Trailer Wiring Info (Pics)

cohocarl · Post by **cohocarl** » Sun Oct 13, 2002 10:41 am

I got around to wiring up the Vibe for a trailer. Since the Vibe has a seperate bulb for it's turn signals, a taillight converter is required. I went down to AutoZone and picked up a "Hoppy" TailLight Converter #48845 for $11.99. First take off the tail light access covers inside the rear compartment, tilt up the floor panel (there's a hook under the bottom of the floor that I hooked up on the rim of the tailgate to keep it up out of the way), then remove the black plastic tray that's over the spare tire by unscrewing the cap in the center of the spare.Below is a breakdown of the wires I spliced into:On the left side, I spliced into the left turn signal, brake, and tail/running lights. On the right side, I spliced into the right turn, and ground. The wires coming off of the adapter weren't long enough to reach both sides, so I ran the right turn and ground lead over to the left side with an old extension cord that I cut the ends off. Below is a picture of the adapter mounted inside the spare tire well, to the left. It has a self stick back, and I mounted far enough in so the black plastic tray wouldn't hit it. Below are pictures of the wires that need to be spliced into:The adapter has 3 output wires that you solder up to the wire harness. (ground lead doesn't go through the adapter, just straight to the harness) I didn't splice into any of the ground wires, but I soldered on a connector and fastened it under one of the 10mm nuts that holds the tail light lens in. I had to sand off the paint under the nut to get a good ground. After taping up all the soldering (some wire harnesses come with those blue squeeze on wire tapping things, but I hate them and just carefully removed about 1/4 inch of insulation off the wires, twisted them together and soldered them on) I ran the harness up through the handle hole in the black plastic tray, and the excess lays in the spare tire well. I hooked up the trailer and everything works!!!See Ya,Carl

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Frosty · Post by **Frosty** » Sun May 18, 2003 12:15 am

cohocarl:Nice post btw. I can't believe no else has commented since you initially created it!I am finally getting around to following your lead today, got my hitch installed myself in about 8 minutes after rebuffing offers from the trailer dealer to put it on for me for $60. People, it is too easy to let someone else do it.My question: Did you pass the trailer wires out of the trunk somewhere or do you just hang them out the hatch when you need them? Thanks!

cohocarl · Post by **cohocarl** » Sun May 18, 2003 1:53 am

quote:My question: Did you pass the trailer wires out of the trunk somewhere or do you just hang them out the hatch when you need them? Thanks!The above pic shows where it's stowed when not in use, but yes, I just lift up the lid, lay the wires out a couple inches away from the latch, then close the hatch. In fact, I just got done trailering up some 4X8 styrofoam up to my buddy's polebarn project. Thanks,Carl

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Sun May 18, 2003 5:18 am

quote:after rebuffing offers from the trailer dealer to put it on for me for $60. People, it is too easy to let someone else do it.don't the hitch nuts need to be tightened to specific ft/lb rating, like when installing a wheel?cohocarl: where'd you get the comic that's your avatar? I love it! it's killer!

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Sun May 18, 2003 8:31 am

Is it possible for one to do that w/o a torque wrench?

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Sun May 18, 2003 8:49 am

Oh, AZ rents tools? Coolness! Didn't know that. Just wish there was one nearby me.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Sun May 18, 2003 8:54 am

quote:Better than buying the tool, using it and then returning it (moral issues).VERY true! You don't even pay like a small fee for use or anything? You get a FULL refund?

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Sun May 18, 2003 8:57 am

Amazing! I love that! What a BRILLIANT idea!

cohocarl · Post by **cohocarl** » Sun May 18, 2003 9:02 am

quote:Is it possible for one to do that w/o a torque wrench? Yes, my instructions called for 92ft-lbs. You don't absolutely need a torque wrench. I didn't have one till a few years ago. 92ft-lbs is rather tight.

cohocarl · Post by **cohocarl** » Sun May 18, 2003 9:06 am

quote:cohocarl: where'd you get the comic that's your avatarIt's an image from a T-shirt web page. I haven't changed it lately....I may put up a new one

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Sun May 18, 2003 9:40 am

I love it dude! It's the greatest!

Mr. Poopypants · Post by **Mr. Poopypants** » Wed May 05, 2004 1:09 am

The trailer wiring was pretty easy. If you follow the directions on the package, it goes rather smoothly, but very nice post for those who are not as inclined as some.

johnsoax · Post by **johnsoax** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 9:42 am

I used your walk-thru as a guide and even checking all wires myself with a test light, it still only took me 25 min to install. Luckily, my hidden Hitch brand wiring harness had the right turn signal lead about 4 feet long, so I didn't have to add any wire.

simon · Post by **simon** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 9:59 pm

If anyone buys a hitch and finds the 12mm bolts don't fit their car, my Vibe had 7/16" fine thread nuts welded in instead. I used grade 8, 7/16" bolts with the cup washers that came with the hitch.Thanks for the wiring advice, once you know which wires are which the whole job becomes much more straight forward.

cindi2 · Post by **cindi2** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 10:08 pm

Ok, I'm a little dumb about this stuff, so help me out here. Is it ok to use a trailer (like 2 place w/ snowmobiles) and pull with a base 4 cyl. automatic??

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 10:17 pm

sure, as long as the trailer is under the towing limits for the car. I don't rememberr what they are, they are listed in the owners manual, I think there is a section on towing in there. usually there are two main considerations - trailer weight and tongue weight. Trailer weight is the overall weight of the trailer, including whatever is loaded on to it. Tongue weight is how much weight is applied directly to the trailer hitch, a measure of the downward force on the hitch. Sometimes you can adjust tongue weight by rebalancing the load in the trailer.As long as you keep under the ratings for the car (and also for the trailer hitch) then the car can handle it. You'll get some perfromance loss pulling a heavy trailer with a little 4 cylinder engine of course. Also, lots of towing means more frequent maintenance.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Sun Dec 05, 2004 5:27 am

Trailer capacity, IIRC, is 1500 lbs...Not knowing the weight of a snowmobile, but suspecting they're heavy, I'd venture to say you're pushing it towing those...Most trailers weigh in at around 600-700 lbs, so you've only got about 800 lbs left to play with...

Jahntassa · Post by **Jahntassa** » Sun Dec 05, 2004 9:17 am

Eh. I did a Uhaul 4'x8' trailer with the Hidden Hitch filled with all kinds of crap. Computers, speakers, mostly semi-heavy stuff. Only lowered the back of the Vibe by about an inch or two. Went from Jersey to GA like that. Ran like a champ!

BMWR80RT · Post by **BMWR80RT** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 3:31 am

Thanks so much for the help with the pics. I could of got my VOM out and checked the wires myself, but the illustrations were so much easier. Also, like you, I don't trust those blue clamp thinks. Anything but solder is temporary. Thanks again,Steve

cohocarl · Post by **cohocarl** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 5:52 am

Quote, originally posted by BMWR80RT Â»Thanks again,SteveNo problem. Glad it helped.

Stang2Vibe · Post by **Stang2Vibe** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 10:05 am

Is there a way to do this without splicing? I've noticed "T" adapters for some other vehicles in the parts store. You just disconnect the wiring harness thats already in the back by the taillights, plug them into either end of the "T", and then plug the vehicle end of the trailer wiring harness into the third interface on the "T".I just renewed all my boating registration stuff for my jet ski and ordered a hidden hitch from etrailer and all that's left is wiring up for the trailer. The jet ski trailer has a 4 X 1 plug just like the ones in the photos above. I see that I'll need a converter and a wiring harness, but is there a way to get some kind of kit that is made for the Vibe so that splicing isn't needed?

cohocarl · Post by **cohocarl** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 10:55 am

Quote, originally posted by Stang2Vibe Â» is there a way to get some kind of kit that is made for the Vibe so that splicing isn't needed?Not that I've seen.

Stang2Vibe · Post by **Stang2Vibe** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 11:41 am

Rats. Ok. Well thanks cohocarl. Your walkthrough of the wiring should be more than enough for me to wire this on my own. Now I have to find my soldering iron and some solder.

cohocarl · Post by **cohocarl** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 11:55 am

Unless they GM/Toyota added a connector to the wiring harness on the Vibe since my 03, but I don't think they did.I think the only vehicles I've seen them on are trucks and vans. Would be nice if they made one though. There's not a bunch of room in there where you need to splice into the tail light wires, but it wasn't too bad. You can buy those blue plastic crimp on wire tap thingies that many people use and say they have no problems with them which would make it easier, but I personally don't like them.

Stang2Vibe · Post by **Stang2Vibe** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 10:28 am

The hitch from etrailer.com arrived last night and I put it on today after work. I needed an air impact wrench to put the 4 bolts in the rear subframe after starting them by hand because the threads in the subframe started to rust. The bolts are a fine thread and a real tight fit. I had to spray some penetrating oil in the holes and let it soak in before I could even get them to start by hand. The passenger side was pretty easy but the exhaust got in the way a bit on the driver's side. There was enough flex in the rubber exhaust hangers that I could muscle the exhaust to the side a bit and force the impact wrench into place to use it. This would have taken me 15 min at most if I would have installed the hitch when the Vibe was new and there was no rust in the threads. But I used the torque wrench to make sure the bolts were tight and everything is good to go now.As for the wiring harness connector, I've only found them for trucks/SUV's too. I was thinking about this some more and I realized that it wouldn't work anyway since the Vibe requires a wiring converter. Incidentally, my Vibe is an '03 model as well.After installing the hitch, I stopped at a nearby U-Haul and got the wiring converter with the harness. It cost about $18 total with tax and came with those blue plastic crimp on thingies you mentioned. I've used them before on other things and they worked out well for me. They're nice because you don't have to splice the car's wiring, you just clamp those clips on and presto---instant connection.I'm going to print out your wiring walkthrough and finish the wiring now. I tested the battery on the jet ski and it's dead so I had to stop at Pep Boys for a new one. I had to fill the battery with acid myself (that's how these batteries come) and tomorrow I'll have to take it with me to work to charge it up on the trickle charger. I'll tell ya, this boating preperation stuff can be a royal pain in the (removed). I get to experience the joy of removing and installing the battery again tomorrow. You have to take half the internal stuff out of the hull of the jet ski just to get to the battery. Then the clamps and bolts and things you take off usually fall down into the grooves in the bottom of the hull and roll under the motor making them nearly impossible to retrieve. I have to pick up the tongue of the trailer and shake the boat around hoping they will roll back out to somewhere I can find them. The inside of the hull is rough fiberglass so it just eats you alive if you run your hands/arms around inside there. Maybe I should buy some more Neosporin before I attempt this tomorrow.Note to anyone who wishes to own a jet ski/waverunner: unless you're mechanically inclined and don't mind periodic self-mutilation, it's gonna cost you big bucks to maintain one. These are not like cars where you just turn the key and go whenever you want to. Every time it is used, it requires some kind of maintenance before you put it away at the end of the day. That's just for regular use, not because anything broke.

Stang2Vibe · Post by **Stang2Vibe** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 10:47 am

For anyone who is wondering what PWC I have, it is a 2002 Sea Doo GTX RFI. 3 passenger, 110 HP, 2 cylinder 2 stroke Rotax 782cc. Direct oil and fuel injection so no mixing is required. Manufacturer claims 0-40 MPH time of 2.9 seconds and top speed of 72 MPH under perfect water conditions. I've only had it up to about 55 MPH and it was scary as hell . It only has a total of 4 hours on it so far, so she's not even totally broken in yet.Here are a few pics of it (pics are not of my boat, but of the same year, model, and color).and here's one for sale somewhere in England:and the control panel area:last one of one for sale in Texas:Maybe I can get some pics of mine hooked up to my Vibe and post them later.

stalinb12 · Post by **stalinb12** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 10:46 pm

Got my hitch and went to install it yesterday. Had some trouble getting a couple of the bolts into the holes. I did get 5 of the 6 in, I think I screwed up the treads on one bolt and need to buy a new one somewhere. I also smashed one of my fingers working on the drivers side when the socket came loose and I bashed my hand against the undercarriage. Now its all bruised, should be fun working on the wiring today. Of course I stupidly didn't order the drop bar with the hitch so now I can't find one that fits right. Best to just order all the stuff together from Etrailer and save time.

pacerman · Post by **pacerman** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 1:53 pm

My 05 Vibe had 12MM x1.25 bolts.......odd........and torque was 65 ft lbs as per the Toyota instructions, yup I got a deal on a complete Matrix hitch, fit my AWD perfect, There was a lot of undercoating junk in the threads so I ran a tap through them first, never seized the bolts and torqued to 65 ft lbs.

pacerman · Post by **pacerman** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 2:02 pm

Great photos,!!I ran my plug under the spare tire and out one of the rubber grommets, just personal preference.I sliced the center of the grommet and squeezed the 4 plug through it.

gary1212 · Post by **gary1212** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 10:44 am

Ive followed your instructions and have just one question. Where do I attach the white ground wire from the converter? Should it be attached to the Ground wire that is shown coming out of the light assembly on the left rear tail light or it it simply supposed to grounded to the car body. Your instructions seem to iNdicate it should be grounded to the white wire coming out of the light fixture on the left side of the car and also to the right side. Where have I gone wrong here ? Then please explain where the white wire goes that leaves the converter to the trailer side. Sorry to be so dense but this wiring stuff seems to "boggle" my old brain. Gary with a 2006 Vibe

tahoejeff · Post by **tahoejeff** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 7:16 am

i had a hitch installed on my '03 a few years back. i removed the hitch and wiring harness earlier this month to install on my '08 vibe, and i didn't see any kind of a converter. all of the wires were connected inside the panel access door near the passnger side tail light.i'd like to wire it into my new vibe rather than pay for it, but this converter talk has me worried. any advice?

RichD · Post by **RichD** » Wed May 07, 2008 10:54 am

Many thanks for the excelent pics for wiring. ( I don't understand why GM doesnt equip. all vehicles w/ a connector to simply plug into. After all, they make the Vibe ready to install the hitch). This simplified wiring job and gave some new ideas for routing the wires. In the past I always mounted a traditional connector under the car. It always corroded after a mid west winter or two. I followed your suggestion but cut the plastic exiting the rear hatch to lessen wear on wires.Also used the Hidden Hitch; fits perfect & easy to install.I've had trailers on every car I've owned for last 25 yr. The Vibe was the first I used to haul my motorcycle. For those looking for an inexpensive way to pull a ATV, go-cart or snow mobile check out your local Lowes. They have a 4' X 6' trailer w/ ramp and lites that is low to the ground, has 13 " tires and cost $550. It worked great to get myKaw. Concours out to Colorado & back. Still got 28 mpg too!

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djb383 · Post by **djb383** » Wed May 07, 2008 11:12 am

Here's a 4' X 8' ($230) from Harbor Freight that folds up out of the way and stands against the wall in the garage or storage shed.Click

RichD · Post by **RichD** » Wed May 07, 2008 11:29 am

Here my Lowes trailer modified for Concours 1000 motorcycle ; pulled by '05 Vibe 5spd.[IMG][/IMG]

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djb383 · Post by **djb383** » Wed May 07, 2008 12:16 pm

Wifey and I trailer our scooters on a Kendon folding trailer.Click

Kevin Miles · Post by **Kevin Miles** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:03 am

wow, thanks--pictures and text. I am wiring for a kayak trailer, and your blog vastly simplified the process for me.

Ragufromkzoo · Post by **Ragufromkzoo** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 10:28 pm

There is a wiring harness out there that will plug right into stock car wires. I am trying to sort out exactly which on. I received a Cequent harness(HH118458 4-Flat T-Connector) from http://www.hitchesonline.com, but I think it might be the wrong one, the wires are not matching up. I think the correct one should be one that I found at http://www.Drawtite-hitches.com/products/CT55057 that looks more like the plugs that are like the ones on my 2007 Vibe. Hope this helps.

bigbill25 · Post by **bigbill25** » Mon May 11, 2009 1:27 pm

Thanks for the write-up! I went to AutoZone to get the #48845 like you did. They had it, but right next to it, they had an even better option, the #48925:They have it at Amazon here. It has everything you need. The short wires for the left signal/light. A long wire for the right turn signal, and the 4-lead flat connector. All you need are four quick spice connectors (get the red ones) and you are done. The control box is small, and I just zip-tied it to a wire bundle right next to the left rear light.--Bill--Bill

roadkingron · Post by **roadkingron** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 4:20 am

carl, i am wanting to do this myself but i'm a bit of an idiot i guess. for the life of me, i don't see how the wires you added are attached to the adapter. it may be general knowledge to everyone but me that brown is the turn lights, green running and yellow brakes, or whatever the case may be, but i need the written explanation or a picture. can you, or anyone else, provide the info to me. roadkingron

Esteban · Post by **Esteban** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:52 pm

I just finished wiring the #48845 kit to my 2010 Vibe. The driver's side rear tailite access to mine, looks much different than yours in the post. It is very limited & a " RASCAL " to get to the wires. I wound up unplugging the light bulbs to gain what little access their was to the wires. Passenger side was easy. If you run the wires out of the spare tire well, be CAREFUL that the wiring doesn't touch the muffler's heat shield !!! ALSO, remember that the biggest problem with the wires on the trailer, will be the ground wires.

volusia65 · Post by **volusia65** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:33 am

Just Installed hitch that I bought from http://WWW.thehitchstore.com for less than $160 (included everything except wire harness), purchase harness and converter for less than $20 and followed your instructions here....wow! great post, saved me a bundle of money! everthing works just as you said!! Installed on 2009 Pontiac Vibe GT. Thank You so much for taking time out of your day to help others.

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volusia65 · Post by **volusia65** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:47 am

Roadkingron what are you installing it on?

roadkingron · Post by **roadkingron** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 1:21 am

its a 2003 Vibe, not the GT

toycar · Post by **toycar** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 10:10 pm

Hi all....hoping I can get a definitive answer and some help on the wiring harness for a 2010 (non-GT).Hitch seems straight forward enough....buy a Curt 12228, bolts, torque and done.The wiring harness seems a little iffy.....there are wiring kits...Curt #56035 $47.49.....but they seem to need seperate run to the battery. Has anyone installed one of these and if so, can you post a pic or describe where and how you ran the power?thanks....

Zig · Post by **Zig** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 10:08 pm

E Trailer Video of 2009 2010 Matrix/Vibe http://www.etrailer.com/tv-wir....aspx

delta426e · Post by **delta426e** » Sat Sep 26, 2009 1:56 am

Thanks, Zig, for posting the video link. I wired my Vibe for trailer towing this morning and the video was spot on. I have a 2010 Vibe (2.4L). I used a Curt-T connector (#56035). It took me about 90 minutes, but I was being careful and deliberate. About an hour of that was running the power line from the battery to the rear of the car--don't want to skimp on this step! I zip tied it to the brake lines and I'm happy with the result. The rest was very easy.I also attached the Curt hitch. Took no more than five minutes.

DoubleBaril · Post by **DoubleBaril** » Fri May 27, 2011 3:18 am

Just installed my wiring kit using this thread. Thanks to the OP!

Diane · Post by **Diane** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 2:07 pm

I watched a video on etrailer.com that showed a wiring harness being installed on a 2005 Vibe. It looked pretty easy so thought I'd attempt doing it myself. I went to a local hitch dealer and bought the hitch and wiring harness. When I got home and opened up the package for the wiring harness I noticed it looked a lot more complicated than the wiring shown on the video. I called the hitch dealer and he told me I had to connect a wire to my battery because if I didn't it would cause a drain on my cars system and mess up the car's computer. I didn't see that step in your demo. A friend told me if I connect a wire to the battery I will have problems with it draining my battery and will be jumping my car a lot. Can you offer me any advise? I don't know which way to go.

beemerphile1 · Post by **beemerphile1** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 3:55 am

Diane wrote:...he told me I had to connect a wire to my battery because if I didn't it would cause a drain on my cars system and mess up the car's computer. I didn't see that step in your demo. A friend told me if I connect a wire to the battery I will have problems with it draining my battery and will be jumping my car a lot. Can you offer me any advise? I don't know which way to go.

The statements I am about to make are true for the 2009-2010 Vibe and may not be true for earlier years. I am not familiar with the earlier years.

Some taillight converters use a power supply and some do not. Due to the Vibe having small gauge wiring it is necessary to use the powered converter. The Vibe wiring cannot handle the load from additional lights on a trailer. With the powered converter it only takes the signal from the factory wiring and doesn't apply any additional load.

Done correctly it will not cause any problems or drain your battery. Be sure that the power wire has a fuse near the connection point at the battery.

Because I wired mine to also charge the batteries of the trailer I use the power wire for double duty. I installed a continuous duty solenoid to cut the power any time the ignition is off. This isn't needed if you are only powering the taillight converter but it could be done for peace of mind.