Cold Side Of Stoplight Switch

First Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK 350

I’ve been trying to drive my 12-year-old sedan like a brand new roadster. I’ve been going really fast around corners, driving with all the windows open and the air conditioning cranked and trying to merge on to a busy highway as if the ancient vehicle had any guts.

The beater doesn’t like it at all. And I hate that my car doesn’t drive like the 2012 Mercedes SLK 350. Every car should be this fun to drive. And easy.

Not that it’s a bad thing. Let me give you some background. Many years ago, when I was young and athletic, I injured my left knee. It’s never been the same since. Whenever it’s cold (every winter) or humid (every summer), my left knee aches. Sometimes, I re-injure it – like I did recently when I tripped on a step – and it’s excruciatingly painful. To make matters worse, last month I broke a toe on my right foot. So walking has been difficult lately. Driving? Well, for a few days last month, I couldn’t put any pressure on my right foot, so driving was impossible. I still went to work, but I had to rely on the kindness of family members to get me there. When I tentatively got back behind the wheel of my beater, it was like driving a tank, so weak and fragile did I feel. But when I dragged my aching bones into the SLK 350, something amazing happened – suddenly, I was young and healthy again, flying along the highway, wind blowing my curls in the hot summer air.

Being a manumatic (no clutch), the third-generation SLK was easy on my left knee. And with 302 horsepower available from the 3.5-litre V6, my right foot did not need to floor it to reach hair-whipping speeds. The SLK goes from zero to 100 kilometres an hour in a mere 5.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 210 km/h.

The beauty of this car is that it can be driven many ways to suit not only the driver but her needs at the time. Feeling tired? Turn the switch in the centre console to E for Econo mode and take it easy. Feeling better? Switch to S for Sport mode. Want to shift faster? Put it in M for Manual and take control of the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

Stoplight switch wire for electric brake controller - Toyota Tundra ...

I've ordered a kit off etrailer.com (ETBC7) that will convert from 4 pin to 7. The only thing that looks like it could be tricky is hooking up the stoplight switch to the brake controller. I can see the stoplight switch up above the brake pedal, but not sure how I'd get to the wires coming out of it to test which one is the correct one, and tap into it. I found a set of installation instructions for the trailer wiring harness on a 2008 Highlander ( howtopdf.com | ), and it shows a converter being installed under the dash, and one of the wires leading to it is the one I need from the stoplight switch. Not sure if the 2008 wiring is the same or close to that for a 2007 model, at first glance I don't see a connector that looks like the one in the 2008 install instructions, but will try and cram my head under there and take a closer look. So I did some more digging around and after reading some other posts, it sounds like the towing converter is in the rear for a 2007 Highlander. I pulled out the tool compartment on the drivers side and found a black box with a multi-pin plug but have not found a wire that appears to be the brake / stoplight signal. There's a whole mess of connectors and wires back in this section, so I think I'm in the right area. Expect it would be less convenient to route another wire from the back to the front to signal the brake controller, but should be doable.

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