Do I need power at pin 4 on my tow vehicle?

RedRocket204 wrote:

Terryallan wrote:

RedRocket204 wrote:

Terryallan wrote:
On Fords there is a relay that must be installed to charge the trailer. not real sure about the others.

This is not 100% accurate. My 2011 F350 does have 14.35V on Pin 4 and there was no aftermarket relay installed. There may be cases, as you say, of some Ford trucks requiring a relay, but not all of them. There was nothing said about which model of Ford truck you were referring to, just a blanket Ford statement.

Nope. it is NOT after market. The relay is supplied by Ford. It may not be that way on diesels, or 350s. but on 250s, and 150 gas. It is there. The relay is in a pouch usually found in the dash, OR with the jack. In earlier models that had no brake controller, Ford also supplied a wiring harness that hooked to a controller of your choice, and then just plugged into the port under the dash.

There were relays, and wiring harnesses in my 2002 Expedition, my 2004 F150, and in my 2013 150, there was a fuse, and a relay that had to be installed. All supplied by Ford, and stashed in the truck.

My friend had a gas 250, but couldn't find the relay in his truck. So since the Expe had 2. I gave him one, and once he installed it. His charge wire worked as well.

Why they just don't go ahead and install them, I couldn't say. but I would think any professional brake controller installer would know they are there, and just put them in.

Is interesting about why Ford would do that. But yes, mine is a diesel F350 and I didn't have to install any relay and do have the voltage on Pin 4 when running. I agree that it doesn't make a whole lot of sense why different trucks would be setup differently. Same with why GM would put a dummy fuse in the location for powering Pin 4.

Did your friends F250 have the integrated brake controller? Assuming your 2013 F150 does have an integrated brake controller?

Thanks for the added information.