Brake controller

john85710

New member
I have a 2015 Forest River Solera ( 2014 Sprinter chassis ) And want to add the new Brake Buddy Stealth Brake controller which has both Dingy and trailer braking capability. I know I have the trailer connector at the rear of my motor home but is there already wiring running to the cab somewhere to connect the controller??
 

Hexnut

New member
I was informed on another forum that there is no brake feed wire on the Sprinters. This may be due to use of surge brakes in Europe. Since the installation of a feed wire is very difficult, it was suggested that a better option would be to use a wireless Tekonsha brake controller. I would suggest to Mercedes that if they intend to use their chassis in the US RV market, they would be wise to include a very inexpensive wire for this purpose that is compatible with their electronics. In the US, all towable RV brakes are electric.
 

sailquik

Well-known member
john85710,
Chances are, if you have the 7 way trailer electrical connector already in your Solera that the basic Sprinter came to Forest River equipped
with the OEM factory installed trailer towing package.
If so, there will be a green 4 pin brake controller connector already installed down in the under drivers seat box.
If you are not sure on the factory trailer wiring install (this gives you the Trailer Stability Assist) click on "sailquik" at the top of this post and
send me an email with your VIN # and a valid return email address.
I'll send you your OEM Build Data Card as a .PDF file.
Then you will know ALL the options that were installed when your Sprinter was originally built in Germany.

For Hexnut......Who ever "INFORMED" you that there is no brake feed wire in Sprinters was absolutely wrong.
You can have the full trailer electrical wiring package OEM factory installed.
It's an option, so it does not come standard on all Sprinters, but it's the only way you can get the extra safety
feature "Trailer Stability Assist".
You can suggest anything you like to Mercedes Benz on this....but they already have it covered....the prospective
Sprinter owner just needs to order it in their Sprinter.
If you are not sure, a quick VIN # search on epc.startekinfo will clearly differentiate whether or not the OEM Factory
trailer wiring and cross member were installed.
Also you can look for the "green connector" in the drivers seat box. Only one way to get that....order the OEM Trailer towing options.
Hope this helps,
Roger
 

Hexnut

New member
Sorry that I was mis-informed, but I am happy to see that someone in-the-know cleared this up because I may have to make use of this information after my MBS 2400R arrives. Thanks.
 

justthedriver

New member
We have a 2007 with the dealer installable towing package which we have used multiple times only to run lights.
Now we need to hook up a brake controller and we only see a single blue wire under the drivers seat to connect the brake controller.
What are we missing?
 

Gguthrie54

New member
My Solera does not have the green connector under the seat. The trailer plug appears to have been installed by Forest River rather than Mercedes. This blue wire seems to disappear into the fuse pannel sharing space with the water pump and filter.

Can someone confirm that this is the correct wire to connect to the brake controller?

Thank you

 

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towpro

New member
I know this is an old thread, but someone else will also have this problem, so here is what I found on my 2019 Forest River MBS (2018 MB chassis)

My trailer 7 pin connector on back was installed by Forest River. You can tell by just looking at the install. It is all wrapped up with electrical tape and it is wired into this black box mounted to a board with power resisters on it that controls the rear light module. This module was just kind of hanging there tucked up between some spray foam and rear wall of RV.)

I did find a blue wire that ran from this Forest River connector up to under the drivers side seat with a crimped on wire nut on end. Also under this seat is a factory connector for the trailer brake controller, but it did not have power on the wire that supplies power to the brake controller.

I was trying to figure out why the factory brake controller connector under the seat did not have power:
I called Forest River and they denied they ever even ran a blue cable from the 7 pin up to under the seat with some excuse that MB does not let us attach to any wires in the factory harness
I called the dealer support line and they knew even less.
I called MB dealer, they could not help me with my power problem but they said "your VIN indicates your RV has a factory installed 7 pin wire harness".
I called prodigy brake controller company and they said "I bet you have to plug in a trailer before that connector will show power on the brake controller feed wire".

I plugged a trailer into my Forest river 7 pin connector, still no power to the MB brake controller wire.

Looking under your RV on Drivers Side, behind the rear axle, around where the factory frame ends and the Forest River extension is bolted on. I found the MB factory 7 pin connector zip tied up next to the frame covered with spray foam.
I removed the wire ties and foam, bought a mounting bracket and mounted the factory connector under RV.
I removed the Forest River supplied connector from its mounting bracket on hitch and zip tied it up to frame area.
I used a 4' - 7pin extension cable (I had from my truck camper hitch extension). I mounted this extension cable to the bracket on back that Forest River had supplied and plugged other end of extension cable into the MB 7 pin connector i mounted above.

Plugged in the trailer and lights work perfect, and now I have power on the brake controller feed wire that is in the factory harness under the seat :)

I bought a prodigy brake controller and the wire harness adapter cable they sell for the Mercedes sprinter. Plug one end of this cable in under the seat and the other end into the brake controller that I mounted under dash.
now I have the Factory 7 pin connector including any special software MB might have to control trailer brakes associated with the ABS system.
 
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Nic7320

Solera 24S on a 2011 NCV3 chassis
My 2011 chassis did not have the 4 pin green connector, but it did have the blue wire with a crimp barrel under the seat, prewired to the brake line on the trailer 7 pin connector in back.

The four pin connector was only added to later year Sprinters.

Unfortunately to made your controller work, you still need to find a brake light circuit on the Body Control Module to wire a signal *into* your brake controller. That's harder to find.
 

terry2018MBS

New member
I have a 2017/18 forester and found the FR blue wire under the seat as well as a second one both caped off, the blue go's to the FR 7 pin in back. found the green plug under the seat and plugged my extension harness into it. has power, ground, black with blue stripe and the brake signal wire.
i have power and ground but the brake signal wire never gets power to send to the controller. found the factory 7 pin under and behind left rear wheel as Towpro did. i jumped the FR blue wire to the black/blue and the brakes will work with the manual actuator on the controller but not with the brake peddle. i guess i should try to do as Towpro did and see if i get the controller signal from the peddle. anyone have any luck finding the brake light circuit on the body control module so i can get a signal into my controller ??
 

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