Is a D1 prewired for a brake controller? I suspect not, but thought you guys could save me pouring through the electrical manual. I checked the Tekonsha web site and they don't list any rovers.

I am looking at a Primus IQ or Prodegy - not the rf one listed in the tech section - as I may need to tow a couple of different trailers.

 

I wired a Primus iQ into my D1 and it wasn't too hard to do. There are no LR specific instructions so you'll have to follow the "generic" setup. the stock Disco trailer harness is the standard 4-way pins, wired to some wonky round connector only people in the LR factory have ever bothered to use. I cut mine, routed out the side of the truck (there should be a round rubber plug somewhere under the trim by the pass taillight you can punch through) and under the bumper. Drilled a hole into the bumper to accept a 7-way round socket and started wiring from there.

Ran a "hot" wire straight from the batt, along the fender, across the cowl and through the firewall down by the pedals (again with one of those rubber plugs, I just found one with wires already going through and pulled the new one through).

On the battery use a self-resetting breaker (the Primus instructions will specify amperage) and make sure the wire is supported and protected against abrasion all along it's route. I failed to do this the first time around and the body sheet metal eventually rubbed the wire raw and shorted the battery directly to the bodywork.

I found a good ground on one of the bolts for the pedal cluster. Go get a few appropriately sized washers, smear them with dielectric grease and wrap the gnd wire around the bolt (counter clockwise so the bolt tightening grabs and tightened the wire around it) with the "washer sandwich" biting down into it.

Now you've got everything you need under the driver footwell - 12v off the battery, gnd to the chassis, and brake light signal.

The only other thing you need is the control wire from the controller back to the rear bumper. I just rounded along the door sill trim and carpet back to the rest of the trailer harness and wired appropriately.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the reply. I have wired a 4 pin adapter into the pigtail with the odd little LR round plug on it and have this through the floor grommet with the connector at the rear bumper. I bought a 6 pin round socket I plan to mount in the rear bumper with a 4 pin connector wired to it to plug into the adapter and a brake wire to run to a front-mounted controller.

I have a Tekonsha voyager controller in my Jeep tow vehicle which has worked OK and I considered buying one off eBay for the Disco, but reading the specs on the Primus and Prodegy controllers makes me think I should upgrade to one of these.

 

The Primus I had was great before it got stolen! The boost function and manual override really helped on long downhill stretches and overweight trailers.

I've been debating selling the trailer so have held off on ordering a replacement.