Help me with trailor wiring!!!!

[drakeguy22]

okay maybe im stupid but maybe im not, i bought a trailer wiring harness for my boat trailer. its got the white, yellow, green and brown wires on it. now i took the plug for the harness on my 99 expo under the drivers side taillight and cut it off to spice all the wires.... well i cant get anything to work. AT ALL. i can get the running lights but no blinker or i can get the blinker with no running lights. so i got really pissed and gave up. anyone that could shed some light on this situation it would be greatly appreciated

 

[97_Explorer_XLT]

My 97 has trailer lighting factory installed. Does your 99 have this behind the back bumper? You get the other end of it from NAPA or other parts stores, I paid $19 for it, just plugs right in to it:

 

[Joe Dirt]

I may have some of those harnesses in the garage if you need one. I grab them at the junkyard when I go...

Check behind your driver's side taillight too, I think the newer Ex's had that plug relocated there...

 

[97_Explorer_XLT]

Yeah, I don't think you have to splice any wires, should be something back there

 

[Joe Dirt]

unless the PO cut the harness off, my truck was like that when I got it, I think they forgot to unhook it once, and pulled it out when they unhooked the trailer and drove off. I just cut both sides of the harness on either side of the plug and re-spliced into it.

But yeah- there should be a plug either above the spare pinned to the truck as shown, or behind the taillight. Just pull the 2 top screws and pull the bottom out- it'll be tough and feel like you're breaking the taillight, but it has tough metal pins holding it into some retainers that you have to overcome. The plug should be behind there.

 

[97xlt4.0]

if it had the plug for the factory harness and that's the one that you cut, maybe check the fuse for the trailer wiring....should be listed in the owners manual. I know some older Fords used separate fuses for turn signals, running lights, etc.(Worked at U-Haul doing wiring for a while!!). From what you are saying, I would check your ground and make sure you have a good ground, too.

 

[drakeguy22]

thanks guys for the comments. i do have the plugs but i was trying to do it with what i had layin around in the garage... time to buck up and go get the harness huh. JoeDirt what do you want for one of those? my expo has the plugs on both sides....

 

[AtlantaBlue]

Quick Question about Trailer Wiring...

I have a '00 Exp 4x2 Limited, and the factory wiring (the original window sticker doesn't show the tow package) comes out facing directly down on the left side of the vehicle near the rear bumper. It has a red nipple on it right now, and I believe that is what I would need to use to hook up trailer wiring. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Also when I was under the truck looking for the tow wiring connection, I came across a hose with one end cut and the other end that has a white cap on it. It's about 18" long and is connected to the underside of the vehicle with a clip. It could be easily removed, and it doesn't go to anything. I'm wondering if it was for air shocks? I was a bit surprised to find a cut hose under my vehicle, but I know it doesn't go to the brakes or to the fuel supply, and it's too short to go any further than the rear shocks. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated as well...

Thanks!

 

[lugnuts55]

If you have a test light, have someone inside the vehicle to step on the brake and switch the lights while you are probing the terminals to see if the light works with the vehicle lights. If it does, you can tap into the harness for your trailer lights.
You can get an inexpensive test light at an auto supply store and once you have it, you will find opportunities to use it on other electrical issues.

 

[Duster Doug]

Hey all - I have a 2000 XLT with the below pictured pre-installed wiring harness by the rear bumper (passenger side) of the truck (immediately up and behind the rear passenger side bumper). But it was DOA for some reason.

We checked the wiring but nothing seemed to work. So much for using the $10 direct flat-4 plug-in wiring harness.
I was getting ready to give up and buy the $70 T-connector wiring harness to connect to the lights (plus the hassle to install) when by fluke I noticed another similair pre-installed round harness located behind the left rear bumper (driver side), and voila! it worked fine. Now I'm a happy camper

Moral of the story is besure you check BOTH sides of the rear bumber for the pre-installed wiring harness! My EX had both and the passenger side one did not work at all...

cheers