[Fish]

So that panel comes out easy by pressing the tabs on the inside right.
I messed up drilling the hole in the blank because I wanted the dial to be up top. Oops. So I extended the hole down and flipped the switch upside down. Put that white dial thing over the hole to cover up my mistake a little.
connected the wires and wire tied to that black plug with the single brace. Wire tied the wound wires to one of those wire ties. Job wasn’t easy but took two hours and some change.
Note: make sure you have fresh wire ties and not old ones that break before you start. Yeah, I went there.

 

[Fish]

Now I’m gonna spend another two hours trying to find the instruction manual that I put somewhere “safe”. I’m an airhead.

 

[JimSubaru12]

I installed the Redarc TowPro Elite V3 (with the smaller knob) into the upper switch section and it is stable. The clear plastic holder that screws into the switch seems to be secure. Here is a video I created on how I installed it in my vehicle:

 

[xydadx3]

Of course this means I need to replace the plastic part, hopefully subaru doesn't kill me at the parts counter. And I need to cut my REDARC piece out of the piece I glued it into. I guess that why they make Dremels and safety glasses.

If you haven't already done so I believe this is the right part. Maybe a gofundme or something can help offset the cost

 

[NotThePainter]

Maybe a gofundme or something can help offset the cost

LOL, part already in hand. I just need to steel myself for using a dremel to cut out the redarc part from the existing part!

 

[Panars]

Thanks to everyone here for all the tips. I just finished installing mine and it went very well. I used the Redarc universal fascia and put it in the lower row of the panel buttons. I had to trim a bit off the top. On the back part of the fascia I trimmed off all but an upper portion of the sides. With all that removed, it was still a tight fit. But it feels snug now, and I don't think it is likely to loosen as pushing on the button just tightens the fit. It can't go into the panel. Using the Redarc supplied fascia seemed a lot less work than trying to customize the panel cover. When connecting the wires, I trimmed quite a bit off of both the Subaru supplied pigtail and the Redarc wiring harness. About 12 and 16 inches, respectively. I found the black box everyone was talking about securing the Redarc box to, and agree that it seems secure. The zipties were a bit of a challenge for me.

 

[Ted9876]

It's all installed!

I got the side piece and the white pieces easy enough. But I really couldn't get the 8 switch panel out easily. I could see the 4 side tabs, but I had a top tab also. Once that click it came out quickly.

It was also tricky to get the switch plug out. You don't push on those little triangular tabs like you would expect, you just slightly pry up on the part they clip into.

Then I had to nibble out the interior of my switch. This was pretty easy but it bulged out the plug. I didn't like that I couldn't firmly attach it.

View attachment 16339

Maybe you can see the bulge here, I'm not sure.

View attachment 16340

I went to dry fit in the car and I couldn't insert it! The bulge was preventing it. But, I inserted it empty into the slot and then the remote fit right in snugly.

It was just then a matter of physically mounting the box, electrically connecting everything, and the zip tying the wires out of the way and putting the trim pieces back.

View attachment 16341

Over all I'm 75% happy with it. You can turn the button and push the button. But the only physical connection is a ad hoc press fit. I can see a failure mode where when you go to press the button and it pushes into the dash.

I also don't like the rat's nest of wires under foot. Sure, I zip tied them all up, but it isn't elegant. I wish Subaru would offer a factory brake controller.

And thank everybody for the help! We get the trailer this Friday!

I'm a little late in reading this, but we had a similar issue with the knob falling off. The knob post wasn't sticking out far enough. From your second picture I see that you have the controller (whatever it is called) upside down from the way we installed it. Turning it 180 degrees lets you stick the knob further out. Also, we ended up removing the black casing around the control, it has tabs at back that you can gently pry open to release. Then you can shave off excess plastic. I think we shaved off enough to get the whole unit to fit within the blank. You have to be careful when shaving off the excess since i don't think you can replace that housing easily. Hope that helps.

 

[MnScamper]

Hey all,

I just recently installed the redarc tow pro elite into my 21 ascent.

I used the harness that came with my OEM hitch and used wire nuts to connect it to the universal harness that came with my redarc. Everything seems to check out, but this morning when we were about to hit the road, the redarc was blinking red for a while,and then turned green and was stuck on green the whole trip home. I couldn't get it into proportional mode at all (blue)

anyone have any thoughts on where to begin?

 

[Jim_in_PA]

How about using crimps to join the pigtails rather than wire nuts as a first step. You want a very positive connection there.

 

[MnScamper]

How about using crimps to join the pigtails rather than wire nuts as a first step. You want a very positive connection there.

I'll give that a whirl. Any recomenations on what sort of butt splices to use? I noticed that the wire on the harness that came with my OEM hitch are a smaller guage than the ones that came with the tow pro.

 

[nene503]

I'll give that a whirl. Any recomenations on what sort of butt splices to use? I noticed that the wire on the harness that came with my OEM hitch are a smaller guage than the ones that came with the tow pro.

Or use Wagos

 

[Teamsloan]

I just installed my Elite V2 controller last night. Turned the car on and zero light coming from the LED. If I push on it, it glows blue and then slowly fades off after I release the button. Redarc trouble shooting guide says it could be a bad connection to the trailer brakes. I thought unit would calibrate without being connected to a trailer so I'm a bit confused. I'm wondering if somethings up with my connections. Admittedly, I used some cheap butt splices. Never used Wagos, I'm assuming you're talking about the 221 in-line connectors?

 

[Firebug85]

I just installed my Elite V2 controller last night. Turned the car on and zero light coming from the LED. If I push on it, it glows blue and then slowly fades off after I release the button. Redarc trouble shooting guide says it could be a bad connection to the trailer brakes. I thought unit would calibrate without being connected to a trailer so I'm a bit confused. I'm wondering if somethings up with my connections. Admittedly, I used some cheap butt splices. Never used Wagos, I'm assuming you're talking about the 221 in-line connectors?

I had that happen to my unit as well. Thought it was defective as I too understood I would see flashing. I believe you have to be driving for it to calibrate. I went for a spin connected the trailer and everything worked out well. Went on our trip the next day and everything worked as it should. The best way to get the wires connected is with soldering them. I did see they make some connected with soldering in them already. I’ll post a link to them if I can find them again.

 

[Firebug85]

Here are photos of my setup. Had my nephew print out a blank to better fit the controller. Works great and looks good after painting black.

 

[Teamsloan]

View attachment 19805
Here are photos of my setup. Had my nephew print out a blank to better fit the controller. Works great and looks good after painting black.

Man, I really need to find someone with a 3D printer. That’s great!
I went ahead and ordered some Wago in-line connectors. I could solder them, but was making the connections in the footwell of the car. The Wagos aren’t crazy $, and looked easy.

 

[Firebug85]

You shouldn’t have to make a connection in the footwell. If I remember correctly our ascent hitch came with a pig tail that plugs into the connector in the footwell. That pig tale comes with ends you splice to the Redarc cables.

I’m considering getting a 3D printer myself.

 

[Teamsloan]

You shouldn’t have to make a connection in the footwell. If I remember correctly our ascent hitch came with a pig tail that plugs into the connector in the footwell.

you have to if you were foolish enough to install the box first with zip ties in a hard to reach spot with the wiring already plugged in…
…oops.

 

[Teamsloan]

Pro tip- make connection between the readarc wiring and the Subaru factory pigtail BEFORE installing the box above the knee airbag support.