Brake controller challenge with 2018 Highlander

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by Fox hunt

i had to install the break controller on my Highlander also kept hitting my knee on it! but otherwise it worked well. also had to do the plug upgrade. all went well loved my Highlander

And therein lies the only dimensional advantage I have ever enjoyed in having very short legs.

[Fox hunt]

ha i think mine could have been better placed- I'm under 5' 2" so few shorter then me!

[Rossue]

Originally Posted by Dave Walter

I purchased my 2011 Toyota FJ Cruiser (5000 lb tow capacity) with the optional hitch and 7-pin trailer wiring. It did not come with a 12V wire to the 7-pin, and I had to add it myself. The FJ was also not wired for a brake controller and it was fairly expensive to have done, so I purchased a Tekonsha Prodigy RF, which is a wireless controller that required no additional wiring on the tow vehicle.......

That Prodigy is a great solution many may not be aware of. It works via bluetooth and the inside controller plugs into a 12V receptacle(aka cigarette lighter) and there is enough cord to place it where convenient vs. being mounted.

[Dave Walter]

Originally Posted by Rossue

That Prodigy is a great solution many may not be aware of. It works via bluetooth and the inside controller plugs into a 12V receptacle(aka cigarette lighter) and there is enough cord to place it where convenient vs. being mounted.

I agree. Our Prodigy RF has worked very well for us for about 5 yrs now. We have one on both of our Escape trailers.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Or perhaps Toyota and others assume that any camping trailer with electric brakes would weigh more than the Highlander can tow? On a Tundra for example, they have a factory 7-pin, but only for the 4.6L V8.

While equipment differences within the Tundra line do reflect capability, another possibility is that the manufacturers are fully aware of the availability of aftermarket wiring, so they know that factory wiring (although highly desirable) is not required. They more highly equip vehicles which are more likely to be used for towing, corresponding to what the market demands.

Many "SUV" or "crossover" vehicles are built on the same platform as a sedan or hatchback car. The car could tow just as effectively as the SUV/crossover, but in North America typically only the SUV/crossover is available with a substantial trailer towing rating. This has nothing to with physical design; it reflects market considerations.

(To head off invalid comparisons... the Toyota Camry (sedan), Toyota Sienna (van), and Toyota Highlander (SUV) all share substantial components, but are not the same design and so there are physical reasons for different towing capabilities.)

[Brian B-P]

Anyone with a vehicle not having a factory-integrated controller, and having difficulty with add-on controller placement, I suggest having a good look at various compartments in the dash as potential mounting locations. Mine is bracketed to the retractable cupholder, and mounted only when towing; there are other novel solutions.

In addition to the trailer-mounted controllers (which still have a small control unit on the dash), there are brake controllers which place the main unit out of sight and out of the way (under the dash or even under the seat), again with only a small box for the knobs and display stuck on the dash when in use.

[War Eagle]

For those who haven't seen one, I've posted a photo below of the integrated brake controller in our F-150 XLT (list priced at $275 option in addition to towing package). It's built into the dash, nothing to bump your knee against. Activation displays on the dash monitor when a trailer is attached. I like it a lot. For those without an integrated brake controller and want to minimize the footprint (or stop hitting the controller with your knee), this little Redarc Tow-Pro Elite seems to be getting good reviews.
https://www.etrailer.com/Brake-Contr...BRH-ACCV2.html
The little control knob is about the size of the end of your thumb, can be mounted in dash or on console, while the electronic "brain box" can be hidden behind the dash. Check out the many installation photos in the link.

[Rossue]

Hopefully Japan hasn't forgotten how to imitate!

[Lv4toys]

I just installed the Redarc Pro Elite brake controller this weekend. Very straightforward install (Toyota Tacoma).

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by Rossue

Hopefully Japan hasn't forgotten how to imitate!

I should have mentioned that the Ford integrated brake controller is manufactured for Ford by Tekonsha.

[Dave Walter]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Anyone with a vehicle not having a factory-integrated controller, and having difficulty with add-on controller placement, I suggest having a good look at various compartments in the dash as potential mounting locations...

...In addition to the trailer-mounted controllers (which still have a small control unit on the dash)...

The small control unit that is used for the Tekonsha Prodigy RF wireless brake controller has a cord that plugs into a 12V outlet in your tow vehicle for power. I used velcro tape to mount my control box on the dash of my FJ where it is easily accessible while towing, but can easily be stowed away elsewhere when not required.

[viator36]

Originally Posted by Lv4toys

I just installed the Redarc Pro Elite brake controller this weekend. Very straightforward install (Toyota Tacoma).

Hi Lv4toys,

Can you tell me for the Redarc Tow Pro Elite brake controller do you have to have a trailer plugged in for the controller to calibrate and show it's working properly? Reason I am asking is that I just installed it two days ago but I don't have my trailer yet and the controller LED is showing it's not calibrating or doing anything. So if a trailer needs to be plugged in for the controller to work properly then I may not have a problem. Thanks for the info.

[Albert]

When I had mine installed some years ago, I did not leave the trailer there. Instead the shop used a device that they plugged into the 7-pin connector at the rear bumper to verify that the wiring was all good. I don't have the same controller as you, but I doubt that any controller is going to tell you anything useful unless the 7-pin is plugged in to either a testing device or a trailer.
BTW, is the Redarc self-calibrating? That would be a neat trick.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Albert

BTW, is the Redarc self-calibrating? That would be a neat trick.

If by "calibrating" you mean adjusting the gain, that would be beyond neat, to impossible. There are two possible ways for a controller to self-calibrate:

1. if the controller could measure the forward force on the hitch by the trailer (and the Redarc can't) it would know if the trailer is doing its share of the braking; or,
2. a controller which measures the tow vehicle's pedal force (which the Redarc doesn't) as well as deceleration (the common proportional controller measurement) could use a baseline test braking run (without the trailer) and compare it to braking with the trailer to determine a suitable setting.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by viator36

Hi Lv4toys,

Can you tell me for the Redarc Tow Pro Elite brake controller do you have to have a trailer plugged in for the controller to calibrate and show it's working properly? Reason I am asking is that I just installed it two days ago but I don't have my trailer yet and the controller LED is showing it's not calibrating or doing anything. So if a trailer needs to be plugged in for the controller to work properly then I may not have a problem. Thanks for the info.

Jake: See attached. I don’t own one but looked at the manual. Calibration should take place without a trailer but you will notice the note about it not indicating via the LED. If you want to test the system with a trailer before your cross country trip swing down and we’ll hook up the 19.

[viator36]

Looks like Redarc does calibrate itself, here are two short vids on youtube and there are many others if you do a search.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH4_56lRnn0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPTy9vdnm5g&t=97s

[viator36]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Jake: See attached. I don’t own one but looked at the manual. Calibration should take place without a trailer but you will notice the note about it not indicating via the LED. If you want to test the system with a trailer before your cross country trip swing down and we’ll hook up the 19.

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your nice offer and I may just decide to take up on it. I'll text you separately soon. But another issue I have, not sure it is an issue, is the 7 pin trailer connector that came with the tow package. I tested it with my multimeter with ignition on and all other pins worked fine but the + pin did not have power when I expected to see 12 volt. However on etrailer.com an expert opinion answering question on whether the + pin should always have power says "Some vehicles will always have power and some others will not". And I called etrailer a short while ago asking about my truck (2019 Ranger) but the woman was no help. I pulled my power fuse box and checked all the fuses and relays and they all tested out fine. So I am at a loss if the no 12v on + pin but other pins worked fine and the Redarc control knob LED showing only what the manual called blue breathing is all due to the truck not hooked up with a trailer.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by viator36

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your nice offer and I may just decide to take up on it. I'll text you separately soon. But another issue I have, not sure it is an issue, is the 7 pin trailer connector that came with the tow package. I tested it with my multimeter with ignition on and all other pins worked fine but the + pin did not have power when I expected to see 12 volt. However on etrailer.com an expert opinion answering question on whether the + pin should always have power says "Some vehicles will always have power and some others will not". And I called etrailer a short while ago asking about my truck (2019 Ranger) but the woman was no help. I pulled my power fuse box and checked all the fuses and relays and they all tested out fine. So I am at a loss if the no 12v on + pin but other pins worked fine and the Redarc control knob LED showing only what the manual called blue breathing is all due to the truck not hooked up with a trailer.

Jake:
The 12V + (typically black) is the vehicle charge line. It should always be on when the ignition is on. The only time it varies is with ignition OFF. Some vehicles it will stay hot and other vehicles it will show no voltage.

The good news is you can tow without this line active. The only drawback is that you will provide no charging to your battery while underway. If your fridge is on propane (not 12V) and/or you have rooftop solar it probably doesn’t matter that this line is not working.

[Albert]

Uh-oh. Looks like Brian B-P is spot-on (as usual!). The calibration process described in the RedArc documentation and video is not a calibration of gain. Instead, it's just a calculation of the tilt of the unit as per the particular way in which it was mounted in the particular vehicle.
I've never heard that process called "calibration" in any forum before, so it's not surprising that I and others were thrown off at first. Here's what the RedArc "calibration" is about:
Like the Prodigy P2 by Tekonsha, the RedArc uses an accelerometer to measure how quickly the rig is slowing down. (Note that they can use an accelerometer to measure deceleration because in physics, acceleration and deceleration are the same thing; you just switch the plus and minus signs with respect to a particular direction.) The problem is, the direction that matters is back-and-forth. If the accelerometer is not perfectly level, it's liable to at least partially confuse up up-and-down motion with back-and-forth motion. If it's far off from level, it might even apply unwanted braking when you are going over a bump. Even if it's not off by that much, it would still not apply enough braking when you actually are stopping.
Rather than requiring that the unit be mounted level, the engineers use multiple accelerometers, and then program the computer in the unit to calculate the correct values on the fly using vector arithmetic.
I think it's odd that the RedArc requires that you go through a multi-step procedure to set up that part of the program. The Tekonsha P2 does it for you automatically. My guess is that the Tekonsha detects the direction of the pull of gravity when you turn the key, and then it calculates the rest from there.
With the RedArc, after you have "calibrated" the unit for tilt, there will still be the question as to how to calibrate the gain. How is that done?

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by viator36

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your nice offer and I may just decide to take up on it. I'll text you separately soon. But another issue I have, not sure it is an issue, is the 7 pin trailer connector that came with the tow package. I tested it with my multimeter with ignition on and all other pins worked fine but the + pin did not have power when I expected to see 12 volt. However on etrailer.com an expert opinion answering question on whether the + pin should always have power says "Some vehicles will always have power and some others will not". And I called etrailer a short while ago asking about my truck (2019 Ranger) but the woman was no help. I pulled my power fuse box and checked all the fuses and relays and they all tested out fine. So I am at a loss if the no 12v on + pin but other pins worked fine and the Redarc control knob LED showing only what the manual called blue breathing is all due to the truck not hooked up with a trailer.

On my '08 HL that charge line would turn off when the ignition was off. Toyota probably has continued to configure it that way. When traveling, the charge line should be active and should help charge (a little bit) the trailer battery.



Some vehicle mfrs have their charge line active when the ignition is off. Great way to run a vehicle battery down, so it won't start next time!