Tips on installing Curt T-Connector Hitch Wiring Part#55057

[rmlmt]

Just finished installing the wiring for my hitch on my 04 Vibe. It went pretty smooth for the most part. I wanted to share some tips in case anyone was interested. I drilled a couple of holes using a Dremel tool to attach the controller in the side compartment. And to keep the hitch connector wiring stored neatly in the drivers side compartment when not in use, I used a Camera Flash Bag that I didn't need. You can see from the pics the way it turned out.When running the power wire under the car to the battery, I made a small hole in the grommet and ran the wire under the car. I used sections of 3/8 fire retardant wire conduit that I got from AutoZone as a precaution to protect the wire from the heat of the muffler and the engine near the battery. I used the hole in the frame to zip tie the wire away from the muffler. Below are a couple of pics so you can see. Hope this helps anyone looking to install a Hitch wiring system on their Vibe. After it was installed I checked the 4 pin that connects to the hitch with a voltage meter and found that it had voltage coming out even when car car ignition was off. I emailed Curts Tech info and they said, "This is normal. The 55057 is a powered converter that requires a 12v lead. This means that you have a constant 12v at the 4pin at all times. It is not however drawing any amperage that would drain your battery." This was the next response when I asked if I get a constant 12v at the 4pin does that mean that the trailer running lights will stay lit even if I'm parked and hooked up to a trailer with my car off, should I unhook the trailer to prevent my battery from draining? This was their reply, "To answer your question. No, your trailer lights will not be lit while in park, I assure you. Voltage is different than amperage. The converter does emit a small amount of amperage 4-7milliamps for the circuit protection feature. To put that into perspective, a triple A battery emits around 1200mA. The only chance for it to be drawing power is if a relay was stuck open in the converter, which does happen but rather rare. However, if the trailer you use has LED lights. They may be dimly lit because LED’s only require a few milliamps to emit light." Hope this info puts your concerns at ease if your unsure about hooking up a powered hitch t-connector wiring system to your vibe.

[rmlmt]

Well I finally got to test the new hitch system today. I took my scooter to the shop to get serviced and had no problems with the hitch or lighting, I'm very happy with it.

[rmlmt]

**Update** There was a problem with my hitch wiring... For some reason everything worked when attached to the hitch except the left blinker and left stop light.. I emailed Curt tech support to see if they can help me troubleshoot the problem. They immediately emailed me back and said the unit I have may be defective and to call them to have another shipped to me. When I called they were nice enough to mail me another one, no charge, even though the warranty expired a couple of months ago. I called Wednesday, and I received a new one Today(Saturday).. I was really impressed with there customer service. Well, I installed the new one with one slight modification. I installed a switch so that the controller is only powered when I need it. That way hopefully it will help make it last longer since I may only use it only a handful of times a year. It doesn't make sense to have it directly wired to my battery all the time when I'm not towing anything. My car blinkers and tail light still work if the controller is off. Here is a pic in case your interested in doing something similar

[jayman2009]

hmm ive never seen one that needed 12 volts all the time. mind ya i wallways use the uhaul 5-4 converters. never had a prob with the,. the one in my vibe now ive had for 10 years

[rmlmt]

The reason I got the powered controller is that it protects your vehicles sensitive wiring from too much amperage draw from the trailer lights, which could damage the electrical system on your Pontiac Vibe. Plus, in the past I had the bad luck one time of hooking up a U-haul Hitch with bad wiring that took out my headlight fuse right in the middle of driving on the Florida Turnpike at night with no back-up fuses and no Auto Parts stores near by. The fuse protected battery connection almost eliminates the power draw from your vehicle taillight wiring. That's what sold me on getting this type of wiring system when I decided to put a hitch on my Vibe.It probably doesn't matter anyway since most of the hitches I see have LED tail lights, which don't draw much amperage at all from your wiring. It's to late for me now, I'll see how this replacement they sent me holds up before I spend more money on another brand of hitch wiring.Glad to hear you've had no problems with your hitch wiring, I hope you never experience what I went through with hooking up your connector to a U-haul hitch with bad wiring the way I did... Not fun at all.

[jayman2009]

that sucks. and yes some of uhaul wireing jobs are hack jobs. I use to work there on weekends with a buddy of mine re wireing ones that dident work for about 2 months had to re wire about 150 of them. One thing you could also do for the power going to it is run a relay for the main power to only turn it on when the ignation is on