and down into the footwell area for the electric brake controller. (that's the trigger wire for trailers with electric brakes)

I bought the factory harness from my local Dodge Dealer, Norris Dodge in Lodi, Ohio. The parts manager is a buddy of sorts, and Greg Brezina took the time to look over the directions that came with the harness (very simple and plenty of illustrations), and made sure I was happy. I would highly reccommend calling Greg if any one out there needs a factory harness for your Durango and you don't have the factory tow package. (800) 709-2277 is Greg's number..... gbrezina@norrischrysler.com - Email Address
I am very satisfied, and paid 95.00 for the complete harness, not bad in my opinion. I don't drive any American cars, so I am reluctant to trust my Dodge, but I needed a tow vehicle, and the Durango suits my needs. So for a skeptic like me, I am very very very satisfied for my 95 bucks.

Ok, one other question I had in my previous posts, is this:
Is the Durango pre-wired to the underside of the dash for the trailer tow package to be added at a later time other than when the truck is built on the assembly line, the answer is NO, it is not. With the factory harness I ordered (98-00 models), there is no need for a heavy duty flasher either. EVERYTHING is included in the harness and Dodge wraps it up with tape and all you have to do is follow the directions and plug it in where they tell you to. I thought maybe Dodge would have prewired under the dash for the "aftermarket" harness or the factory harness, turns out, nothing goes inside the cabin of the truck but one wire, so no wonder I could find anything to plug into. I also learned that if you do get the "assembly line trailer tow package" there will be a four wire plug under your dash to allow an aftermarket electric brake controller to plug into it, with out splicing wires.

I am also installing a brake controller for my race car trailer (flat bed). I studied and studied and decided on the top of the line unit from Tekonsha products, the Prodigy model. I bought it from RVWholesalers.com in Western Ohio, it was also 95.00. Most prices I saw were in the 120 + range, including the "member" price from those so called RV worlds type places.

Now, the other dilema I tried to solve before getting parts in hand is this:
The Prodigy brake controller comes with a "basic" 4 wire harness. One end plugs in the brake controller, the other end is bare wires w/o a plug. Tekonsha offers a " made for your vehicle" plug on the other end, but ONLY if you have the factory(aka assembly line) tow package, which I did not have. ( oh yeah, it's 20 bucks from Tekonsha .) I'll wire 4 wires for 20 bucks in savings.
I looked under the dash for a square 4 wire plug to plug into for the brake controller only, but did not find one. So, if your Durango did not come fully wired for the trailer tow package, you won't have a 4 wire plug under the dash, NOR on the factory built harness I purchased over the counter at the dealer. The other 3 wires are for power, ground, and brake actuation switch (near the pedal). These will all need hardwired in. ( The power wire has to go to a " automatic resetable" 20A (1-2 axles) or a 30A circut breaker supply for 3-4 axle trailers.) Wiring Schmatic is here: Prodigy Electric Brake Controller Schematic

Sorry to be so long winded but this is the detailed type of post I was hoping to find when I did my research because I couldn't find clear cut answers from anybody on the web, dealership, nor other Durango owners I know personally. All I got was a 225.00 quote from the local guy with a brake controller I didn't choose and he told me it had to all be hardwired in..... B.S. I spent less money than 225, and I GOT TO CHOOSE THE BEST BRAKE CONTROLLER on the market, and I know how it gets wired in... plus I get to write this long *** post and help others who are "diy" guys/gals.

With all that being said (fingers are getting tired), the only problem I have yet to solve, is at the top of the brake pedal there is a brake switch, and there is a 6 wire flat connector. The Prodigy directions tell you to connect one of the four wires off the back of the controller to a "cold switched" wire on the brake pedal connection. Does anyone know what color of wire I am looking for in the 6 wires to get a cold wire? The wire will go hot when the brake pedal is depressed, I suppose if I probe with my "hot wire" ice pick type light up tool, I can find a wire that will go hot when I push on the pedal, but is it going to effect the brakes? I just want to close the chapter on this book by letting others know which wire to tap into for the brake controller....

Untill I get the right wire color, I look forward to anyone's reply and I greatly appreciate everyones help, especially your Chump.

I have pics of the harness if anyone is interested in seeing it first hand, drop me an email: Rhm5@zoominternet.net
I sincerely hope this post and my questions have helped someone out there, maybe in the future someone will uncover this post and it will help them save money like I did, plus the satisfaction of doing the job myself.

Chris Stiffler
Medina, Ohio
Honda Sports Car builder and road racing champion!

 

Chris, this is great! It's nice to see that someone else likes to do the job right and spends the extra time researching it! I did send you an email with 2 wiring diagrams, the second one even shows the Factory brake controller wiring(L50). As I recall this wire is only used to activate the stoplight circuit if you use the brake controller manually. I havnt even wired up a new vehicle with all the fancy gizmo's in the electrical circuits but I am told if it's not done correctly you can have all sorts of strange electrical problems. I have however hardwired a number of older vehicles, same theory-different iron. Sounds like you have it down!
Thank you for taking the time to explain this to everyone. If I can help further, just holler![sm=americanasmiley.gif]

 

One other thing for everyone else. We NEVER use a fuse in the 12 volt power supply for the trailer brakes, always use an auto-reset circuit breaker and place it as close to the battery source as possible, here's why...

If your trailer brakes develop a short, a regular fuse will blow immediately, if you use a circuit breaker the trailer brakes will cycle on and off with the auto-reset circuit breaker, this will at least get you some trailer braking power until you can stop.
If you use a regular fuse, you will loose your trailer brakes immediately and will have to rely on the truck brakes to stop you. You can get the circuit breakers and inline holders at good stores like NAPA. Safety first!

 

Good Point Chump.... I will be going to NAPA tommorrow to get a circut breaker, my brake controller won't be here for a couple days, but I can't wait to put it all together and finally have the proper wiring and have trailer brakes working.
Thanks for the assistance and for noticing all my details.