Trailer hitch wire harness

Hey guys just bought a hitch from u haul now the hard part the harness.Theres a harness out there that says you just plug it in to existing harness in taillights,they always make it seem easier on the net than in real life.They give directions how to do it but dont trust the manufacturer as far as honesty ease.Anybody ever do this or have a better suggestion BESIDES bring it to the dealer thanxs alot

I installed an OEM Honda harness and hitch. The hitch part is just iron. So if you want to do this correctly buy the Honda harness. It's a hard install, mostly under the dash, but you'll not have any electrical surges or problems.

Tom

Hey guys just bought a hitch from u haul now the hard part the harness.Theres a harness out there that says you just plug it in to existing harness in taillights,they always make it seem easier on the net than in real life.They give directions how to do it but dont trust the manufacturer as far as honesty ease.Anybody ever do this or have a better suggestion BESIDES bring it to the dealer thanxs alot

I had it done for me, but our friends at H and A have instructions for the wiring harness on there web site. Good Luck!

http://www.handa-accessories.com/ridgeline/hitch.pdf

Hey guys just bought a hitch from u haul now the hard part the harness.Theres a harness out there that says you just plug it in to existing harness in taillights,they always make it seem easier on the net than in real life.They give directions how to do it but dont trust the manufacturer as far as honesty ease.Anybody ever do this or have a better suggestion BESIDES bring it to the dealer thanxs alotHey godvrod, I installed a u-haul hitch on my RL, it was real easy. As far as the harness goes, I bought a t-connector from e=trailer, it is specifically made for the ridgeline, basically that's all you need to do is remove the taillights and unplug them, put the connector into the plug, it will only go one way replug the taillights and feed the wire thru by the bumper, very easy install and works great as long as you don't need a 7 point plug for trailer brakes, if you do need the trailer brakes go with a Honda harness.

Ditto what davedad said. T connector from e-trailers simple install, no cutting, works great.

I have heard horror stories regarding plugging into the taillight harnesses. I bought the Honda harness. It has a dedicated plug up in the driver's side rear quarter panel SPECIFICALLY for the trailer. I think this is a far superior installation and probably longer lasting. I wouldn't want to overload the taillight harness since they most likely were not designed to handle a trailer. No doubt though, the etrailer harness is attractive. You can check majestic honda in RI as they have low prices too. I have used them and H & A as well.

I wouldn't want to overload the taillight harness since they most likely were not designed to handle a trailer.
The Etrailer wiring harness does not use power from the taillight/brakelight circuits. If you look at the picture of the harness, it has it's own isolated power module. The connections to the RL taillight/brakes circuits are used only to trigger the power module for the trailer lights. I have a similar harness on my wife's RAV4.

IMHO, you are asking for trouble by not using the Honda OEM harness. Whatever damage does occur will not be covered by your Honda warranty.

Tom

I plan on installing the OEM hitch and harness myself. I know the instructions say to disconnect the battery cable before installing the relay, but if I wait a bit to install the relay, can I go ahead and install the hitch and harness without disconnecting the battery?

Would it short the VTM4 just hooking up the harness without installing the relay? :confused:

I wouldn't think just connecting the harness would be a problem. I won't be hooking any trailers to the hitch before I get the relay installed.