Erie Resident Upgrades Trailer Brake Controller in 2017 Ford Expedition

Paul, an Erie-area resident, recently purchased a 2017 Ford Expedition XLT. At times, the reverse camera had a hard to see, white-washed image. Paul called ENORMIS and spoke with Doug Reichert to have the camera issue diagnosed and repaired. Paul also wondered if a seven-pin trailer hitch connector could be installed to the vehicle. The Expedition came from the factory with a four-pin trailer connector, but Paul required a seven-pin connector and a brake controller to be able to tow his boat this summer.

Doug was pretty confident that the Ford factory brake controller could be added instead of something aftermarket, but was not sure if the vehicle was pre-wired. He scheduled a time for Paul to drop off the Expedition.

Ken Whiteman investigated the reverse camera issue and determined the problem. He removed the left storage pocket, where the factory brake controller would be located, and found the Expedition was not pre-wired for the seven-pin connector at the rear of the vehicle.

Doug called Paul with good news and ordered a 7-pin/4-pin combination trailer connector and the factory Ford brake control module. The parts were delivered the next morning and Ken replaced the defective camera parts, installed the factory brake control module in the dash and installed the 7-pin/4-pin connector at the rear of the vehicle. He then ran a custom wiring harness from the under the hood fuse box to the rear of the vehicle to supply power to the new 7-pin/4-pin connector.

Here’s the challenging part: This is not a plug-and-play brake controller. Ken had to install the Ford programming to the Expedition’s computers so the Expedition would recognize the new brake controller module and allow Paul to view the settings on the instrument cluster. Ken found the information required and uploaded the programming to the vehicle.

Ken was able to complete all the work on the same day and we returned the vehicle to Paul with a new reverse camera, seven-pin trailer connection, factory brake controller and remote start in one day.

If you’d like our team to take a look at repairing or replacing parts on your truck, contact us here.