Locating Brake Signal Wire

VibeToad · Post by **VibeToad** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 11:44 am

I recently purchased a 2005 Vibe (with optional ABS braking) that will be towed behind a motor home with all wheels down. This towing configuration requires an auxiliary braking system. The aux braking system uses a transmitter that sends a signal to a receiver in the motorhome so that the motorhome driver can monitor when the brakes are on in the towed Vibe. The transmitter taps into the "cold side of the brake signal wire" which is supposed to be located at the top of the brake pedal switch. There are several wires at the top of brake pedal switch. Can someone tell me which of these wires is the "cold side of the brake signal wire"?Thanks

Jahntassa · Post by **Jahntassa** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 11:59 am

Not sure what it means by the 'cold side of the brake signal wire'.. I know the Green/White wire is +12v that switches whenever the brake pedal is pressed. Anything more you'll have to wait around for someone with a service manual to detail the other wires for ya.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 12:12 pm

Quote, originally posted by Jahntassa Â»Anything more you'll have to wait around for someone with a service manual to detail the other wires for ya.I'm on it! Hang on...

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 12:17 pm

from a matrix, which should be the same.

Attached files 022sl.pdf (15.1 KB)

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 12:30 pm

This might help too:

VibeToad · Post by **VibeToad** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 12:38 pm

Thanks a lot. This is exactly what I was hoping to find out. Just have to make one more trip under the dash to make the connection.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 12:40 pm

As an aside, you sound like you know what you're up against...But just for the record, you should only tow a Vibe on the ground if it is equipped with a manual transmission (per the owner's manual). You should NEVER tow a car with all 4 wheels on the ground if it has an automatic transmission, and you should not tow a car with ANY wheels on the ground if it is equipped with AWD.

Jahntassa · Post by **Jahntassa** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 1:33 pm

Very true. Most cars you see being towed that are 4wd equipped are like Jeeps and such, which have a drivetrain neutral setting beyond the transmission neutral.AWD cars are much more of a pain, and generally need to be towed all four wheels up, no matter where it's going..

VibeToad · Post by **VibeToad** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 7:30 pm

Thanks again for the heads up on towing with all wheels down. The subject Vibe is manual transmission. Got that base covered. Anxious to get everything hooked up and out for a road test.

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 7:41 pm

Quote, originally posted by VibeToad Â»This towing configuration requires an auxiliary braking system. The aux braking system uses a transmitter that sends a signal to a receiver in the motorhome so that the motorhome driver can monitor when the brakes are on in the towed Vibe. Is someone going to be sitting in the driver's seat of the towed Vibe, occaisionally pressing the brake pedal or does the auxilliary braking system also have some way for the motorhome driver to remotely apply the brakes in the unoccupied Vibe?

VibeToad · Post by **VibeToad** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 10:17 pm

The aux braking system works in an unoccuppied vehicle. The unit is positioned on the driver's side floor wedged against the driver's seat with a plunger arm to the brake pedal. The unit is powered by the 12 outlet in the console which requires that the ignition be on during towing. The unit has an air compressor to provide force to the plunger arm. The unit also has an inertial sensor to detect vehicle deceleration which causes the plunger arm to be activated against the Vibe brake pedal. The sensitivity of the inertial sensor can be adjusted to correct for under or over braking. These systems also provide a brake away detection system that will detect if the vehicle detaches from the motohome in which case the braking system will automatically apply braking in the vehicle. These systems also provide the ability for the motorhome driver to monitor the braking in the vehicle to be ensure that appropriate braking action is taking place.There are numerous vendors of units like this. They all have the simple charm that they provide auxilliary braking for a towed vehicle with no requirement for modifications to the vehicle braking system. A typical web site for a system is http://www.aemfg.com/Brakes/apollo.html. In most cases an auxiliary braking system of some kind is required by state laws for vehicle being towed with all wheels down.

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 10:25 pm

I thought about this on the drive to work today and figured it had to be something like that. If you want, there is an easy mod to make the console 12V power be on all the time if for some reason you don't want to leave the ignition on. Probably does no harm on these cars, used to be bad for cars back in the days of distributor points and non-electronic ignition. Since your vibe has ABS and you're using the aux braking system, it's a good thing you are towing it with all wheels down. What you have to do now is take lots of pics of the setup so we can see how to do it, and then while you're out exploring the country take pics of the Vibe in all the great places you are going to visit with the rig.

Locating Brake Signal Wire

Locating Brake Signal Wire

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