7 pin connector

[Nitetimes]

I will be wiring a 1991 Toyota pickup for the seven prong hookup. Where is the best place to intercept the wires?


I will need the following:

brake lights
running lights
turn signals
battery charge

I don't have the backup light or brakes.

You'll generally find them in the left frame rail or on the rear x-member. Might even be a pigtail there for wiring, not sure about the Toys.
Your left turn and stop is the same wire as are your right turn and stop, marker will be separate, probably brown. Should be a ground wire there too. I doubt you will find a charge wire back there, most likely you'll have to run a 10ga wire from the battery.


Ooops, forgot, the above is true if you don't have separate turn signals on the truck, if you do you will need a converter between the truck and trailer.

[asianflava]

Hoppy makes a kit for your truck.

http://www.hopkinsmfg.com/twkits.html

http://shop.easternmarine.com/index.cfm ... goryID=210

[Nitetimes]

Hoppy makes a kit for your truck.

That would be the best way to go, simplest too!!

[Dale M.]

Go with harness kit, makes life much easier.....

Dale

[retiredcamper]

I ordered the harness and should have it in a few days. The bumper on my truck was "tilted" a bit due to someone not setting the brake (don't ask). I took it to a body and fender shop and they will straighten it for $57.

To all those that have helped me with this and the hitch I would like to offer a thousand thanks. I can't believe the wealth of information I've received.

The nicest people seem to own teardrops.

[Lesbest]

The best way to do trailer wiring these days is to check the manufacturer for wiring kits or harnesses. The Ford Explorer of about 2000 vintage and later have to be wired from the stoplight switch, not the rear harness, because of the turn signal relays. (not a flasher) If you have seperate turn signals on the car yellow, and stop lights red, then you need a diode in the wiring to stop backfeed if the trailer has a stop/flash combo. That is what the adapter box has in it. Hoppy makes too many nice wiring things to not take advantage of them.

Universal wiring for trailers is a pipe dream......but if you have a box full of different plugs you can make almost anything work with anything.

Good Luck, Les

[retiredcamper]

I installed the wiring harness but it was a four prong and my trailer is a seven prong. Like I said earlier I don't have trailer brakes or a backup light but still wanted to be able to charge the battery while driving.

I was able to come up with the following and it works great. A simple plug-in, drilled two holes in the bumper and I was set. It really looks great.

Oh, since the power was not on the four prong I will have to run a fuzed line from the battery to the back. I think I can handle that.

[Phil & Ningning]

Oh, since the power was not on the four prong I will have to run a fuzed line from the battery to the back. I think I can handle that.

You'll also want to isolate the trailer battery from the truck, at least while the engine is stopped. An easy way to do that is to use a Ford-type starter relay, energized from the ignition switch. This will prevent the trailer battery from discharging the truck battery. While the engine is running, the batteries will not be electrically isolated with this setup. The higher capacity battery may not charge fully.

The other option is to use a battery isolator, which is simply two high current diodes in a heat sink. This will prevent the aforementioned discharge, as well as allowing both batteries to charge to full capacity.


Happy trails.

Phil

[retiredcamper]

Oh, since the power was not on the four prong I will have to run a fuzed line from the battery to the back. I think I can handle that.

You'll also want to isolate the trailer battery from the truck, at least while the engine is stopped. An easy way to do that is to use a Ford-type starter relay, energized from the ignition switch. This will prevent the trailer battery from discharging the truck battery. While the engine is running, the batteries will not be electrically isolated with this setup. The higher capacity battery may not charge fully.

The other option is to use a battery isolator, which is simply two high current diodes in a heat sink. This will prevent the aforementioned discharge, as well as allowing both batteries to charge to full capacity.


Happy trails.

Phil

Good point. When I was pulling the trailer with my car, which does have the seven pin, I had to "unplut" the seven way in the evening. Once I forgot to plug it back in the next mornig. I thought of it before I left the park. One more reason to do a pre-trip inspection each morning.
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