What Is Hitch Wiring and How Is It Installed?
Hitch wiring is necessary if you use your car or truck for towing. Hitch wiring helps connect your car’s electrical system to the trailer or camper you’re towing, ensuring that your lights, such as the brake and turn lights, function at the back of the trailer too.
But is hitch wiring necessary? If yes, how is it installed? This piece explains why you need to install hitch wiring on your vehicle, how to install it, and the necessary questions surrounding the installation.
What Is Hitch Wiring?
When you tow a trailer or camper with your car or truck, the trailer blocks the tail lights of your car. Hence, when you use your navigators or brake, the lights only illuminate on your vehicle’s taillight but not at the back of the trailer. This means vehicles coming behind the trailer cannot see your signals and are not notified of your intended actions, which is a potential cause of an accident. This is where hitch wiring comes in.
Hitch wiring ensures your vehicle’s signals are transmitted to the trailer. With hitch wiring, when you use your car’s signal lights, such as your brake and turn lights, they appear at the back of the trailer too, so vehicles behind you can see them.
Is Hitch Wiring Necessary?
Hitch wiring is not only necessary but compulsory under the law. The law recognizes the damages that can ensue from towing a trailer without functional lights. Hence, for safety measures, the law demands you install trailer wiring in your vehicle and connect it to the trailer if you plan on towing a trailer, boat, or camper.
However, the requirements for hitch wiring vary from state to state, and you want to check the law in your area to know what it demands.
Types of Hitch Harnesses
The hitch harnesses connect the trailer to the towing vehicle electrically, but they are categorized according to the shapes of the plugs and sockets involved. Hitch harnesses are available in different plug and socket shapes, but the common ones are flat, round, and RV blades.
- Flat connectors come in fewer pins arranged in a row and are used for towing smaller trailers. This type of connector is used when the load is small and requires fewer functions.
- Round and RV Blades have pins arranged in a circle with a central pin. They have more pins than flat connectors and are used in towing heavy loads with more functions.
How to Install Hitch Wiring
Although it is best to let a professional handle your hitch wiring installation, it is not impossible to install it by yourself. While a trailer harness comes with brand-specific instructions, harnesses share a few common installation procedures. The good news about this installation is that trailer hitches come with the right connections, length, and cable thickness to match the installation in your vehicle.
Here is a detailed guide to installing hitch wiring in your car or truck:
Inspect the Electrical Circuits
Before getting into the installation process, ensure that the electrical circuits of the vehicle to install the harness are functioning properly. You may need some repair if any fault indicator light is on before installing hitch wiring.
Disconnect the Battery
Working on your vehicle’s electrical system can engage the battery and cause disturbances. Hence, it is necessary to disconnect the battery’s negative pole. Disconnecting the battery also enhances your safety while working on the electrical systems.
You want to pay more attention to disconnecting the battery if you own an electric or hybrid car.
Locate the Wiring Passage
When installing a hitch harness in your vehicle, you need a path for the wire to pass through from the rear panel to the bracket of your tow bar. Thankfully, your automaker has provided this, and it might be included in the installation manual.
However, if your vehicle doesn’t have a preset point of entry for hitch wiring, you are left with no option but to drill. Remember to treat the drilled point with anticorrosive paint.
Extend the Wire
Once you have found the right passage for the harness, it is time to connect the plug. However, the plug is connected at two points: the back panel of your vehicle and the bracket of your vehicle’s tow bar. If you encounter difficulties extending the wire from the back panel to the tow bracket, using a return string to guide it can be a savior, helping you save time too.
Connect the Harness
Continue your hitch wiring installation by connecting the harness to the vehicle. Remember that you are connecting one end of the harness to the rear panel and the other to the tow bar bracket.
This is the most difficult part of the installation, and following the manual instructions will guide you through. With the instructions, you can establish a secure connection without disrupting existing connections.
Depending on your vehicle, there are different ways to make this connection, and the common options are socket contacts and electrical sleeves. While socket contact is straightforward and only involves connecting the connectors, the electrical-sleeve method requires cutting and joining wires. Follow your manual instruction for the best connection method.
Connect the Ground
Once you connect your hitch harness to your back panel and the other tail to the tow bar bracket, you will find the ground cable uninstalled, meaning you are not yet done with the installation. Although this is included in the instruction manual too, installing the ground usually involves drilling a hole to bolt down the ground cable.
Activate the Hitch Wiring
Some vehicles demand activating the hitch before it can function. Activating your hitch wiring means it can work together with your vehicle’s electrical system. Again, you may need to check your manual for instructions on activating your new installation since the activation varies from vehicle to vehicle.
How to Install Hitch Wiring: FAQs
Can I Connect Hitch Wiring By Myself?
Although hitch wiring involves some workaround, and many vehicle owners hire the services of professionals for the installation, it is what you can do by yourself. With the right instructions and tools, you can install a hitch harness on your own.
Where Do I Connect The Towing Harness?
Where to connect your towing harness depends on your vehicle. Newer vehicles usually offer specific locations with coupling preparation for the installation, but this might be lacking in older models, and you might need to find a suitable location for the harness.
How Much Does Hitch Wiring Cost?
The cost of hitch wiring varies from vehicle to vehicle and from professional to professional. However, expect to pay between $50 and $200 to hire a professional to install a hitch harness in your vehicle.
How Long Does A Hitch Wiring Installation Take?
How much time you spend installing a hitch wiring depends on your vehicle and expertise. Hitch wiring is easier to install in newer vehicles than in older models. Also, your prior knowledge of working on your vehicle’s electrical system might help make your installation faster and easier. Regardless, installing hitch wiring in your car or truck should take you between 30 minutes to some hours.
Does Installing A Trailer Hitch Void My Warranty?
No, installing hitch wiring will not void your vehicle’s warranty. Since it is a safety requirement under the law, it only means your vehicle is safe with the installation. However, preserving your warranty demands that you carry out the installation properly. Wrong installations, such as drilling holes closely together, might be questionable.