Bob Rosadini Posted June 11, 2023 Share Posted June 11, 2023 Guys I have a 22 STX with factory tow package. Ford includes a four wire male connector (FL3T-14A34-AA) with the label..."Connect to instrument Panel Feed". I have found a You Tube article on adding a brake controller to a '22 F-150 XL but the truck in this post looks nothing like mine. My truck was built 10/22 and truck in the article was an early '22. Attached is a photo of my connector included with truck as well as a photo of a harness hooked up to a "coin slot" which conveniently was installed as a substitute for th factory controller.. There are numerous controllers on ebay that look like the factory controller but Im confused. It appears this should be an easy install but not for this old guy. Any thoughts?? E836E847-BFC2-4A68-B0D1-01CB087F8D56.heic FCEDC37A-D68E-41D1-8D71-DA13C201AA7F.heic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted June 15, 2023 Share Posted June 15, 2023 I haven't done anything with a newer truck, but when I added the Ford ETBC to my '13, there was a connector for it taped to a support under the dash. It was just inboard of the OBD connector at the bottom of the anti-submarining plate. I think it might've been plugged into a dummy connector that was taped to the support, but it has been a few years and I haven't slept nearly enough since then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted June 15, 2023 Share Posted June 15, 2023 FWIW, I think that pigtail was also included in the kit I bought, but it was just there in case the aforementioned connector wasn't installed at the factory. My truck had the connector, so I didn't use the pigtail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliff2000 Posted June 15, 2023 Share Posted June 15, 2023 (edited) It was very similar on my 2015. The harness was attached to the back of the little storage bin. I removed the bin, plugged the harness in to the controller, and clipped it back in place. Then I had to have it activated. I took it to a local shop and they did it for a fee. Cheaper than what the Ford dealer was going to charge. They wanted to charge one hour minimum. Some of the Ford dealers on Ebay who sell them you can send them your VIN and they will verify which controller. I used forums like www.F150forum.com to figure it out. Quite a few people on there doing the same thing. This is for the Ford factory controller. I didn't look in to aftermarket, but that may be what that short wiring harness is for. Edited June 15, 2023 by cliff2000 Clarification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted June 16, 2023 Author Share Posted June 16, 2023 On 6/15/2023 at 7:58 AM, cliff2000 said: It was very similar on my 2015. The harness was attached to the back of the little storage bin. I removed the bin, plugged the harness in to the controller, and clipped it back in place. Then I had to have it activated. I took it to a local shop and they did it for a fee. Cheaper than what the Ford dealer was going to charge. They wanted to charge one hour minimum. Some of the Ford dealers on Ebay who sell them you can send them your VIN and they will verify which controller. I used forums like www.F150forum.com to figure it out. Quite a few people on there doing the same thing. This is for the Ford factory controller. I didn't look in to aftermarket, but that may be what that short wiring harness is for. Sooner, Cliff Thx guys. I remember putting one in m sons 2015 but I bought an aftermarket controller and it was simple. I've done m share of YT surfing and as Cliff says, at some point you need a computer hook up. I'm thinking I will end up taking it to dealer..maybe I will buy what I need to avoid dealer mark up. Stay tuned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 (edited) Dunno what happened with this post; some forum glitch posted it, not me... Edited June 17, 2023 by SoonerLS Odd unintentional post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 It's not particularly difficult to do the computer part; you'll just need the FORScan software and an adapter for your laptop. There's a tutorial in the first post of this thread at F150 Forum: https://www.f150forum.com/f129/forscan-14th-gen-f150s-481816/ The FORScan software is free, but I think you now need an Extended License to do programming. I bought a Lifetime License back in '21, but it looks like they only offer a Free 2-Month Trial License and a $12 1-Year license now. FWIW, FORScan is super useful for troubleshooting and diagnosing these modern electronic monsters. It can show you the outputs of the vehicle's sensors in real time, so, if you understand what you're looking at, you can see what's wrong. Unfortunately, it can only show you the data, it can't understand it for you. For the OBD interface, I use the OBDLink MX+ because it's Bluetooth and will pair with both my laptop and iPhone, but at $140, that might be more than some want to pay. The ODBLink EX is the same basic adapter, but with a USB interface instead of Bluetooth and a $60 price tag. FORScan site: https://www.forscan.org/home.html OBDLink MX+ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JFRFJG6 OBDLink EX https://www.amazon.com/OBDLink-EX-FORScan-OBD-Adapter/dp/B081VQVD3F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted June 28, 2023 Author Share Posted June 28, 2023 On 6/17/2023 at 9:12 AM, SoonerLS said: It's not particularly difficult to do the computer part; you'll just need the FORScan software and an adapter for your laptop. There's a tutorial in the first post of this thread at F150 Forum: https://www.f150forum.com/f129/forscan-14th-gen-f150s-481816/ The FORScan software is free, but I think you now need an Extended License to do programming. I bought a Lifetime License back in '21, but it looks like they only offer a Free 2-Month Trial License and a $12 1-Year license now. FWIW, FORScan is super useful for troubleshooting and diagnosing these modern electronic monsters. It can show you the outputs of the vehicle's sensors in real time, so, if you understand what you're looking at, you can see what's wrong. Unfortunately, it can only show you the data, it can't understand it for you. For the OBD interface, I use the OBDLink MX+ because it's Bluetooth and will pair with both my laptop and iPhone, but at $140, that might be more than some want to pay. The ODBLink EX is the same basic adapter, but with a USB interface instead of Bluetooth and a $60 price tag. FORScan site: https://www.forscan.org/home.html OBDLink MX+ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JFRFJG6 OBDLink EX https://www.amazon.com/OBDLink-EX-FORScan-OBD-Adapter/dp/B081VQVD3F Sooner, Thx- I did some checking on Forscan and you need Windows. When I retired that was the end of my PC days as we always had Apples for my kids, wife and then myself. I've been busy with another project o one of my kids will hve to help me out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 On 6/27/2023 at 10:39 PM, Bob Rosadini said: I did some checking on Forscan and you need Windows. Yeah, you can get a Forscan app for your iPhone or Android so you can use it to pull codes, get readouts from sensors, etc, but to do the programming, you need the Windows version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted June 29, 2023 Author Share Posted June 29, 2023 10 hours ago, SoonerLS said: Yeah, you can get a Forscan app for your iPhone or Android so you can use it to pull codes, get readouts from sensors, etc, but to do the programming, you need the Windows version. Stay tuned! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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