I did the British Atlantic wiring harness and brake controller today. The big snag I had was with the wire connectors behind the plastic panel in the back cargo area. They were jammed against one another in a really small space with metal brackets holding them to the frame. I had to mess with it endlessly and deal with a lot of frustration in order to finally get them accessible, unsnapped, and the live harnesses plugged in. I used my 10 year old daughter to help feed the cables behind the bumper and up to the headlight compartment. She was a big help. Not sure I could have done it without her. A note of caution, the mounting bracket for the brake controller is garbage. I wish I would have just used Velcro to attach it instead. I'm exhausted. Long day, but it's done.
As with all of these projects, they look really simple in theory, but often suck in practice. Like they say, "It's always simple, until it's not." I watched a couple of different videos on how to do the install and it seemed like there was nothing to it. Mount the 7 and 4-pin connector plate onto the bumper through the pre-drilled holes. Feed the cable. Snap some connectors together and "Bob's your uncle." Not so fast, I'm finding it's always the little things, the ones you take for granted and that they skip over and not show you on the video. Sure, they point to the factory installed connectors and say, "Yep, just disconnect the dummy end connectors and pop in the wired ones." What could be easier? Right? Am I right?! But what they don't show you is the process of accessing and unsnapping those dummy connectors. They allow you to assume it is as good as already done. But it's not. Not by a long shot.
No, the best videos, the most helpful, at least, are the ones where you get to see the person struggling. That's what I want to see. That's what I want to prepare for. When they struggle, I know it's the real deal and when they work their way out of a jam, I get an insight on how to do that too. I don't need a video where they point to the finished install and say, "Yep, you just snap together this and screw on that, just like we did here previously." Simple. No problem. That kind of "instructional" video is virtually worthless to me.
I don't know if I am going to need to go to a dealer or authorized independent shop to get my car computer to recognize I now have trailer wiring and a brake controller. I did notice that when I put my foot on the brake the controller lit up. Not sure if that means we are totally good to go. But it must be recognizing that I am applying the brake, that's something.
