Trailer Wiring
#1
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Trailer Wiring
I did a bunch of searches but nothing was posted specifically about the wiring. For those of you that would post don't put a hitch on the TL, read the owners manual, blah blah please don't post.
For those of you that have wired your 05-07 TL for trailer lights please help me out. I have everything coming in this week and I need to be able to tow it all by next Friday. Thanks in advance.
For those of you that have wired your 05-07 TL for trailer lights please help me out. I have everything coming in this week and I need to be able to tow it all by next Friday. Thanks in advance.
#2
First of all, like you said, the TL is not designed to tow anything. Secondly in terms of wiring
Your best bet is going to be pulling wires from the Trunk
Off the top of my head wires are
Parking Light - Red/Black
Brake Light - White/Black
(same on both sides)
Left turn signal - Red/Blue
Right turn signal - White
Your best bet is going to be pulling wires from the Trunk
Off the top of my head wires are
Parking Light - Red/Black
Brake Light - White/Black
(same on both sides)
Left turn signal - Red/Blue
Right turn signal - White
#3
on gen2 they provided a place for you to plug in to.
Located driver side of trunk by taillight housing
Gen3- got to use a 3m tap to add a wire to the lines- that might be a good place to look for access- left taillight
Located driver side of trunk by taillight housing
Gen3- got to use a 3m tap to add a wire to the lines- that might be a good place to look for access- left taillight
#4
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Secondly in terms of wiring
Your best bet is going to be pulling wires from the Trunk
Off the top of my head wires are
Parking Light - Red/Black
Brake Light - White/Black
(same on both sides)
Left turn signal - Red/Blue
Right turn signal - White
Your best bet is going to be pulling wires from the Trunk
Off the top of my head wires are
Parking Light - Red/Black
Brake Light - White/Black
(same on both sides)
Left turn signal - Red/Blue
Right turn signal - White
#5
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Thanks, I'll take a look tomorrow night. Do you have to run the wire from the battery on all installations? I'm only powering 2 trailer tail lights with 2 side marker lights, so probably 7amps or less.
#6
no- just tap into the wires with a 3M type tap of the right size for that wire diameter/guage example blue taps fit 14 guage wire-
You slip it over the solid wire and the new lead goes in the outer slot which has a closed end- clamp it shut with pliers and a metal piece goes thru both wires plastic cover and bites into the wire- connection made!
Wrap with electrical tape to be safe
The wires you need are all battery power-HOT when On/In use, and one of the wires is to Ground- so its all good
Use a 12volt test light to find what wire is what function- write it down!! and proceed to add the leads from the 4 pin trailer connector to the car wiring harness.
10 minute job
You slip it over the solid wire and the new lead goes in the outer slot which has a closed end- clamp it shut with pliers and a metal piece goes thru both wires plastic cover and bites into the wire- connection made!
Wrap with electrical tape to be safe
The wires you need are all battery power-HOT when On/In use, and one of the wires is to Ground- so its all good
Use a 12volt test light to find what wire is what function- write it down!! and proceed to add the leads from the 4 pin trailer connector to the car wiring harness.
10 minute job
#7
you might need to go up 1 step on fuse for the taillights- depending on what all is on that circuit
Pull the fuse for them and see what else stops working
You have to consider the ~total load~ on the circuit,,, when its `active`
Example with standard liability disclaimers:
The wire will handle a 15 amp fuse if it had 10 before- speaking only of this particular install job for low draw trailer light system.
Just had to do that on my bike- already had a higher power headlight bulb installed,, and with the addition of 2- 55 watt driving lights,,,10 amp fuse couldnt handle it
Maybe it was switching from low to high and the sudden jump in current demand??- but it popped the fuse
hi beam and the driving lights- are all hooked together now.
15 amp fuse on 14 guage wire- the actual useage/load/electrical current flow thru the wires doesnt even get the wire hot, so its fine.
My example is full time use, when the engine is running- the lights are on,,,
and you only need a few taillights,, that draw `full power` only when braking and signalling, not cruising
Pull the fuse for them and see what else stops working
You have to consider the ~total load~ on the circuit,,, when its `active`
Example with standard liability disclaimers:
The wire will handle a 15 amp fuse if it had 10 before- speaking only of this particular install job for low draw trailer light system.
Just had to do that on my bike- already had a higher power headlight bulb installed,, and with the addition of 2- 55 watt driving lights,,,10 amp fuse couldnt handle it
Maybe it was switching from low to high and the sudden jump in current demand??- but it popped the fuse
hi beam and the driving lights- are all hooked together now.
15 amp fuse on 14 guage wire- the actual useage/load/electrical current flow thru the wires doesnt even get the wire hot, so its fine.
My example is full time use, when the engine is running- the lights are on,,,
and you only need a few taillights,, that draw `full power` only when braking and signalling, not cruising
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#8
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Ok, so can someone that has actually put trailer lights on a 3rd gen TL respond. I appreciate the attempts at an answer, but they are just general trailer wiring info which I already know, this isn't my first rodeo.
#9
it's me, Alan Rickman.
#11
Chapter Leader (Southern Region)
I saw a NBP Type-S with a trailer hitch a couple months back.. I was like.. wtf? RBP (redneck black pearl) TL?.. lol. sorry. But the Type-S I saw had an aftermarket hitch.. all the hitches I've seen didn't have a wiring harness / connector on them meaning they were towing very light loads that were unobtrusive. I think that's your answer.. don't do it.. but it shouldn't be difficult to tap into the lines.
#12
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The hitch is very easy to find, three models alone on etrailer.com. I just needed a cheat sheet of where was the best place to tap into the tail lights and what wire was what so I didn't have to do the 12v tester routine. I'm towing 700lbs, probably 15 weekends a year, usually less than 30 miles each way unless I go to more Tours/Pros/Nationals.
#13
The hitch is very easy to find, three models alone on etrailer.com. I just needed a cheat sheet of where was the best place to tap into the tail lights and what wire was what so I didn't have to do the 12v tester routine. I'm towing 700lbs, probably 15 weekends a year, usually less than 30 miles each way unless I go to more Tours/Pros/Nationals.
And I doubt you will find anyone on here with a tow hitch
#14
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Dude, the only place to pull the connections is from within the trunk, I gave you the wire colors, pull the carpet on the sides back, and use the T-taps as talked about to get the power from them. When you close the trunk you wont crush or cut the wires. No other way, unless you wanna pull the Turn and Parking light wires from the front and sneak them all the way back, but your STILL going to have to get the brake lights from within inside the car.
And I doubt you will find anyone on here with a tow hitch
And I doubt you will find anyone on here with a tow hitch
#15
Chapter Leader (Southern Region)
I don't see the big problem taping into the lines.. but if you want something quick & easy with no fuss... here ya go..
#16
#17
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Thanks. I did order the 20251 with my hitch. I just got worried when I saw some people suggesting I might need to direct wire for extra power. The calcs I came up with say a max of about 7.3amps when I am running everything on the trailer lights. Thus why I was asking for people with experience on the TL itself to see if they were direct wiring for extra power.
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