Installing a Mopar Trailer Brake Controller in a 2025 RAM 1500

[Jason2215]

If it’s plugged in, the trailer tow module can’t be off line because it uses the same power and communication lines as the other one.

There is one last thing you can ask them, which will trap them into unwittingly verifying that you don’t have any wiring missing- “Is the 2025 mopar trailer brake controller kit 82219240AA compatible with all 2025 Ram 1500’s that didn’t come equipped with one?”.

We did (through parts dept) and which I already knew from the e-parts website, confirm that my VIN was compatible with the kit #. In a not-so-great twist of fate, we have a Wrangler in there now for service after an oil cooler blew a leak in the cold. I'll try to have a conversation with someone other than the service rep, but I also made an appointment at another dealer in case. Last straw will be to figure out whichever dealership @Cbty2050 works for and take a weekend vacation lol.

 

[Cbty2050]

We did (through parts dept) and which I already knew from the e-parts website, confirm that my VIN was compatible with the kit #. In a not-so-great twist of fate, we have a Wrangler in there now for service after an oil cooler blew a leak in the cold. I'll try to have a conversation with someone other than the service rep, but I also made an appointment at another dealer in case. Last straw will be to figure out whichever dealership @Cbty2050 works for and take a weekend vacation lol.

Unfortunately I left the dealership, new owners killed the great family run dealership I spent 15 years at. But I know the people there still a d they 100% know what they are doing. If you are in Michigan, I know a few other places throughout the state that have good techs.

 

[sigiman]

You guys are a wealth of knowledge. About to attempt installing the two parts for the TBC but I am worried about what the dealer has to program. I went to the dealer and he said 0ne or two hours. At $225 an hour it's a big difference. My question is should this be completed in one hour and is there any alfa0bd ready for the 2025 so that I could do the update myself. Thanks

 

[Jason2215]

Unfortunately I left the dealership, new owners killed the great family run dealership I spent 15 years at. But I know the people there still a d they 100% know what they are doing. If you are in Michigan, I know a few other places throughout the state that have good techs.

Alright, TBC Wizards I am back from the frontlines of Mandal Automotive after talking to the tech that did the work. I showed him the photos of my connector, as well as the wires from the kit instructions that indicate those wires are present. He took a long look at them and was obviously trying hard to decipher if those were on the correct side of the plug, seeming confused. Then caved a bit and said maybe all the wires are there but just tied off somewhere. I showed him the picture of the short journey the wires had to travel to the next plug (from the kit instructions) and he agreed that they could take the seat back out and confirm the wires are in the correct places at each end but that he wasn't instructed to do that last time, just to put the two parts in, even though they'd told me it wouldn't work without the kit wiring. Another thought he had was "maybe the wires are there but need to be re-pinned" and I said I hadn't seen or heard anything regarding that, but we agreed he would be able to confirm placement of the wires by comparing with kit instructions.

He also said, "why would the kit supply these wires if the existing connectors already have them?" and I said I was sure there were different versions of the connector that did not contain these wires, but didn't have evidence in front of me.

I asked if he was sure everything was present that was needed behind the dash. He explained that what was back there was a "dummy" plug that the 4-pin connector is attached to until you replace the blank dash piece with the switch and then it goes active. And yes, that was present. I want to make sure with y'all that there's nothing else back there that he missed or that maybe I'M missing? Like I said, the switch lights up, there's power back there to something. But is there a secondary piece I should worry about? There's also some room for confusion here during the conversation, but y'all said there were TWO plugs behind the dash. Where do those two plugs....plug? I assume one directly to the new switch.

Last but not least, I asked about the module being "offline" because that's what he kept saying. We looked up the vehicle VIN on DealerConnect and confirmed the sales code XHC was present. He repeated that the vehicle would not proxy align because the module was offline or not correct for the wiring present, meaning on the module "tree" they see that module was "red" because it is showing something isn't right. Insisted it will not allow him to proxy align as is.

All that said, they are going to look at it again on Monday/Tuesday next week. Before I drop it back off, is there ANYTHING above that y'all think I can "assist" him with so that he gets this done right? lol. Is there anything behind the dash, another connector I'm not thinking of that I don't have, or that isn't plugged in, do those wires from that main harness need re-routing, are they ever partially taped off/not used, could my module be bad, would I know if it wasn't and it would be throwing multiple codes if bad (to somehow cross this off the list of issues)? Does it sound like he missed a step in the process or a step to complete the process he might have missed because he wasn't necessarily following the kit instructions? My current situation is blinking odometer and "service trailer brake" (something along those lines) on the message board when I start the vehicle.

 

[RamTruckMan]

Alright, TBC Wizards I am back from the frontlines of Mandal Automotive after talking to the tech that did the work. I showed him the photos of my connector, as well as the wires from the kit instructions that indicate those wires are present. He took a long look at them and was obviously trying hard to decipher if those were on the correct side of the plug, seeming confused. Then caved a bit and said maybe all the wires are there but just tied off somewhere. I showed him the picture of the short journey the wires had to travel to the next plug (from the kit instructions) and he agreed that they could take the seat back out and confirm the wires are in the correct places at each end but that he wasn't instructed to do that last time, just to put the two parts in, even though they'd told me it wouldn't work without the kit wiring. Another thought he had was "maybe the wires are there but need to be re-pinned" and I said I hadn't seen or heard anything regarding that, but we agreed he would be able to confirm placement of the wires by comparing with kit instructions.

He also said, "why would the kit supply these wires if the existing connectors already have them?" and I said I was sure there were different versions of the connector that did not contain these wires, but didn't have evidence in front of me.

I asked if he was sure everything was present that was needed behind the dash. He explained that what was back there was a "dummy" plug that the 4-pin connector is attached to until you replace the blank dash piece with the switch and then it goes active. And yes, that was present. I want to make sure with y'all that there's nothing else back there that he missed or that maybe I'M missing? Like I said, the switch lights up, there's power back there to something. But is there a secondary piece I should worry about? There's also some room for confusion here during the conversation, but y'all said there were TWO plugs behind the dash. Where do those two plugs....plug? I assume one directly to the new switch.

Last but not least, I asked about the module being "offline" because that's what he kept saying. We looked up the vehicle VIN on DealerConnect and confirmed the sales code XHC was present. He repeated that the vehicle would not proxy align because the module was offline or not correct for the wiring present, meaning on the module "tree" they see that module was "red" because it is showing something isn't right. Insisted it will not allow him to proxy align as is.

All that said, they are going to look at it again on Monday/Tuesday next week. Before I drop it back off, is there ANYTHING above that y'all think I can "assist" him with so that he gets this done right? lol. Is there anything behind the dash, another connector I'm not thinking of that I don't have, or that isn't plugged in, do those wires from that main harness need re-routing, are they ever partially taped off/not used, could my module be bad, would I know if it wasn't and it would be throwing multiple codes if bad (to somehow cross this off the list of issues)? Does it sound like he missed a step in the process or a step to complete the process he might have missed because he wasn't necessarily following the kit instructions? My current situation is blinking odometer and "service trailer brake" (something along those lines) on the message board when I start the vehicle.

the only thing that I can think of is a bum module or improper proxy alignment

 

[brobbins67]

There’s been a lot of problems with installing a Mopar TBC in 2025 RAM 1500s. Dealers (a lot of them) don’t know because their parts guys don’t have the right information. The 2025 has a new CAN bus architecture which makes previous years’ TBCs incompatible.

In the 2025, the TBC Module is behind the rear seats. Depending on how your truck was built you’ll have one of 2 options to install a Mopar TBC.

(EDIT: These data and part numbers are for 12” screens, There is currently no part for 14.4”)

OPTION 1: If you have a cable harness coming out of the existing TBC module with a tag saying PN: 68601443AA (the part number tag for the harness can be seen from under the rear seats), you only need part numbers:
68569520AB: TBC Module
68618899AA: Switch
And for the dealer to add the sales code to your VIN and perform a proxy alignment. You can also verify the correct cabling if you look behind the space where the switch will go (take off the faceplate for your infotainment) and verify that there are 2 connectors back there.

OPTION 2: If you don’t have the cable with PN: 68601443AA installed, you’ll need the full kit along with getting it added to your VIN.

The full kit is PN: 82219240aa, which is on back order (as of 12/20/24), includes the above 3 parts - cable, switch & module.

EXTRA Information:
The 2025 RAM 1500 has 3 different TBC modules available.
The standard one is just trailer lights.
The one above is lights and brakes.
The third is for trailer lights, brakes and TPMS (NOT included in this post).

My hope, is that this will provide comprehensive answers for anyone looking to add a Mopar TBC.

My Big Horn’s TBC was successfully added using the first option.

Thanks to @Cbty2050 for helping solidify this information.

Hi All - first post (First RAM in quite a few years, 2025 1500 Rebel)
Was glad to find this thread after installing a Curt in-line brake controller and discovering how big a pain this truck looks to be. Installed fine but the truck is seeing the controller as a trailer. Getting all kinds of messages about checking trailer connection when there is no trailer connected.
Seems the Mopar controller might be the way to go and worth the extra effort to have the integratation with the truck. Uisng the info in this thread, I was able to verify that the correct cable connector is plugged into the module, and I think, the two connectors are present behind the dash (Infotainment). I'm seeing some conflcting info suggesting that the two connectors are both 4 pin connectors. The connectors I found are 6 and 10 pins. AM I looking at the right connectors?

Thanks!

 

[Jason2215]

Quick post to follow up on my adventure. I'll annotate this in the other TBC thread as well since I sort of hijacked that one with my drama. I ended up taking the truck to a second dealer after the first did not seem open to continuing to try and proxy align after installing the TBC and switch (I already had the correct wires). The second dealership had no issues getting it to work and I received it back yesterday. I want to thank everyone here for their input!

 

[RamTruckMan]

Quick post to follow up on my adventure. I'll annotate this in the other TBC thread as well since I sort of hijacked that one with my drama. I ended up taking the truck to a second dealer after the first did not seem open to continuing to try and proxy align after installing the TBC and switch (I already had the correct wires). The second dealership had no issues getting it to work and I received it back yesterday. I want to thank everyone here for their input!

Unfortunately, this is often the case. People want to trust the service department attached to the sales department they used and can’t always. Glad you were able to get it done. So, in summary, if they’d used the option 1, without argument and properly aligned upon completion, you’d’ve had a TBC like 1.5 mo ago?

 

[Jason2215]

Unfortunately, this is often the case. People want to trust the service department attached to the sales department they used and can’t always. Glad you were able to get it done. So, in summary, if they’d used the option 1, without argument and properly aligned upon completion, you’d’ve had a TBC like 1.5 mo ago?

All signs point to yes. Not saying it didn’t error out for some reason but he obviously just shut it down and didn’t try. Unfortunate, but I won’t go back there.

 

[Honda533]

Someone made a point to ask whether ALFAOBD could be used on the 2025s to turn the module on vs go the dealer. I've done this on several earlier models with no issue. This info would be extremely helpful to many people who use ALFAOBD.

 

[RamTruckMan]

Someone made a point to ask whether ALFAOBD could be used on the 2025s to turn the module on vs go the dealer. I've done this on several earlier models with no issue. This info would be extremely helpful to many people who use ALFAOBD.

TL;DR: No.

W

Post in thread '2025 Ram 1500 Current Owners - Discussion, Feedback, and Problems'

Wednesday at 3:26 PM

Searched under a different RAM truck forum, found this post about the 2025's:
(begin copied post)
"2025’s use a different canbus architecture, and there are no canbus junction blocks like the kaodtech bypass plugs into. All of the modules are “daisy chained” together on several different “networks”, and they all go through the security gateway, which is now completely different. I’ve been messing with a new gateway on the bench for a while now, and it’s not going to be as easy as the older style gateway bypass cables.

Even after the gateway is bypassed, it’s not the same using alfaobd as...

• Willwork4truck

 

[Cbty2050]

The second dealership had no issues getting it to work and I received it back yesterday. I want to thank everyone here for their input!

Great stuff glad it is working, I still can not fathom how stupid some techs can be. That service manager needs to know how incompetent that tech is.

 

[Jason2215]

Great stuff glad it is working, I still can not fathom how stupid some techs can be. That service manager needs to know how incompetent that tech is.

I struggled with calling them to gloat, but I'll settle for just hoping one day he'll have an "aha" moment and remember me lol.

 

[Honda533]

well that sure sucks but hopefully someone comes out with something. It was really nice having that access to the Body Control Module and not having to depend on a dealer every time we add a feature ourselves. I just installed my controller in my 2025 Laramie, which by the way, engineers deserve a "Black Eye" for putting that module behind the seat. The addition of a TBC will likely be a common addition to many trucks since these nitwits seem to have no rhyme or reason as to which trucks get them. Really? a 2025 Laramie for $67K with lane assist, vented seats and all the other extras, but no TBC? Yes "Blacks Eyes" are in order for sure.

The only positive for me was that my wire harness already had the wires, but they sold me the whole kit, so that might be an argument.

 

[RamTruckMan]

well that sure sucks but hopefully someone comes out with something. It was really nice having that access to the Body Control Module and not having to depend on a dealer every time we add a feature ourselves. I just installed my controller in my 2025 Laramie, which by the way, engineers deserve a "Black Eye" for putting that module behind the seat. The addition of a TBC will likely be a common addition to many trucks since these nitwits seem to have no rhyme or reason as to which trucks get them. Really? a 2025 Laramie for $67K with lane assist, vented seats and all the other extras, but no TBC? Yes "Blacks Eyes" are in order for sure.

The only positive for me was that my wire harness already had the wires, but they sold me the whole kit, so that might be an argument.

@Honda533 Would you please use the Reply option if you’re referring to a response? It makes the thread easier to follow. Thanks!