[brucesallen]

I've looked under the dash and in the right rear of trunk after looking at fotos and these connectors are not there. BMW service mgr. is asking his tech contact where and how to connect the brake controller.

[brucesallen]

I have looked at the photos of others showing connector under steering wheel or in right rear of trunk. No connector there in my car.

[gsusned]

Originally Posted by brucesallen

I have looked at the photos of others showing connector under steering wheel or in right rear of trunk. No connector there in my car.

Hi Bruce, I'm going through the same thing as you right now. If you twist the two nuts holding the plastic piece underneath steering column, you will say a 4 pin connector rolled up on the left side. You'll need a flashlight! I had to cut the tape to be able to pull that connector just outside the plastic piece so I can plug into it.

After reading this thread, it seems like a moot point since nothing plugs into it! That's a bit annoying on a vehicle like this.

My conclusion is that when I pull my trailer (renting it), it will have a 7 pin connector that is compatible with the X5 for lights, etc. However, since I'll need a brake controller, I'll need to either

a. Get a bluetooth one
b. Retrofit a connection to my 4 pin connector somehow via the dealer?

Don't really have the skills, time, patience to solder wires together and come up with parts to make it work. It's a shame this is so convoluted!

[Strangec]

Anyone come up with any other options?

[ninekrpm]

If you have the tow package option, is the car pre wired for brake controller? I am assuming no, but want to confirm.

[jad03060]

Yes, if you can find the mating connector. THat is discussed if you read through the thread.

[WhereItsAt]

I finally installed the Redarc knob in a semipermanent way. I purchased a replacement cubby to install the knob and swap out with the original one when a trailer is in tow. The final product turned out pretty well and is not obtrusive at all. In fact, I may swap out the cubbies and put the OE one away in storage for when we sell the X5 (though given how long we keep vehicles I'll likely lose it). If I had more courage I would install the knob in the center console to the left of the air suspension controller. However, the thought of completely messing up the trim pieces keeps me sufficiently afraid of attempting it. Where it is works well enough and is in easy reach (not as easy - but close) and is far easier to reverse. The brake controller itself is attached the back of the metal support directly behind the cubby.

[Celos]

Originally Posted by WhereItsAt

I finally installed the Redarc knob in a semipermanent way. I purchased a replacement cubby to install the knob…

Thanks for sharing. This is what I was thinking to do as well. I think with a Redarc or the
Tekonsha Prodigy iD it would even be possible to unplug the knob from the control box under the dash and put the spare, non-drilled cubby back when not towing.

How much did a spare cubby cost?

[WhereItsAt]

This is what I purchased:

Link to Dash Cubby

[jad03060]

Should I need a brake controller, I think I'd opt for one of the (three that I know of) wireless ones rather than modifying the interior parts. The delta cost and time to buy the controller and cubby isn't that great when you account for your time.

[Celos]

The reason I'm not planning to use a wireless controller is that I use the manual trailer brake application a lot, to stop my trailer from swaying. I have a pretty lightweight trailer and when I'm passing a big truck or there's a crosswind, it sometimes moves around.

The manual override is great for applying the brakes a bit to pull the trailer back into line.

The wireless controllers have that feature, but to effectively use it would require mounting the controller (Tekonsha) or phone (Curt) somewhere, at which point why not just permanently install a brake controller?

If I didn't use the override with some regularity, I think the wireless options would be far more appealing.

[jad03060]

This one sort of intrigues me, but would not be useful if you had more than one trailer. https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Bra...e/3430001.html

The manual braking is via a fob, so should be fairly easy to use. The more conventional ones are certainly less expensive, at least in the specific hardware.

[WhereItsAt]

I chose to have a physical button in case in an emergency the trailer brakes are needed alone (e.g. sway control, downhill control). Also, I'm curious if the onboard trailer control systems are able to engage the trailer brakes without the manual use of the pedal or handheld/button. Meaning, the X5 has the ability to activate the brakes on the controller on its own if it detects sway. Do the systems that use a controller between the cars 7pin outlet and the trailers 7pin cable maintain this ability?

The wireless systems either require a handheld device to be plugged into a 12v and readily available for use or a cell phone. I prefer to know that the controller is in the same spot and ready for use each and every time. In an emergency I'd rather not be looking for the handheld device that fell onto the passenger footwell or the phone screen went in standby and have to unlock it or the bluetooth button disconnected. The cubby is held in place by two torx screws and takes a minute or two to swap out.

[jad03060]

Does anyone know with any certainty, exactly what BMW's trailer stability control logic does? Any details?

[Celos]

Resurrecting a slightly old thread as my vehicle makes its way to my local dealer....

For those that have built a connector using the housing and the pins, how are the pins secured in the connector housing? Is it a friction fit, or did you solder them in? Is it a solid/good quality connection that seems likely to stay in place given the vibrations of being in a vehicle?

I like the idea of building a connector rather than using Posi-Taps or solder-less crimp/butt connectors, but want to make sure it's a good connector. Needless to say, it is important for the wires in the connector to stay in place to ensure an electrical connection.

[jad03060]

The pins 'lock' into the housing if inserted properly with a little spring tab.

[Celos]

Originally Posted by jad03060

The pins 'lock' into the housing if inserted properly with a little spring tab.

Awesome, thanks for confirming. I will order a set of the pins and the connector.

[nordring]

Reading the reviews and the Redarc instructions, it appears the Redarc controller puts 12V back into the brake circuit, to illuminate brake light when manually activating the controller. Apparently this can be a problem for some vehicles (with feature set similar to G05's)

There is one “feature” of the REDARC Tow-Pro Liberty that is made VERY clear in the owner’s manual, that perhaps should be made clearer when advertising the product: The Brake Sense wire, which is the wire that connects to your brake lights and tells the controller you’ve activated the tow vehicle brakes, is bi-directional. In other words, in normal proportional operation it senses the 12 volts from your brake lights, but when in manual mode it also outputs 12 volts with the intention to activate your brake lights if you manually activate the REDARC controller. This matters a lot if your tow vehicle has factory automatic braking and collision avoidance or adaptive cruise control as the REDARC Tow-Pro Liberty can back feed these systems and cause a lot of damage.

One reviewer even went to the trouble of installing a diode in the harness, so the Redarc was not feeding 12V back in to the braking light circuit.

Have any Redarc users encounter a problem with the brake controller and G05 electronics?

[Ryan5034]

I have this Redarc controller and I've used it at least 12 times without issue. The manual activation works as well.

[GPG]

Does this harness from Tekonsha not fit the factor plug?

https://www.tekonsha.com/product/303...ontrol-harness

[jad03060]

Originally Posted by GPG

Does this harness from Tekonsha not fit the factor plug?

https://www.tekonsha.com/product/303...ontrol-harness

On the G05 (USA) that has the OEM towing package, the plug in the vehicle to attach an electric brake module is under the dash by the driver's legs...

I'm not positive, but I don't think from the description that that will work.

[Celos]

Originally Posted by GPG

Does this harness from Tekonsha not fit the factor plug?

https://www.tekonsha.com/product/303...ontrol-harness

There are mentions of this harness having the wrong pin-out earlier in the thread; you could contact those who tried it. I am not sure if anyone has definitively said that it did or did not work.

From my perspective, even if the pin-out and connector are correct, that harness is $70 and excessively long. If you're just connecting two things under the dash, I don't understand why there is so much extra cable on that Tekonsha harness. And the connector and pins mentioned by others are $15.50 US plus shipping, so seems a lot less expensive to make your own.