Hi Bob,

I had my brake controller installed at time of purchase. My local Honda dealer (Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada) brought the truck across the street to a place called the "Hitch Center". The controller is below the dash just to the right of my right knee. Works great. I would think that any place that sells hitches can install a controller for you. Good luck.

Dave
2006 Black Ridgeline EX-L

 

Check this out
I wish I got mine for 99$
http://www.rvsupplywarehouse.com/product/detail.cfm/pid/496

Mounted mine just forward of my right knee

 

Bought the Prodigy and installed it above the left knee.

 

I installed mine with a disconnect and when it is used I velcro it on the panel under the steering column.

 

Very good idea. I will try this. Thanks!
Towing Arlington VA

 

I installed mine with a disconnect and when it is used I velcro it on the panel under the steering column.

I like that idea!

I have never pulled a trailer with electric brakes but I would like to be prepared should the need arise. Are all controllers pretty much the same or do certain trailers require specific controllers? Thanks for any info that you might provide.

 

Any controller will work with a one- or two-axle trailer; the more expensive ones will handle up to three axles. With the Ridgeline's 5K lb weight limit, I'm sure nothing you might pull would have more than two axles.

The Prodigy controller is supposed to be a good one. I've had a number of Tekonsha brand units and they've all worked well.

I like the Velcro idea, too. I've found that any permanently-mounted controller will do a number on your knees at some time. Having it gone most of the time seems the perfect solution.

Bob

 

Any controller will work with a one- or two-axle trailer; the more expensive ones will handle up to three axles. With the Ridgeline's 5K lb weight limit, I'm sure nothing you might pull would have more than two axles.

The Prodigy controller is supposed to be a good one. I've had a number of Tekonsha brand units and they've all worked well.

Thanks for that info, Bob. The Prodigy apparently will handle from 1-4 axles. I have the Honda wiring harness which includes a pigtail for electric brakes. Do I need anything special to wire the Prodigy into the pigtail? Thanks again for putting up with my ignorant questions.

 

Thanks again for putting up with my ignorant questions.

We were all uninformed at some point, ridged. Thank goodness for wonderful forums like this one now, where we can all come to get better informed. I've mounted probably half a dozen brake controllers on various vehicles I've owned. Some installations worked very well, some not so well. It's reassuring to draw on the forum's collected wisdom and not have to pioneer it this time!

The Prodigy will have either four wires attached or a pigtail of its own that plugs into it. The wires are power, ground, stoplight signal, and trailer brakes. You just mount the controller, splice the Prodigy wires to the Ridgeline pigtail using butt splices or wire nuts, and you're there. The Prodigy color code won't match the Honda wire colors, but you can easily identify what's what by function.

I have a Tekonsha Sentinel in my motor home. It's a little older technology, and it requires a setup to calibrate its sensor. Newer units like the Prodigy don't require as much fiddling.

Bob

 

Most trailer brake controllers are junk and are dangerous in my opinion. This is not a huge issue for the Ridgeline due to the limited towing capacity, but still an important decision.

I haven't investigated this issue in a couple of years so my information is somewhat dated, but I believe the info still applies.

There are two brake controllers that stand out as good ones. The Tekonsha Prodigy and the Jordan Research Ultima unit. They use very different technologies, but accomplish nearly the same feat.

The Prodigy is much more popular because it's sold thru dealers. You can only buy a new Jordan directly from Jordan Research.

The Prodigy is an advanced pendulum design. The controller measures the inertia. It has no physical connection to the primary braking system and sends braking power to the trailer based on what it thinks the vehicle is doing. This works pretty good, but has some downfalls. First, the trailer brakes will always lag behind the primary system. In a panic this short delay could cause problems. Secondly, some people have reported that the controller does not work too well in reverse or in steep hill situations. The Prodigy would be my second choice.

The Jordan Ultima brake controller is a GREAT product. It uses a wire cable that attaches to your brake pedal. The trailer brakes work in conjunction with the primary braking system. Works under any circumstances. Installation can be an issue since the wire coming out of the rear of the controller must be attached to the brake pedal arm. I have not looked at the Ridgeline to see if it would be a good candidate for this controller or not. The bottom line is that the only way to get a better trailer brake controller than the Jordan is to buy a vehicle with an integrated controller. The Jordan costs a little more, but if you tow heavy loads and value your life the $145 (includes shipping) is dirt cheap. Jordan offers great technical support.
http://www.jordanbrake.com/index.html

 

Bob and Joe,

Many thanks to each of you. With the info that you've provided, I feel that I can make a wise, informed decision. I'll let everyone know how it went if/when I move forward with the project. At this point, I'm leaning toward the Jordan unit due to its direct connection to the brake pedal. The difference in price is of no concern to me when deciding on something as critical as braking and safety.

Apologies for hijacking the thread.

Best regards,
Rob

 

Okay, educate me on this. My previous truck, I had a brake controller installed. Granted, with the Ridgeline I won't be hauling as heavy a load, but doesn't it already have some sort of "controller"? What is the purpose of the "Control Unit", and the 2 "Relays" that come with the Trailer Hitch Kit?
http://www.collegehillshonda.com/instructions/06ridgeline/trailerhitch.pdf

Thanks!

 

I have the same question. I installed the harness with hitch, it has relay. I do not know if that can work as a brake controller. Anyone can give me an idea?

 

Don't hook up anything to your brake pedal! After much research in the RV sites, I chose the Prodigy and haven't regretted it. It's the most advanced unit on the market. After reading the instruction manual, I have no problems backing up and you can set lag time to your preference. Information given in an earlier post is out of date.

 

I mounted my Prodigy just to the left of the steering column. I mounted the bracket where I wanted it and had the dealer wire it in at no extra charge (I only paid $453 for tow pkg.) when the tow package was installed.
For the RL, the Prodigy is probably overkill. Since I bought my Prodigy, Tekonsha has come out with a new model, the Primus. The Primus has the same technology as the Prodigy, but does not the boost button, which adjusts the amount of initial braking applied. I have found that with 3,500 lb, any amount of boost over 0% is too much, so the Primus would have worked fine for less money.

 

Just installed the Prodigy P2 with velcro to the right side of the steering column. Used the Honda Ridgeline wiring adapter to hook it up into the system. When nothing happened, popped the hood and put a 20A fuse in slot #6 of the secondary fusebox. The prodigy instantly had power and is now working like a charm. Thanks online friends for all the information you have given me, it takes all the stress out of performing these tasks.

 

If the prodigy works by a little ball inside that determines the angle doesn't it have to be level when installed? At least I thought it said it had to be level when I installed mine. So how did you mount it to your steering column or above your knees with velcro and still keep it level?

 

Has anybody tried or considered an alternative to under-dash mounting? I done it before and absolutely hate having these things under there.

 

I considered many different mounting locations, upper dash, center stack, etc., just for the same reason you stated. I placed it under the dash centered to the steering column. I did not want the controller under the dash near the knees. Just concern with knee injury in the event of an accident.

 

What ever happened to surge brakes on trailers?

 

Nothing happened to them. They are still in wide use, especially on boat trailers, due to their simplicity. But the electric trailer brakes have many advantages, and are often worth the extra complexity particularly when towing near the weight limit/tow rating of the vehicle.

 

Mounted mine in the cubby hole under stereo, using Velcro,no drilling and no knee knocking.

 

I'm trying to learn whether this Hayman Reese Compact IQ TBC is available in North America. I like that it can be installed in a "blank" or spare switch panel, of which the Ridgeline has several:

 

I'm trying to learn whether this Hayman Reese Compact IQ TBC is available in North America. I like that it can be installed in a "blank" or spare switch panel, of which the Ridgeline has several:

ISO Truck, you are a bad influence..... I really liked the idea of the CompactIQ from Hayman Reese after I read your post, and contacted the company in Australia to ask a couple of questions and see if they had a distributor in the US. No such luck on the distributor, but it looks like Hayman Reese and Tekonsha are owned by the same company and they do share technology.

Long story short, I found a dealer on eBay that does ship to the US and I ordered one. It should be here mid May and I'll post pictures after I get it installed. I have an RTL-T and think I will put the dial and LED in the two blank switch panels to the left of the steering wheel down by the bed light switch.

Is it worth the added expense/hassle versus just getting a more traditional brake controller locally? Of course not but I've spent more money on sillier things. :wink:

Here is the link to where I found it on eBay HAYMAN REESE REMOTE HEAD COMPACT ELECTRIC BRAKE CONTROLLER 12V CARAVAN TRAILER | eBay

 

A quick update on the CompactIQ I ordered. I'm currently on a business trip, but the wife called and said the brake controller arrived today. No issues with Customs or additional duty collected. Cost to my door including price, shipping, and exchange between AUD to USD was $143

There was one issue in that the shipper dropped a number from my street name on the shipping label and it went to 2nd St and not 22nd St. The guy that lived there was great and Googled my name and figured out the correct address and hand delivered it.

I'll be back home this weekend and see about installing it. I'll try to remember to take pictures along the way.

Edit: Oops, just realized this is a G1 thread, and I'll be installing it in a G2.


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A quick update on the CompactIQ I ordered. I'm currently on a business trip, but the wife called and said the brake controller arrived today. No issues with Customs or additional duty collected. Cost to my door including price, shipping, and exchange between AUD to USD was $143

There was one issue in that the shipper dropped a number from my street name on the shipping label and it went to 2nd St and not 22nd St. The guy that lived there was great and Googled my name and figured out the correct address and hand delivered it.

I'll be back home this weekend and see about installing it. I'll try to remember to take pictures along the way.

Edit: Oops, just realized this is a G1 thread, and I'll be installing it in a G2.

Thanks for the update on shipping/price, and glad it arrived as expected (nice guy at 2nd St!)

I don't think it matters much at all whether this is being installed in a G1 or G2. So please do share any photos and/or tips from the installation process. Once I get the thumbs up from you, I'll be ordering mine.

Does your G2 have any "blank" cut-outs that aren't being used? I have two on my G1, one in the bank on the center dash (between the seat warmers and 12V outlets) and one at the lower left corner of the dash. Haven't decided which would be better...

 

There, That G1 vs G2 part is resolved.

ISO, I'm following this thread closely, personally I like the one next to the cruise control switch (lower left). But will follow your lead

 

....

ISO, I'm following this thread closely, personally I like the one next to the cruise control switch (lower left). But will follow your lead

I like the lower left too, because a) there is a blank switch there, and b) it is in very close proximity to the plug for the trailer brake wiring harness/adapter (so no worries about routing the wires.)

But the other option in the center location does have the advantage of being accessible to a co-pilot (for monitoring/adjusting).

On the other hand, we know that the TBC should work well (ergonomically) in the lower left location, leaving the center blank available for something else that might not work well in the lower left spot.

Decisions decisions.

Here are some photos of my blanks. (Note: On my 2014 the cruise controls are entirely on the steering wheel, so the lower left blank is next to the fogs and VSA.) I popped out the lower left blank but not the center blank -- some photos of that too.

 

Thanks Carsmak. I saw there was a G2 "where did you mount your brake controller" thread and figured I'd continue there and link to it, but continuing here is even easier.

On the G2 RTL-T there are two switch blanks to the lower left of the steering wheel. That is where I'm planning on putting the controls. I did pop out one of the blanks last week and they have clips at the top and bottom and a lot of support structure on the back side. I was hoping to be able to put both the LED and knob on one panel, but given all the plastic on the back, I may end up with the LED centered on one and the knob on the other.


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I like the left blank for the brake controller because I'm interested in mounting a backup camera override switch in the center blank so I can checkout the status of my hitch and trailer while I'm underway. Figuring out how to wire it is another matter entirely.

 

Back-up camera over-ride. Now that is something I had been wondering about and am frankly surprised isn't standard equipment on any vehicle with a camera.

Is there an actual kit, or did you just re-do that "blank" in photoshop?

 

Combined responses below.

 

I got back home and had a chance to take a look at the CompactIQ.

The unit is about 2-1/2" x 2-5/8" x 1-1/4" in size, and is potted from the backside where the wires enter. The knob wires are about 24" long, and the LED wires are about 26" long.

The wiring interface is the same as the Tekonsha TBCs, so all you should need is the Tekonsha 3070-P harness for Honda to make it plug-n-play with the Ridgeline.

There are a couple of mounting options provided with the unit, either use the bracket, or the double sided foam tape.

It is also a 360 degree unit, so there is a lot of flexibility to what angle you mount it as long as it is aligned with the direction of travel.

That was all the good news, the only slight disappoint is that the labels for the controls are a little wider than the switch blanks and will need to be trimmed a little which will cut into the markings for the boost settings, so it won't be 100% aesthetically perfect.

The seller I purchased my controller from also threw in a 30A circuit breaker which we shouldn't need for our Ridgelines.

I'm now figuring out the best place to mount it and should have it installed by next weekend (time allowing). I'll take pictures and post an update after it is installed. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to answer them.

RCNet



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