X5 D trailer electiric brakes 2012
 

Dealer does not want to get involved hooking up electiric brakes
Will be towing 5000 lbs 16 foot trailer
What is the best way to go about hooking up electirical trailer brakes
What does brake control do
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If you have the OE hitch installed, with the BMW wiring harness, there are some extra pins that came with it. This is for hooking up the brake controller. See page 13 of this
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/att...0&d=1330728890


You can use the the Tekonsha prodigy wireless controller here, if you do not want to run a cable from the right rear of the car where these connectors are to the front Tekonsha Prodigy RF Brake Controller - Proportional - Trailer Mounted Tekonsha Brake Controller 90250

The brake contoller will need to be upfront with you.

As an FYI, I tow 6000 lbs, but my trailer has surge brakes. Its a tandem axle, with 4 wheel disk brakes, and I've never felt that it was under braked.

I went with the Tekonsha wireless brake controller and it was easier to deal with. But you do have to mount the wireless receiver on the tongue of your trailer so you have a big box there. It works great tho!

The purpose of the brake controller is twofold: First and foremost, it activates the electric brakes on the trailer with a force that's proportional to the amount of braking force being applied to the tow vehicle. This function is essentially automatic -- step on the brake pedal, and the TV and trailer should slow and stop in a smooth and coordinated fashion. The second function of the controller is to allow the driver to independently apply the trailer brakes to control trailer sway.

I'm not surprised that your dealer does not want to get involved, because there's no elegant way to "hard wire" a brake controller into your X5, even though the wiring provisions are there to do so.

After a fair amount of research, I too decided to go the wireless route, and I am expecting delivery of the aforementioned Tekonsha Prodigy RF Brake Controller from Amazon.com today. I'll post some more details after I get it installed and towing.