Brake controller harness questions

[cranbiz]

I know the Tekonsha 3073-P harness is the right harness and I know you can use the Ram 1500 harness 3021-P and swap the wires to make it work. I found the Cherokee KL harness 3014-P harness and it is wired exactly like the 3073-P JT harness from what I can see and it has the correct mating connector. Has anyone used it? Is there something I'm just not seeing? The JT harness is next to impossible to get and if you find one in stock, vendors want stupid money for it.

I'm using the Hopkins Insight controller.

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[Mr._Bill]

With some older Gladiators, the ABS goes crazy and lights up the dash when the Brake Controller is manually activated. There is a TSB for a software flash to fix it, for those that need it. The aftermarket resolution was a diode in the line on the Gladiator versions of the harness. This was one of the reasons for the original delay in the release of the Mopar Brake Controller (waiting for the software fix).

I bought one of the other harnesses without a diode to try and get the problem to show so they would perform the TSB. It worked without the ABS issue, so I just left it installed. I have the harness with a diode sitting in a box in case I need it.

 

[cranbiz]

Thank you Bill. Mine is a 10-21 build so I may be ok. I will try it tomorrow.

I have some 1N4007 diodes so in theory, I could put a diode in the cable if I had to.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Thank you Bill. Mine is a 10-21 build so I may be ok. I will try it tomorrow.

I have some 1N4007 diodes so in theory, I could put a diode in the cable if I had to.

You won't need to.
Cutoff date for the ABS update is January 2020 so it's only needed if the JT was built sometimes in January 2020 or earlier. A really small group in reality. Any 2020 after January 2020, and any subsequent model year won't need any changes.
The controller came out months after January.
The instructions for the kit are dated late February 2020, but the controller itself wasn't released until months later.

This was one of the reasons for the original delay in the release of the Mopar Brake Controller (waiting for the software fix).

The fix came well after the release of the controller. I worked with a dealer to report it to STAR - and STAR team had never heard of the issue and had no record of it.
The tech I worked with spoke directly with STAR and gave them details - the codes and so on so they could even look it up.
It wasn't until November that they said "gee, we realize there's a problem........."
This was released in november 2020 so it was still broken after the trailer brake controller was released..

It was a cluster, for sure.

 

[cranbiz]

And thank you Bill for the explanation

 

[cranbiz]

Well, I found out that the Tekonsha cables have the wrong controller end connector on them for the Hopkins controllers. So seeing as I had to splice on the Hopkins connector, I figured that I would go ahead and add the diode to the red wire so that I didn't have to pull it all apart again if it didn't work. It all works perfectly now.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Well, I found out that the Tekonsha cables have the wrong controller end connector on them for the Hopkins controllers. So seeing as I had to splice on the Hopkins connector, I figured that I would go ahead and add the diode to the red wire so that I didn't have to pull it all apart again if it didn't work. It all works perfectly now.

I should have seen that - each company has their own controller side end on those harnesses. If it's a Tekonsha harness it will only fit controllers made by Tekonsha. If it's a Redarc harness, it fits controllers made by Redarc.
Hopkins will have their own proprietary harness connectors.
Diode not needed but if it's a feel good thing, it's a whatever.
January 2020 was the cutoff for that issue.
Ironically, I can't see how Jeep does that and gets by not triggering the trailer brake lights when you push the button on the controller to apply trailer brakes. CA says that any time the trailer brakes come on, the trailer brake lights must come on. That's not possible with these, and in fact, with most systems. The diode prevents it from working for one thing, and the ABS flash fix was to tell the ABS "ignore any signal you see on the brake light circuit" instead of freaking out.

 

[cranbiz]

Fortunately for me, I live in North Carolina.

 

[j5927gold]

Glad they started making an adapter for the gladiator.

https://www.redarcelectronics.com/u...able-tow-pro-brake-controller-harness-tph-022

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Glad they started making an adapter for the gladiator.

https://www.redarcelectronics.com/u...able-tow-pro-brake-controller-harness-tph-022

When I bought my Redarc before I got the MOPAR controller, I was in contact with a guy who seemed to be more than just sales. I talked to him about what many of us were doing as far as switching two wires around on the RAM harness, sent pictures and so on, and it wasn't much later they had a JT harness. Were they already working on it? Was it already in the works? Was he just a sales guy and the emails ended up in the bit bucket? Who knows - but it wasn't very long and out came the JT harness.

The REDARC controllers work great, very solidly built, quality wiring and connectors, the dials/knobs aren't cheap feeling.

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