I am researching the possibility of regularly towing a 1,000 lb camper (T@G) and wonder if there are any who have installed an electric brake controller. My specific car is a ‘12 Passat SEL with DSG. The wiring would also support charging a deep cycle battery Thoughts??
on my 2011 jetta, i had wired in a 7 pin connector for trailer brakes and a controller. (comes in handy when highway traffic comes to a stop). i used the rear taillight that sits behind the rear glass. you can splice into that positive power wire from the trunk. it wasn't the simplest install though, as i had to have a brake controller, 4 pin tail light splice (for turn signals) and then a 4 pin to 7 pin adapter socket that would go on the rear of the car.
basically, 3 sources of power come from the battery, one to the brake controller in the cabin,
one to the 7 pin adapter socket at the hitch, and one more for the 4 pin tail light signal switch inside the trunk. you cant combine the trailer brake and tail light switch power line because the brake power is intermittent.
for brakes, a wire comes from the rear tail light as mentioned earlier and provides brake signal at the brake controller. so you need to run 2 additional wires from the cabin to the trunk. one wire providing the brake light signal to the brake controller, and then another wire coming out of the brake controller and to the 7 pin socket at the trailer hitch to activate the trailer brakes. the only additional wire is a ground wire for the brake controller, you can either do that in the cabin or in the engine bay, its up to you. so you end up wiring together a brake controller, a 4 pin turn signal indicator, and 7 pin trailer socket for wiring.