Break Controller for Cayenne S

[jaldeborgh]

I am looking to install a break controller in my Cayenne - I just bought a motorcycle trailer and it has electric breaks. I live north of Boston and I need to find a shop who can help me. The local Porsche dealer (Ira) has no idea how to install the controller. Any ideas would be appreciated.

John

Edited November 14, 2005 by jaldeborgh

[mudman2]

I use a Prodigy Brake Controller, not hard to install as the wiring is there under the dash waiting. So long as you have the Factory hitch all the electronics should be there ready to go.

I am shocked that IRA,who sponsor my board, do not know how to install one. Ask to speak to the service manager it will take about an hour.

Mike

I am looking to install a break controller in my Cayenne - I just bought a motorcycle trailer and it has electric breaks. I live north of Boston and I need to find a shop who can help me. The local Porsche dealer (Ira) has no idea how to install the controller. Any ideas would be appreciated.

John

[jaldeborgh]

I use a Prodigy Brake Controller, not hard to install as the wiring is there under the dash waiting. So long as you have the Factory hitch all the electronics should be there ready to go.

I am shocked that IRA,who sponsor my board, do not know how to install one. Ask to speak to the service manager it will take about an hour.

Mike

I am looking to install a break controller in my Cayenne - I just bought a motorcycle trailer and it has electric breaks. I live north of Boston and I need to find a shop who can help me. The local Porsche dealer (Ira) has no idea how to install the controller. Any ideas would be appreciated.

John

Mike,

Thanks, I have been speaking to the service manager - I think his name is also Mike - he did ask arround and has not been able to find anyone who has installed a controller at the dealership. I am also surprised that I am the only Cayenne owner who has asked this question - the Cayenne pulls very well and it seems reasonable to expect that a fair number of other owners have the same needs as I do.

Where did you get the Prodigy break controller - from a dealer or on the internet. Did you need to cut ay wires or was it simple a matter of pluging in the controller. Where did you mount the controller itself - I would like to keep is out of sight the best I can.

Thanks again.

John

[skl]

A few of us tow with the Cayenne- I tow a 18" enclosed aluminum ATC trailer with a spec Miata inside with my S. Does fine except it doesn't like the running lights on the trailer and I needed to disconect several to make the lights work at all. I still get the ! every time I turn on the lights. Porsche can't fix it. Another friend over at rennlist has had ALL his lights fail while driving- a very scary thought- luckily that hasn't happened to me , yet... do a search at rennlist as there is a VW part that plugs right into the socket under the dash on Cayenne's equipped with the towing package and makes wiring the brake controller easy. I did it myself in about 1/2 hour. Mine is not the Prodigy but an analog unit which works fine. The wiring for the Prodigy requires a different source for the brake wire or you'll get some weird electrically problems. Talked about ad nauseum over the last year at rennlist on the Cayenne boards...

[jaldeborgh]

Thanks again - I do have the factory tow package and I also have to connect the trailer at least twice to get the lights to work. I have not had them fail once connected.

I will try and locate the VW part this sounds like the perfect solution I just need to find out which model of controller to use with it - any recommendations.

Thanks again - John

[mudman2]

Ski nailed it. I bought my controller on line. I mounted it at the very left of the footwell so you can see the display, I know someone else who went to the right so the passenger can adjust in motion if needed.

I tow a 14ft 4 wheel box with electric brakes, cant hardly feel it. I do get the ! in the display due to a system light mis match but all my lights work fine.

Thanks again - I do have the factory tow package and I also have to connect the trailer at least twice to get the lights to work. I have not had them fail once connected.

I will try and locate the VW part this sounds like the perfect solution I just need to find out which model of controller to use with it - any recommendations.

Thanks again - John

[MomentumGuy]

I've had my Cayenne S (to pull the 944 to/from the track) for 10 days now and had similar questions - glad you guys are here!

I spoke with a tech at my dealership this morning about installing a brake controller - he said that they don't install brake controllers there, but that just about any U-Haul or other place that sells towing equipment could install it for me. He also gave me a couple of pointers in general:

- No more than 15 amps total, if you need more (probably anything above class III), then you will have to wire another circuit

- No LED trailer lights. There is a conflict between the controller in the Cayenne and the controller on the trailer for these lights, and they will not work.

Other than that, he didn't know of any other major issues...

Hope this helps!

[Stressless]

This is my first time guys so I hope I can help. I have installed a Prodigy in my pepper S. The set up works very well with towing my 996 or 914/6 on an open trailer WITHOUT LED LIGHTS. DO NOT PURCHASE A TRAILER WITH LED LIGHTS. IT WILL NOT WORK WITH THE CAYENNE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. Here is what you need to do. Purchase the Prodigy (I got mine on eBay) and the following from VW: 1 ea. part # IJ0-972-782 Housing, 1 ea. part # 000-979-136 Wire set, and 1 ea. part # 000-979-228 also a Wire set. These will be needed to attach between the Prodigy wire set and the female plug that you will find under the drivers side. Remove the one Torx 20 screw holding on the very lower black plastic shroud (with the foot well light in it). You will need to pull it down to release two friction holders on each side and pull the shroud toward you from the locators at the front of the foot well. If you have a factory tow attachment you will find the female plug up in the dash. On this plug pin 1 is a brown wire that is ground. Attach this to the white wire from the Prodigy. Pin 2 is a red/yellow wire that is battery +. Connect this to the black Prodigy wire. Pin 3 is a black/red that is the stop light wire. Now here is the important part! THE RED WIRE FROM THE PRODIGY MUST BE CONNECTED DIRECTLY TO THE BRAKE SWITCH COLD SIDE (no voltage until the brake pedal is depressed) LOCATED ALMOST DIRECTLY ABOVE THE FEMALE PLUG, NOT TO THE FEMALE PLUG ITSELF. Pin 4 is a blue wire and should be connected to the blue wire of the Prodigy controller. I mounted the Prodigy holder on the right side attached to the lower shroud (I'm righthanded and it makes it easy to use the Prodigy controls). Make sure that the trailer connections are correct. If you are using a trailer with a standard 7 pole round connector it should be correct. www.rverscorner.com/wiring/7pole.html will give you all the poop on the 7 pole connection. As I said this set up will work great. I have towed the 996 at 85 MPH+ and felt perfectly safe. If your pepper is 2005 or 2006 I understand that there might be a problem with the brake switch connection because there is no brake switch! My S is a 2004 so may be someone with a 2005+ can add to this post. Good luck and glad to be part of this group! :D

[Lyndale67]

I encountered the same issue with LED lights. Found the solution was to add a resistor on the trailer to each brake light. The lights work fine now. Apparently, LED's don't provide enough resistance (that's the whole point of them) and the computer in the Cayenne shuts down the trailer connection if it doesn't sense the right amount. By adding the resistors, it tricks the computer into thinking you have traditional bulbs. Bought them at superbrightleds.com. Seems to work fine.

Also bought mine at Ira. They did not have experience with brake controllers. Great dealer though. :beer: