Wiring for Trailer brakes with 2021 EX telluride

[bdon]

I just purchased a 2021 Telluride EX with the tow package. There is a 4 pin electric pin power harness in the glove compartment. I am planning on getting a trailer that will have a brakes. I am not familiar with trailer brakes and the wiring needed with the car. My towing previously has been with trailers without brakes. There is a 7 pin receptacle on the car, so I had assumed one of the pins was wired for the trailer brakes. So not sure what I need to do with this 4 pin electric pin harness and if requires additional wiring to have functioning trailer brakes. Appreciate any help on this issue. thanks, BRD

 

[alexdrums]

I just purchased a 2021 Telluride EX with the tow package. There is a 4 pin electric pin power harness in the glove compartment. I am planning on getting a trailer that will have a brakes. I am not familiar with trailer brakes and the wiring needed with the car. My towing previously has been with trailers without brakes. There is a 7 pin receptacle on the car, so I had assumed one of the pins was wired for the trailer brakes. So not sure what I need to do with this 4 pin electric pin harness and if requires additional wiring to have functioning trailer brakes. Appreciate any help on this issue. thanks, BRD

Throw the 4 pin harness in the garbage, and just make sure the trailer you get has a 7-pin connector...then you will have brakes

 

[bdon]

Throw the 4 pin harness in the garbage, and just make sure the trailer you get has a 7-pin connector...then you will have brakes

thanks! Then why did they provide this harness with the new telluride?? confusing--thanks again, BRD

 

[2020Telly]

Don’t throw it in the garbage. That 4-wire connector in the glove box is if you decide to use a wired brake controller in the cab.

The tow package does not include a brake controller. If you plug in a trailer to the 7-pin with no brake controller your trailer brakes will not work.

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[bdon]

Don’t throw it in the garbage. That 4-wire connector in the glove box is if you decide to use a wired brake controller in the cab.

The tow package does not include a brake controller. If you plug in a trailer to the 7-pin with no brake controller your trailer brakes will not work.

ok different information from our other colleague on this thread?--What do I need to do? Perhaps I need to take it to a trailer repair person-it looks like the harness connects with a receptacle near the fuse box on driver's side--not sure where the 4 bare wires go to? need to be connected to this controller you mentioned??--I hope I don't have to run wires from fuse box back to the rear of car??

thanks for the update and appreciate any help on this--BRD

 

[2020Telly]

First you need to decide what electronic brake controller you plan to use. I have some details here:
Types of Electronic Brake Controllers

If you get a wired brake controller that 4-wire connector on the 2021 is what connects your brake controller to the vehicle wiring so you don’t have to run anything from the fuse box to the rear of the car.
The 4 wires go into the brake controller:

• Battery Positive - Gives + to the brake controller through the fuse box
• Ground - Supplies - to the brake controller for power
• Stoplight - Signals the brake controller when you are pressing the brake
• Brake signal to 7-pin round at the trailer connection - Sends the signal from the brake controller in the cab to the 7-pin round in the back that feeds the signal to the electronic trailer brake system

Depending on the controller you may or may not need that 4 wire connector for the 7-pin kit and you can just put it in the glove box. For example if you get a Curt Echo Wireless brake controller nothing gets installed in your cab, the controller goes inline with the trailer connection and you can remove it when not in use.
How the 2021 OEM 7-pin harness comes

Since you have a trailer with brakes it is probably north of ~2,500lbs with smaller tires? If that’s the case you want to inflate the trailer tires to their max, check their max speed rating and honor that, and consider a weight distribution system. Also please read this:
If you purchased the Tow Package please read this . . .

 

[bdon]

Ok--thank you for the information--very informative--I first need to find out if the trailer brakes are hydraulic or electric on the boat-trailer I plan to buy You must be a mechanic, engineer or a PhD in Telluride Technology! I will be towing a boat and I believe the weight is around 2800 lbs--if they are electric brakes--would the curtis wireless be my best option if I do not want to do a lot of wiring and willing to pay extra??

 

[2020Telly]

Ok--thank you for the information--very informative--I first need to find out if the trailer brakes are hydraulic or electric on the boat-trailer I plan to buy You must be a mechanic, engineer or a PhD in Telluride Technology! I will be towing a boat and I believe the weight is around 2800 lbs--if they are electric brakes--would the curtis wireless be my best option if I do not want to do a lot of wiring and willing to pay extra??

Just an informed buyer who spends more time than most researching. You are on the right track. If you have hydraulic (aka surge) brakes you are good to go, you might just need a 7-pin round to 5-pin or 4-pin flat adapter. See this post: chart of common connectors Using the chart on that post you might need a Curt 57241 or Curt 57251 to get trailer lights working on a hydraulic/surge brake boat trailer.

If you do need an electronic brake controller, the Curt Echo Wireless is a very popular choice and should be compatible if you have 7-pin connection on the trailer and it won't require any modification and you can use it on a different vehicle. When not in use you can just remove and store it just like the hitch ball mount.

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[bdon]

Great thanks--We like the Telluride EX but there were some funny things missing from this car which is pretty standard in most new cars: no homelink technology for garage door opening--no seat control memory buttons for the powered driver seat--I found out the SX has these, but the EX is still a higher end model on the telluride line. I have older less fancy cars that have this fairly standard technology these days.

 

[2020Telly]

I have an S and thought I would miss the seat memory on the drivers side, the homelink button and the power liftgate. But in reality we have adjusted. The seats are comfortable enough and my wife and I are close enough in height that I just drive at her setting. The homelink button isn't missed since I have a garage door opener, but I did see that it is already prewired for power and I can just buy the mirror and add it myself for not too much. The power liftgate is no big deal because even though the door is not powered, it does unlock when you are behind the Telluride with the FOB, which is more important to me. Plus not being powered, I'm hoping that the liftgate will have less issues over time with cheaper actuators when it comes time to replace them and hopefully they last longer not being powered. Overall it is shaping up to be one of the best vehicle buying decisions I've made. I'm at 30K miles and hope to be saying the same thing 170K from now.

 

[bdon]

I found out that the brakes on the boat trailer I will be getting are hydraulic--so it seems I will not need the curt wireless device and just use the 7 pin with the factory hitch. Checking out the Curt products, I found that Curt makes a ball fitting that has shock absorber -rocker ball cushion--so may get it since it looks like it will help with the trailer ride.

 

[2020Telly]

I found out that the brakes on the boat trailer I will be getting are hydraulic--so it seems I will not need the curt wireless device and just use the 7 pin with the factory hitch. Checking out the Curt products, I found that Curt makes a ball fitting that has shock absorber -rocker ball cushion--so may get it since it looks like it will help with the trailer ride.

You might still need a 7-way round to 5-pin flat adapter or 7-way round to 4-pin flat adapter. If you have surge brakes your trailer probably won’t have a 7-pin round connection. I also found that a hitch tightener helped with the rattle and it was a very inexpensive investment.

This adapter will cover you either way:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082VV29H8/?coliid=I2FNYNI1CSU2N9&colid=3HM2G7FEHQTV7&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Here’s and example of a hitch tightener:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B073PXQ6X5/ref=syn_sd_onsite_mobileweb_96?ie=UTF8&adId=200046329358781&qualifier=1605528881&id=6585286057258747&widget=sd_onsite_mobileweb&spPl=1&psc=1&uh_it=f04f66a1f2fddbc24c1c0fef96c89fa6_CT

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[ralph.w.brown]

First you need to decide what electronic brake controller you plan to use. I have some details here:
Types of Electronic Brake Controllers

If you get a wired brake controller that 4-wire connector on the 2021 is what connects your brake controller to the vehicle wiring so you don’t have to run anything from the fuse box to the rear of the car.
The 4 wires go into the brake controller:

• Battery Positive - Gives + to the brake controller through the fuse box
• Ground - Supplies - to the brake controller for power
• Stoplight - Signals the brake controller when you are pressing the brake
• Brake signal to 7-pin round at the trailer connection - Sends the signal from the brake controller in the cab to the 7-pin round in the back that feeds the signal to the electronic trailer brake system

Depending on the controller you may or may not need that 4 wire connector for the 7-pin kit and you can just put it in the glove box. For example if you get a Curt Echo Wireless brake controller nothing gets installed in your cab, the controller goes inline with the trailer connection and you can remove it when not in use.
How the 2021 OEM 7-pin harness comes

Since you have a trailer with brakes it is probably north of ~2,500lbs with smaller tires? If that’s the case you want to inflate the trailer tires to their max, check their max speed rating and honor that, and consider a weight distribution system. Also please read this:
If you purchased the Tow Package please read this . . .

NCTelly,

Do you have any pictures of this connector in the glove box? When I spoke to the dealership they were unaware of this wiring harness.

Thanks,

Ralph

 

[2020Telly]

This is what another owner posted was in their glove box: Towing

You (or the person installing the wired brake controller) would connect those 4 wires from that mini harness to your Tekonsha Prodigy P3 Proportional Trailer Brake Controller. Then it uses the vehicle wiring to send the signal from the cabin to the 7-pin round connector at the hitch which in turn connects to the trailer.

 

[ralph.w.brown]

NCTelly,

Cool, that's exactly what I was looking for!

Thanks!

 

[ralph.w.brown]

I just picked up my 2021 Kia Telluride SX AWD Wolf Gray Nightfall Edition, Towing Package. To clear up any confusion (that others may have had, just like me), the 2021 Telluride with the towing package does come with a 7-pin connector at the bumper and a wiring harness is provided for an aftermarket brake controller (I purchased the Tekonsha P3 90195). The wiring harness needs to be installed under the driver's side dashboard and requires a dashboard tool and Philips head screwdriver to install. My dealership really didn't have a clue and weren't able to provide much guidance, other than an aftermarket brake controller would be required. I think much of this is still new to them and they are still trying to get caught up.

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[playared]

2021 EX factory tow package.
Harness for the brake controller was in the storage area in the very back. The harness connects to a harness/plug which was behind the fuse bow lower dash driver's side. Did not need to remove any panels.

Note, the trailer battery charging line to the 7 pole connector on the Telluride is hot all the time ie with the engine not running.