OEM Tow Package Wiring

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

I'm looking for input from people with the honda tow package. There seems to be a few of us who have the package and when we use it the first time we find out that the wiring doesn't work as expected. Let us know what your experiences are.

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

Why no option to choose yes, mine works?

BMC

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bsnm8 wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")
Why no option to choose yes, mine works?

BMC


That was pretty stupid on my part! Not a very good poll...sorry! 8)

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

bsnm8 wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")Why no option to choose yes, mine works?

BMC

Mine too - so I had to vote for "What the heck, Mr Cheese"!!!!!


:shock:

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

2006Ridgeline wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")I'm looking for input from people with the honda tow package. There seems to be a few of us who have the package and when we use it the first time we find out that the wiring doesn't work as expected. Let us know what your experiences are.

Hmmm, looking for input from people WITH the Honda hitch - but still included a vote button for those that don't have the Honda hitch.

Big Cheese - I am getting worried about you!!!! It must be that "flapping in the wind" you were talking about in your other thread!! :D :D :D

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

Maybe it's bats in the belfry! 8)

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I can tell you one thing. If I were one of the two respondents who had not tested, I would be hooking up a trailer and checking it out. If you wait a few months, they could say it worked when they sent you out. I had my trailer on when I took it in and they checked it out in the driveway and said it appeared fine. I had to go get my previous vehicle and put the trailer on it and bring it back to show them it was working correctly. They were very nice about it. It just appeared to be working til I showed them the trailer on another vehicle worked correctly.

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

For those (including 2006Ridgeline) that DID have a problem - was it with the 7-pin or the 4-pin connector?

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mine was the 4-pin

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rapid-richard wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")mine was the 4-pin

Thanks - and I verified my 4-pin within a week of installing my hitch. I don't (presently) have a requirement for a 7-pin so don't know if it is working properly or not.

:?:

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

I have a dealer installed Honda hitch,towed my boat today and it worked fine.I only have a 4 pin connector,is there anyway to test the 7 pin without an actual trailer hooked up to it?

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stinger wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")I have a dealer installed Honda hitch,towed my boat today and it worked fine.I only have a 4 pin connector,is there anyway to test the 7 pin without an actual trailer hooked up to it?

I've seen test lights for the 4-pin, but not for a 7-pin. The only way may be to use a single test light or a volmeter (pin by pin).

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

Honda tech used a test lite on mine and it showed it was fine. It wasn't see above posts for the rest. My advice is to check it out as soon as you get it. I just assumed it would work. It was about a month before I found out. Off I go one morning to use the trailer and opps. What is the seven pin used for? brake wiring?

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I had the hitch installed at the dealer and so far I know the 7-pin one works; haven't tried 4-pin yet.

The 7-pin is for trailers with electric brakes.

I haul a tent trailer that's about 2400 lbs, no probs so far!!!!

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

i hauled about 5,500 with my ridge like a champ. I have a custom setup I made. Hidden hitch, Honda wiring, Hoppy brake controller, resse reciever and ball,locking hitch pin.

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The whole trailer wiring situation is a fiasco. The owners manual clearly states that the mating CONNECTOR and PINS for connecting your own harness to the Ridge are available from your Honda dealer. Lie, lie , lie. It even shows the color coding for wiring those pins. Honda America's response is that the connector is UNDER DEVELOPEMENT, even though it is part of every OEM harness. They dismissed my complaint as "UNREASONABLE REQUEST".

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

What exactly are you talking about? Seems to be a big issue with you since this isn't the first time you've expressed your displeasure with the wiring situation. I have little or no trailer/wiring harness experience, so if you could be a bit more descriptive I'd appreciate it. Are you talking about some kind of 'special' harness that you're trying to use or are you talking about hooking virtually any trailer up using the honda harness/wiring?

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

What I see is Honda does provide the connector & pins. The way it is currently provided is in a harness assembly, unfortunately it appears that the configuration that Honda will supply is not what some want. Please note the harness assembly contains power relay, fuses, electric brake harness along with the turn signal converter, a 4 and 7 pin connector. Unless someone wants to install two sets of lights (one set for brake & tail and a seperate set for turn).......
The prices I see on the internet for the harness assy that contains all the noted above items is reasonable (likely could be better). To purchase all the seperate items, the labor to manufacture a harness, it's a fair price. But one can argue that one does not need all that, as my parent's told me.... life is not always fair.

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

ALL of page 214 of the owners manual is dedicated to the specifics of the wiring harness. It shows the color codes and pin outs that you would NOT need if you were buying a Honda harness. In the upper right hand corner it states: "If you use a non-Honda trailer lighting harness and converter, you can get the mating connector and pins that mate with the connector in your vehicle from your dealer" It is an out and out lie. I went all the way to Honda America and was basically told "Tough luck, we won't sell them to you."

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goodbye...............