Tekonsha P3 questions

My P3 came with just the open ended pigtails that plugged into the P3. (i.e. connector on one end only) My 4Runner, bought new, had the vehicle specific adapter in the glove box so for me it was just a plug and play operation.

The P3 does have an option for electric hydraulic brakes so you would have to change it depending on what vehicle it was in at the moment.

I need to buy a new brake controller if I can't fix my old Jordan and I have some questions that I can't find anywhere in my searches . I know there's assessories for the PIII but is there only one part number for the controller itself ? Does the PIII come with a wiring pigtail that can be mated to the vehicle brake controller pigtail or is it necessary to buy the vehicle specific wiring harness for the PIII ? I have one trailer with electric magnet brakes and another trailer with electric hydraulic brakes . Does the PIII work well with both ? Is there any other good brake controller for both kinds of trailer brakes ? Thanks ,Craig

The P3 is an excellent controller. However, it is not a 'set it and forget it' unit. Mine has to be set for highway travel or around town situations or the wheels lock up in slow in town type of stops. The unit has boost features so it is very easy to adjust.

I bought my p3 from etrailer.com. On the site, they offer the pigtail that connects to the back of the p3 out - but also they have most of the major manufacturers tow vehicles that plug directly to the fuse block (assuming your vehicle is wired for towing to begin with).

Mine was plug into the fuse block, plug into the controller and away I went.

JMTandem's note about set and forget is somewhat correct. On the plus side, you can increase the initial breaking the moment your foot touches the brake pedal from moderate to very aggressive. This is extremely useful if you're doing a lot of highway driving; However, the moment you're exiting the freeway, you need to scale back the aggressive behavior of the controller or your brakes will lock up at slow speeds.

What I have found is the default setting (lowest) works the best unless your brakes are close to the Tow Vehicle limit. At that point, you do need to increase the boost.

PM me if you have more questions.

Josh

jmtandem wrote:
However, it is not a 'set it and forget it' unit. Mine has to be set for highway travel or around town situations or the wheels lock up in slow in town type of stops.

Something is not right. It should be set it and forget it. I've had my PII for over 10 years, 2 trailers, and 3 different tow vehicles. I only have to readjust it when using it on a new combination. I never even have to adjust it from year to year.

jodeb720 wrote:
JMTandem's note about set and forget is somewhat correct. On the plus side, you can increase the initial breaking the moment your foot touches the brake pedal from moderate to very aggressive. This is extremely useful if you're doing a lot of highway driving; However, the moment you're exiting the freeway, you need to scale back the aggressive behavior of the controller or your brakes will lock up at slow speeds.

I'd agree, "somewhat correct". I've owned a number of Tekonsha brake controllers over the years - an awful POD, an adequate Voyager, a pretty decent original Prodigy - but for the last several years have been running a P3 and mostly let it just do it's job. However, even a great controller like the P3 needs to adjusted for highway use vs around town slow speed towing if maximum performance is to be expected. I personally find Boost 1 sufficient for most applications but still adjust for heavier braking on the highway but do dial back for in town towing. That said, no brake controller can function with maximum effect if the trailer brakes themselves are not in good working order and properly adjusted.

Is there anything besides Tekonsha that will work for magnet and hydraulic brakes?

My P3 always had to be adjust differently from highway to stop and go traffic. If I didn't the brakes would tend to bind or squeal. Even after changing out the 4brake assemblies !

The solution, disc brakes.....

Don't even remember how to change the settings on the P3 it's been that long since I adjusted it.

Ron W.

C Schomer wrote:
Is there anything besides Tekonsha that will work for magnet and hydraulic brakes?

Why are you looking for an alternate solution when the P3 works equally well whether the trailer has electric or electric over hydraulic brakes? :h

From what I'm reading the P3 doesn't alway work so great so I'm just wondering if there's anything else. I had a prodigy before the Jordan and I remember the problems and it looks like the same problem still exists. I couldn't even come close to making that old prodigy work well for both city and hiway on any one setting. Craig

C Schomer wrote:
From what I'm reading the P3 doesn't alway work so great so I'm just wondering if there's anything else. I had a prodigy before the Jordan and I remember the problems and it looks like the same problem still exists. I couldn't even come close to making that old prodigy work well for both city and hiway on any one setting.

Sorry, I'm not understanding why you would expect any moderately priced brake controller to be 100% effective under entirely different circumstances - stop & go low speed city traffic and high speed highway driving. :h It's never seemed to me to be a problem to dial the P3 up or down as necessary - I guess I just must be missing your point. Good luck with whatever you do choose. :)