[WesM]

I started installing the OEM tow wiring harness yesterday on my 2006 Ridgeline, and got everything under the dash and under the hood installed without a problem. I went to the left rear bumper, located the vehicle wiring harness tucked away, and cut the green tape and tried to pull it out.

It came out a little bit. I know I cleared what was held by the tape, and I reached up into the truck around the frame as far as I could and pulled as hard as I was comfortable pulling.

I was using both the factory Honda directions, and 1up5dwn's excellent pictorial how-to thread located here:http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65345. My OEM kit came with a zip tie that the factory directions say is to fasten the vehicle harness into a spot in the frame about 6 inches from the end of the wiring.

Well I might be lucky if I can SEE 6" of the vehicle harness, I don't even think the end of the harness reaches the frame hole, so I need to find 6 more inches of harness somewhere from up in the nether regions of my truck frame/under the bed. Has anyone else had this problem, and how did you fix it?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Elkhunter]

Pull harder.

 

[WesM]

Thanks I guess

 

[Carsmak]

He's not kidding, Pull harder, Otherwise take some pictures we can advise what is holding you up. I did mine like 8 years ago, so I don't have anything

 

[WesM]

I was pulling pretty hard, considering it felt like the wiring ran around bends up in the fender and I could be pulling it against a sharp sheetmetal corner cutting into the wiring or something.

It is usually my experience that when I am attempting something new and choose the "brute force" option to get past a roadblock, I do more damage than good and the whole thing gets a lot more expensive fast.

Like, what if I cut into the wiring somewhere farther up in the fender? Or what if I pull out the other end of the wiring, wherever it is attached?

Where is the rest of this slack supposed to come from? The directions only mentioned cutting the green tape that I could see.

 

[schwejo]

Perhaps old threads got lost from previous forum moves, but this was the subject of quite a few previous threads.

Been a long time for me as well as some of the others who replied, but had the same experience. Perhaps you can see up there with a mirror and probably better to do before the hitch is installed, but its taped up there real good.

I'm more careful than not, so I think I looked with a mirror, but eventually I just pulled until it broke free and I had about another foot of harness. I have to assume that you/we are pulling against a taped up loop in the harness and not a connector and as a bundle obviously would be very strong. Of course pulling against a sharp edge would be very bad, but I don't believe that's the case.

Makes sense to not brute force things so I think you are asking the right question, but we all found that it took more force than would seem obvious at first.


just an example that this topic is sprinkled through a bunch of threads and has been the sole topic of others though I'm not finding them now...

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=529961&postcount=9

 

[mike099]

Hello everyone. I have a 2007 RXT with hitch and the plug in thing next to the hitch. Is there anything that has to be hooked up etc. for towing on a 2007 RTX? I bought the RL second hand and not sure if it was used to tow a boat etc.

I told my wife that once I retire, I may buy a small fishing boat. I will have to find something to do when I retire or we will kill each other.:act010:

 

[Woodie]

Dittos on the retirement plan...and I don't even fish!

Before you start towing...
Make sure the electrics work (eg...check the lights). I know it seems pedantic, but I check them every time I pull out w/ a trailer.
If you're going to tow more than 3,000 pounds (? check the manual for the exact #), you should consider a brake controller/electric brakes for the trailer. The socket for the controller is underneath the dash, ready for whichever controller you choose.

 

[Carsmak]

Dittos on the retirement plan...and I don't even fish!

Before you start towing...
Make sure the electrics work (eg...check the lights). I know it seems pedantic, but I check them every time I pull out w/ a trailer.
If you're going to tow more than 3,000 pounds (? check the manual for the exact #), you should consider a brake controller/electric brakes for the trailer. The socket for the controller is underneath the dash, ready for whichever controller you choose.

RTX included the Wiring and Hitch see this post...
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1675089&postcount=16

 

[speedlever]

I started installing the OEM tow wiring harness yesterday on my 2006 Ridgeline, and got everything under the dash and under the hood installed without a problem. I went to the left rear bumper, located the vehicle wiring harness tucked away, and cut the green tape and tried to pull it out.

It came out a little bit. I know I cleared what was held by the tape, and I reached up into the truck around the frame as far as I could and pulled as hard as I was comfortable pulling.

I was using both the factory Honda directions, and 1up5dwn's excellent pictorial how-to thread located here:http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65345. My OEM kit came with a zip tie that the factory directions say is to fasten the vehicle harness into a spot in the frame about 6 inches from the end of the wiring.

Well I might be lucky if I can SEE 6" of the vehicle harness, I don't even think the end of the harness reaches the frame hole, so I need to find 6 more inches of harness somewhere from up in the nether regions of my truck frame/under the bed. Has anyone else had this problem, and how did you fix it?

Thanks for any help!

You should see about 6 inches of harness (145mm) past the attach point for the clip.

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=627259&postcount=41

 

[WesM]

Well I "pulled harder" tonight and this happened:

I hate it when I'm right.

I ended up splicing the cut wiring and soldering it, then wrapped it in electrical tape and splicing another piece of flex loom around the joint. What a pain.

But my Curt hitch arrived and I got it mounted. Hooked up the wiring to my trailer and it works. For now. I hope that wire splice doesn't short out in the rain, since it's directly behind the rear wheel spray.

Not sure I am satisfied with the location of the wiring plug, I may try to move it further back up under the hitch where it's not as exposed. But that's for another day.

I did end up relocating the rear muffler mount, since my exhaust pipe was touching the hitch after reconnecting the hangers in their original position.

 

[Elkhunter]

Mine came down with almost a foot of visible wire harness. And that's where posting a picture in your first post would have helped you (as Carsmak suggested). You said in your first post

Well I might be lucky if I can SEE 6" of the vehicle harness, I don't even think the end of the harness reaches the frame hole

There is more than 6" of harness showing in the picture above. And it clearly extends past the frame hole (since that's in the picture too). So either you got more harness to come down when you "pulled harder" or your original estimate of the available harness length was vastly under estimated. Either way a photo or a ruler would have helped you.

 

[WesM]

Mine came down with almost a foot of visible wire harness. And that's where posting a picture in your first post would have helped you (as Carsmak suggested). You said in your first post
There is more than 6" of harness showing in the picture above. And it clearly extends past the frame hole (since that's in the picture too). So either you got more harness to come down when you "pulled harder" or your original estimate of the available harness length was vastly under estimated. Either way a photo or a ruler would have helped you.

Yes, there is much more than 6" of harness showing in the pic now, after I pulled harder. Indeed, more of the wiring came out of the frame/trunk gap. But by pulling harder a sharp edge on the sheet metal somewhere cut through the flexloom and actually cut one of the wires in the harness in two. The brown wire with a white stripe. I was afraid it was rubbing against something in my earlier post. But my hands are too big to fit in the gap between the trunk and the frame so all I could do was pull, and I ended up doing some (repairable) damage to the vehicle wiring.

Hopefully all is well now though. The proof will be when I try to tow in the rain, when the tires are kicking up water all around the wiring.