No power to trailer connector?

[bullnerd]

I bought a harness that plugs into the factory "tow package" connector under the back of my 2000 xlt.

The connector didn't match perfectly to the factory one,one of the little nubs that lines up the connector was off by a little bit.I trimmed off the nub and the connector fit perfect.

The problem is when i check the new flat four plug with a meter ,it shows no power.The fuse is good.

Is this a viable way of checking the plug?
What else can i check?

Thanks guys.

 

[bullnerd]

Damn! I have no luck with these forums!

 

[bullnerd]

So....I took the tailight out to make it easier to get to the factory connector, and it seems there is no power getting to the factory connector either.

Is there a relay or something that is controlling voltage going to the connector?

 

[bullnerd]

Where do the mystery relays go?
30 views and nobody knows!

 

[TowingExplorer]

I would expect there to be a fuse that handled the trailer harness. I don't think it would be necessary to have a separate relay, but I suppose it's possible. Sorry that I can't say 100% either way on this.

 

[hazmat456]

your trailer tow fuse should be under the hood,20 amp maxi style. is this one of the towing packages that splice into the rear light wires? likehttp://www.etrailer.com/pc-VWH~118345.htmthis one? there are relays but I don't remember where, could be in the forward section of the rear jack compartment., do your lights work otherwise,rear taillights,hazards,ect?

 

[bullnerd]

No its this one,http://www.etrailer.com/p-118241.htm
The connector is behind the pass. tail light.
Fuses inside are good ,its the ones under the hood that i cant seem to find.I did find a thread saying there is relays under the hood(that ford leaves out) but nobody seems to be able to pinpoint excactly whats needed.
Lights work fine on truck.No power to connector.

 

[hazmat456]

my connector is on the drivers side, first check to see if there is another grey connector there. If not then use a multi-meter and check the pins on the grey connector itself, the new adapter could have them on the wrong side. The under-hood fuse is a large 20amp it should be #7. If you have the tow prep package then the relays should be there already.

 

[bullnerd]

I did check the factory connector with a meter,no power.
#7 I'll have to check for that.
The one thread i did find ,the guy said his fuse/relay was listed as "not used" in the owners manual.

Thanks Matt

 

[rwenzing]

2000 Explorer:

Trailer ground: white wire
Trailer left turn/stop: dash fuse 3, yellow wire
Trailer right turn/stop: dash fuse 7, green wire
Trailer running light power: dash fuse 30, brown/white wire
Trailer running light relay: aux relay box #2 under interior trim panel, left side above rear wheelwell.

 

[bullnerd]

2000 Explorer:

Trailer ground: white wire
Trailer left turn/stop: dash fuse 3, yellow wire
Trailer right turn/stop: dash fuse 7, green wire
Trailer running light power: dash fuse 30, brown/white wire
Trailer running light relay: aux relay box #2 under interior trim panel, left side above rear wheelwell.

Thank you.

 

[bullnerd]

It appears all the relays are present.
All the dash fuses are good.

How can i trouble shoot a relay to check if its good?

 

[hazmat456]

swap it with a relay that is known to be good.
did you check under the drivers side to see if there was another connection point?

 

[bullnerd]

Under the drivers side?

Based on what Bob said ,i checked the relays in the rear/left compartment and they all seem good.

Why did ford make it so hard to add trailer lights!

Not sure what to check next

 

[Joe Dirt]

Two things- Check your harness for chafed wires. I have a few of them, and my Dad had a flat 4 with a "shroud" over it so the harness I brought that had no "shroud" on the pins had the mis-aligned pins on it as well. I cut one of the pins off so I could plug it in to the truck, and that blew the fuse under the hood- not the dash fuse panel. It is a 20A yellow fuse in the power distribution box by the driver fender/firewall.

Check that one, not he ones on the side of the dash- it is listed in the owners manual as left and right trailer turn signal I think... To try it, swap the 30A that is shown for the "heated backlite" (rear defrost) to see if your lights power up then. If so, swap it back and go get a new 20A max fuse.

I ended up having to cut the "shroud" off of one of my regular harnesses that would plug right onto my truck to get it to work. I don't know if somehow the wires were different, or if there was a short in the harness I used, but that was my fix.

"Harness" for me means the short one you plug into the truck and goes from the truck to the trailer... When it works, it's perfect- I haven't had a vehicle easier to hook up a harness to for trailering, I think I had a harness issue...

 

[rwenzing]

I cut one of the pins off so I could plug it in to the truck, and that blew the fuse under the hood- not the dash fuse panel. It is a 20A yellow fuse in the power distribution box by the driver fender/firewall.

Check that one, not he ones on the side of the dash- it is listed in the owners manual as left and right trailer turn signal I think...

98 and later Explorers have revised trailer adapter circuitry compared to 95~97. All trailer fuses are in the dash panel of his 2000.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Ah ok- my bad... Carry on

 

[tsanltr]

I had this same problem and finally figured out the answer. On my Explorer 2000 XLT, it turns out there are two connectors for the wiring harness, one under the LEFT driver side tail-light (the correct one), and one under the RIGHT passender side tail-light (the incorrect one). Two connectors are similar, but not identical. My Hoppy pig tail connector would not fit into the passenger side connector without breaking off one of the allignment tabs - however this connector was not powered. The Hoppy connector fit without modification into the driver side connector and worked once it was plugged in.

 

[bullnerd]

FINALLY! thanks dude! I havn't been on in a while and gave up on the truck since its freezing out and not going riding anyway.

This should be made into a sticky,no one seems to know that there's two connectors.

I also cut that extra pin off the plug, i knew it was wrong but it was so close!

Thanks again,i was actually getting ready to start looking into this again.

 

[bullnerd]

BTW,leave it to ford to put a secret trailer connector on the explorer!