Towing question

[bruce69camaro]

I'm using my 2000 GMC Sierra 1500 to tow my Camaro to the drags.

 

It came with a hitch and trailer plug, which looks to be factory. I checked the gear selector and pushed the button for towing/ hauling and there was no indicator light in the dash.

 

Does this mean that I do not have a towing package?

 

What is the code for the towing package for this year truck?

 

I found it does have the Z85 code.

 

I know this may not mean anything, but I checked the fuse box under the hood and there are fuses for the trailer lights. Did GMC provide fuses for towing?

 

I also read somewhere that a 30 amp fuse was needed to send power to the box under the dash that the brake controller plugs into. There is a 30 amp fuse.

 

Any help trying to figure this riddle out is appreciated.

 

Thank you.

[RyanbabZ71]

Z/85 is the suspension pkg

 

Look for Z82 as this is the trailing pkg

 

An orange light shoulld show up on the dash. Maybe it is burnt out?

[white1500]

Maybe the button isn't working, not a big deal at all. Just shift on your own and keep it in a lower gear when possible.

 

Also, check which gearing you have. This is very important.

[bruce69camaro]

I've been reading up on this issue with connecting a brake controller and if the plug was already on the truck, should I be able to just install a 40amp fuse in the number 1 spot in the fuse panel under the hood, and connect the controller harness to the fuse block under the dash and be ready to go?

 

Is there a code for what gears were available in 2000?

 

Thanks

[RyanbabZ71]

http://www.gm-trucks.com/rpo-code-lookup/

 

G80 Locking Rear Differential

GT4 = 3.73

GT5 = 4.10

[esox07]

To find the gears that came with your truck from the factory, you can run your VIN here.

http://chevroletforum.com/forum/vindecoder.php?vin=1GCRKSE74DZ352793

When the page opens, click on the "EQUIPMENT" tab and on the first line under "Mechanical & Powertrain", you should see what gear ratio your truck came with from the factory....you decide if they are original gears though as they could have been replaced if you haven't been the sole owner.

[bruce69camaro]

I got the GT4 3.73's....

 

Thank you

[intheburbs]

On my '01, I have Z82, which is listed as

TRAILER PROVISIONS, SPECIAL EQUIPMENT, HD

 

 

Regards to the fuse, for power to the trailer plug and a brake controller, you'll need the 40-amp oversized fuse installed in your load center, circled here in the picture below.

[efritz]

In regards to the light not lighting up, often times on those years the wire inside the column breaks and then the system no longer works. It breaks right where the shifter pivots inside the column.

[nht mike]

If you look at the tag on your factory hitch is should say "load carring 5000lbs, load distributing 10,500lbs". At least mine says that! No matter what hitch you put on your truck those numbers will stay the same. I would watch Craigs List and yards sales for an Ezee Lift type hitch (weight distributing), suck the bars up so you have some weight on the steer axle, and go for it!

 

An easy way to set your weight distributing hitch is to use a "story pole". Park you truck on level ground, take a stick and mark the height of your air dam or something up front. Hitch up the trailer, and use your reference mark on the stick to make sure your front end is the same height or lower. This way you will know you haven't removed and weight from your steer axle.

[bruce69camaro]

I'm a little confused right now.

 

Intheburbs posted an image and he circled the IGN A location, which I'm taking that this is the location for the fuse that supplies the power to the plug and controller.

 

Everything that I have been reading states that I need a 40a fuse in the Stud #1 location, which in his image would be where the 30a fuse to the left of the circle is.

 

I do have a fuse in the IGN A location but I do not have power back to the plug.

 

Should I try putting a fuse in the Stud #1 location to see if I get any power?

[intheburbs]

Ok, now I'm confused, too. This was 8 years ago, so my memory isn't the greatest.

 

I remember that there was a pigtail that plugs into the load center in the driver's footwell that is the wiring for the brake controller. Attached to that pigtail was one of the oversized fuses. I could've sworn it was the orange 40-amp (I made that pic with the circled fuse back in '06, too), but looking at the owner's manual, stud1 and stud2 (the two green 30a fuses at either end) are the two fuses for feeding the trailer and trailer brakes. Once I stuck in that fuse, the trailer plug had power.

 

So, I guess the bottom line is plug in fuses so that it looks like my pic, and you'll have power at the plug and for the trailer brakes. The only empty slot in that row of fuses is for the California emission system.

[bruce69camaro]

Thanks for the reply Intheburbs, Didn't want to confuse you either....sorry for that.

 

I took notice to that 30a fuse and wondered if that was the fuse we were all talking about?

 

Everything is happening too fast, starting in April, here in PA, title fee's are doubling and the trailer place told me if you order one before then, you can get the current title price, so now it hit me, I can't pick up a trailer without a brake controller and lights, so I need to get this done fast.

 

My only other question would be, once this fuse is in the Stud #1 location, will I have power and the load center, under the dash or do I need to add that wiring?

 

I would hope that when they wired the truck, this was thought of, but you never know???

 

Thanks again.

[woodm]

I am working on this same project on my 2000 GMC 1500 4x4. My truck has a manual transmission, therefore I do not have any "tow mode", however, the electrical connections for towing should be the same (assuming that we both have the factory trailer towing package).

 

I found that there are 3 basic steps to this project:

 

1. Install the trailer brake controller. A brake controller "pigtail" assembly, specific to the 1999 - 2002 model years of GM pickups, is available and should include instructions. One end of the pigtail plugs directly into the junction box under the instrument panel to the left of the steering column. The opposite end plugs into the brake controller (or plug attached to same). Mount the brake controller assembly in a location convenient to you.

 

2. Connect the brake controller to 12V power. I refer to this as "input" power This requires a connection to be made at the fuse/circuit box located in the engine compartment (driver's side, inner fender). Remove the top lid from the fuse/circuit box, then remove the lower plastic shroud surrounding the fuse/circuit box. This will give you access to 2 studs, one to the left of the row of large fuses, and one to the right. Search the area to the right of the fuse/circuit box for an unattached red wire with a round metal terminal connector attached...this is the power feed for the brake controller. Connect this red wire to the stud found to the right of the row of large fuses (obtain an 8mm nut to connect the terminal to the stud). The fuse located at the far right of the row of large fuses powers the stud on the right side. Install a 30 amp fuse into the fuse/circuit box at this location if same does not already exist. Once this step is complete there should be power to the brake controller unit mounted in the cab.

 

3. Connect the brake controller to the 7-pin connector at the rear of the truck. I refer to this as "output" power. Search the area to the right of the fuse/circuit box again. This time, you are looking for an unattached blue wire with a plastic electrical connector attached...this is the power output from the brake controller and must be connected to the appropriate location on the 7-pin connector at the rear of the truck. My GM dealer parts expert advises that there should already be an unattached blue wire within the existing wiring harness that runs along the frame to the rear of the truck. However, I could not locate same so I have installed a new separate wire and made the necessary connections to the blue wire in the engine compartment and to the 7-pin connector at the rear of the truck.

 

I hope this is helpful to you and that I have not further confused the issue.

 

 

Note: It is my understanding that the one remaining stud located to the left end of the row of large fuses in the fuse/circuit box can be used to provide additional constant fused 12V power for other purposes (such as an interior light in a truck cap or to charge a battery in an RV trailer or slide-in camper). A large 40 amp fuse is recommended in the left-most location in the row of large fuses if this stud is utilized for auxiliary power.

[intheburbs]

Woodm, I think you're making it a little more complicated than it is.

 

The pigtail is all the connection you need for your brake controller. As you said, there's a plug on one end of the pigtail, and loose wires on the other end. The loose wires will be connected to your brake controller. I have a Tekonsha Prodigy, and the instructions with the brake controller (and some internet searching) were all I needed to do the work myself. Once the brake controller is wired to the pigtail, plug it into the plug in the driver's footwell, and you're good to go. Steps 2 and 3 you list above are not necessary. The controller will have power, and be connected to the 7-pin plug through the pigtail.

 

Even without a trailer, I knew I had it wired correctly because the two red dots came on in the display of the Prodigy the first time I hit the brakes.

 

There are four wires, IIRC - Blue (trailer brake feed), black (battery +), red (brake light trigger), white (ground).

 

ETA: Here's a really good write-up on Pirate 4X4: CLICK HERE