Trailer Brake Controller Connector (1 Viewer)

[OsoCruiser]

Darby Darrow and bstein have posted the location of the brake controller connector. I just installed mine and took some pictures. My Land Cruiser is a 2008 which came from the factory with a seven pin trailer connector at the rear bumper.

First I removed the bottom panel below the steering wheel. There are two Phillips screws and three plastic clips along the front edge.





Then I removed the panel below the steering wheel. There are two bolts; one is behind a little door. You have to pull the panel straight out to release the clips. I left the wires connected and just let the panel hang there.



Then I removed the switch panel with the mirror controls by pulling straight out. Again I left it hanging by the wires. Look for a group of four connectors plugged into a white plastic holder. The trailer brake controller is the one on the bottom. I bought a Toyota connector cable from the company that made my brake controller, it plugs into this cable. My Cruiser also came with a mating connector with pig tails, but I didn't use it.

 

[dtt255]

Good info...thanks!

 

[GordJ]

Great pics. Mine had a dummy plug in the socket that had to be removed also.

 

[techsis]

Great post! This worked perfect for my 2011 LX570. Where did you guys decide to mount your control unit?

 

[OsoCruiser]

I mounted mine inside the ash tray drawer. Pop off the black vinyl panels and then remove the gray side panels to get access to the ash tray panel.

 

[techsis]

Good idea, but this is my wife's DD and she would frown on this location. You should have seen the look on her face when I had the dash apart today.

I could probably fabricate something for that area to fit my P3, but it would need to look stock for the wife to be happy.

Thanks for your input.


Cheers

 

[awatkins]

Great post! This worked perfect for my 2011 LX570. Where did you guys decide to mount your control unit?

Old thread I know, but here's a tip (and answer to the above question). I mounted my controller in the storage box to the left of the steering wheel. Here's how:

After following the procedure above you pull the storage box out (it's held in by five or so of the same clips you've been dealing with). Looking down on it from its rear you will see a single ph. head screw holding in the button/latch mechanism. Removed the latch. You can slightly enlarge that hole and feed the controller end of your cable through that hole into the box. You want to lengthen that hole about 1/4" to the rear (i.e. to the front of the car). I did this holding a hacksaw blade in my hand to make two longitudinal cuts then snapping off the resulting tab of plastic. Then your brake controller can sit in the storage box. It's not small enough to let the door close, but it still looks fairly neat and is easy to remove leaving the connector inside the box.

 

[elkaholic]

Thanks to the OP!

Thanks to the OP on this thread!

A couple of weeks ago, I went to install my Prodigy controller in the '13 200 using the Tekonsha direct plug adapter. Mr. T included a pigtail with directions that stated to refer to the owner's manual for the connector location. You guessed it, the OM was silent as to the location of the connector (probably because the non-MUD buyers in the US, for the most part, could not successfully disassemble and reassemble the dash ).

I can say that the connector is in the same spot as pictured on a '13 US spec 200.

For those that are curious, I put the controller on the knee panel just above the gas pedal, but clear of the knee airbag. I mount it with industrial Velcro so that when I am not towing (most of the time), I can disconnect and remove the controller.

 

[yellowlab]

Bringing up an old thread, but we wired up the adaptor following the description and good photos on this thread to go on a Prodigy P2, but there is no power from the factory harness? Is there something we're missing? I've got the brake controller wired up on two additional rigs and it fires right up with no issues. The 30A fuse is ok, it should be plug and play...??? Help if we missed something: tested the resistance of the harness and its not shorted or an issue, but seems like there is no power coming from the factory harness. Could it be a separate relay or other item that needs to be installed?

 

[brussum]

This is a very helpful thread. I just installed my brake controller and never would've found the plug if not for the info here. Thanks to the OP and those who added info!

 

[Silver City Cruiser]

Just installed one on a 2013 200 and its still in the same place. Bill

 

[mtnracer]

I put mine on the knee panel on the right side with velcro. It works pretty well in that location but I noticed the Velcro coming loose in the Florida heat during the summer.

We mostly tow with the Tundra now but at least I have the LX prepared when needed.

 

[skhochay]

 

[InkMing]

Thanks for posting this up. Was going to do this last weekend but ran out of time. Went through the glove box today and came across the pigtail from Toyota and the sheet saying refer to owners manual. lol Yeah.
Anyways, this weekends project should go pretty quick now. I was basing my initial searches for the plug off the Tundra location. Similar, but different.

 

[mtnracer]

Thanks for posting this up. Was going to do this last weekend but ran out of time. Went through the glove box today and came across the pigtail from Toyota and the sheet saying refer to owners manual. lol Yeah.
Anyways, this weekends project should go pretty quick now. I was basing my initial searches for the plug off the Tundra location. Similar, but different.

I think the pigtail from Toyota only has a plug on one end and loose wires on the other. That is so you can wire it to any brake controller. If you know you are getting a Prodigy controller I would just order a premade Prodigy - Toyota cable that has the correct plugs already. Makes life easier.

 

[InkMing]

I think the pigtail from Toyota only has a plug on one end and loose wires on the other. That is so you can wire it to any brake controller. If you know you are getting a Prodigy controller I would just order a premade Prodigy - Toyota cable that has the correct plugs already. Makes life easier.

Yep, had already bought the Tekonsha plug after seeing where the trailer plug was located on a Tundra. Did the install this afternoon. Piece of cake, just need to relocate the Prodigy. Got it all mounted up and wasn't happy with the location. Tomorrow's project.

 

[purdytj]

Perfect thread, thank you! My LX570 has a few more plastic bits in that area so my wrist had to do some contortion to get the plug out.

 

[BTUMAN]

This info was very helpful to mount the supplied connector to the factory harness. It was easy. I went with this location. It is actually the best location I could find. My leg does not hit it and I have a good visual on it. Works awesome. Love this brake controller.

 

[GordJ]

So I was able to access the plug on my '08 LC and when I replaced the LC with a '14 LX I thought I would be able to do the same. I got tired of trying to get enough of the panels off so I decided to have " my" Toyota dealer do it. They came back with the discovery that the LX doesn't have a plug! Of course I didn't believe them so I took it home and got off my butt and tore into it only to find that there is in fact no plug. So my question is, have they moved the plug? Do I have to pigtail it?

 

[TeCKis300]

If you're '08 is anything like my '09 (and like the LC's above), which I suspect it is, the plug should be there. It is somewhat hidden at the bottom of the group. Plugged into a female bracket so it doesn't just move around. The picture posted above does show where it is pretty clearly. If you can take a pic, we might be able to tell you if it's really there or not.

Is there a chance that the previous owner (in you're not the original), left it hanging somewhere?


From the OP: