I have the prodigy and love it. Run the ground wire out to the battery...it works a lot better.

 

Haulin, "The Protegy is the best of the surge units"

My wife has one of those fancy surge units by Pfaff on her sewing table. My neighbor has one of those hydraulic surge units on his boat trailer. The Prodigy has an electronic chip which interprets changes in motion, not mechanical devices like the old Voyager with a swinging pendulum and light.

Mine has been very reliable for nearly 20,000 miles to date.

 

Ok, I'll rephrase it... "The Protegy is the best of the electronic computer controlled surge units"

Thought Pfaff went out of business. But then I don't sew much.. I have about 200,000 miles on electric brakes on this truck alone, roughly about half and half between the Protegy and the Jordan. Want to buy a used Protegy?

 

If you insist on using the term surge for describing brake controllers then Webster Dictionary would apply to all controllers used for electric brakes. "Surge - a transient sudden rise of current in an electrical circuit." That would include the Jordan Controller as well.

 

 

I love my Prodigy with two exceptions:

1) when using it manually it does not turn on the trailer brake lights.

2) when using it manually it should override the max power setting to allow full braking to the trailer, and it does not.

My old Kelsey had these two features, and I miss them. Otherwise I do enjoy the Prodigy.

Also, Kelsey used to make a unit which had a remote button to attach to your gearshift for manual braking, much like an exhaust brake ****, always within quick reach. This seemed like the best idea yet.

 

If you're serious and it's in good shape and works I might be interested. I'm in the market for one. Don't have a clue what a new one costs yet, but I'm open to used unless there is something wrong with it. PM me.

 

I went from a Brake Mate that I had on my '96 CTD to the Prodigy now on my '04, and I have to tell ya it is a vast improvement. But thats what I was trying to do. Anyway, very smooth and easy to use. Also if you get matching cable it's about a 10 minute install.

 

Don't care whether you like it or not. But if you want one, Amazon Auctions has a few left for $82.99 + $7 shipping. I just picked one up a minute ago.

http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/...883112-9741733

The guy was selling them for $78.99 but it looks like he wants more now.

 

Sorry Bob, I went the other way, from Jordan to Prodigy, and I'm liking it!

I had a Jordan Ultima in my 99, and I did like it. On my 04 I installed a Prodigy. It was alot easier to install than the Jordan. You can buy a wiring harness for the Prodigy that plugs right into your blue brake connector on your truck. (if you truck has the tow package) Made it really easy. The Jordan was difficult to get setup properly, and then I found my foot (size #15) hitting the bracket that mounts to the brake peddle. Then when not in use I would disconnect the cable to prevent wear and tear on the cable. With the Prodigy I don't have to worry about any of those things.

As far a performance difference, the Jordan worked well, however, I feel that the Prodigy is easier to adjust and also with the boost modes, stops my travel trailer better.

With the Jordan, I found it hard to get my trailer brakes to lock up while going though the setup process, had to set the Jordan as high as it would go to accomplish this. The Prodigy on the other hand still has 1/2 turn of the **** for more braking power to be added.

 

Sorry, I don't agree with you. See my previous post.

I went from Jordan to Prodigy, and I'm liking it! It's performance is every bit as good as the Jordans!

 

Big Bob,

How is Post Falls, ID?
Lived there when I was "knee-high to a grasshopper" back before the Sand Point Forest Fire swept down to the Spirit Lake Mill Pond. That was when going to Spokane was an all day excursion.

Love my Prodigy.

 

Cooooolllllllldddddddd! Sunday night it was about 25 below, with a high of about 1 degree, last night it was 15 below and todays high was about 7 degrees! And it's snowing, suppose to get about 8 to 10" by tomorrow night!

Post Falls is growing like crazy. It's one of the fastest growing cities in Idaho! You would not recognize it.

 

How exactly does the Prodigy work? From what I can gather, it seems to somehow sense deceleration in the truck and then applies power to the brakes accordingly. Does this mean if you let off of the gas pedal the brakes are going to apply? What if you're backing up? Wouldn't it think that was deceleration and apply the brakes?? Anybody care to clarify?

 

Hoss,

Prodigy senses deceleration but also must sense the brake light switch has current. This means the trucks brake pedal has been depressed about 1/4 inch by your foot. This means the trailer brakes will be applied slightly before the truck brakes. The " "boost feature" is a setting is to allow you to set amount of initial braking on the trailer brakes.

Sierra Phil