Summary 02-05 Explorer Trailer Wiring
I have continued to learn about the topic -- adapting 02 and newer Explorers for 7-pin trailer wiring. Much of what I have learned came from this forem by searching old posts. To help the next person who comes along, I now share what I have learned.
The 02 to 05 Explorers are pre-wired for 7-pin trailer wiring. I assume 06 and 07 probably are as well.
The stock 02 -05 Explorer comes with a 1.25 inch class 2 reciever hitch. It is easy to install a 2 inch, class 3 reciever hitch. Good looking after market units are availible from on-line retailers for just over $100. They bolt right on. This gives the added benifit of now having both types on your rig. One can for instance, tow a trailer with the class 3 reciever and have a bike rack mounted on the class 2 at the same time.
The stock 02-05 Explorer comes with a 4-pin trailer wiring plug. If you follow that wire to just under the passenger side tailight, you see a connector there. From this connector on, the Explorer is fully 7-wire trailer ready. So, just get the correct harness and plug it in -- presto, 7-pin ready. The harness is Ford part number 3C5Z13A576BA. MSRP for that is $123.68. However, it can be purchased for less finding on-line discount Ford part dealers. I found one for about $86.00 plus shipping. But to me, that is too much. I am searching junk yards for a wrecked unit that has the 7-pin harness. If I don't find one, I will use a 4-pin to 7-pin adapter from Wallmart ($25). It plugs into the 4-pin connector then has 3 other wires I will need to splice in and one ground connection to bolt to chassis ground. This would give me both 4-pin and 7-pin connectors at the rear of my trailer, which is nice. I already pulled the plug loose from under my taillight. The connector slides off the little plastic thing. Or you can pull the little plastic thing off the mounts by prying with a big screw driver. It's held on with 2 of those plastic-ribbed screw like things, and if you are not too rough, you will be able to put it back in place with no damage. The connector has a little slot on one side where you stick a screw driver to get it open, but be carefull. What you have to do is get your screw driver under a little metal spring clip in that slot. Then the connector comes apart pretty easily. Look in the slot that invites a screw driver with a bright light and you will see the little metal clip.
Fuses and relays: There is a fuse box in the engine compartment. And there is a relay box behind the passenger side plastic trim pannel in your cargo area. Open the tailgate. Look to the right. That big plastic pannel hides this relay box. The relay box is actually just in front of the tailight. The good news is, I think all the fuses and relays are already there on all units. My 03 has the fuses in place under the hood. I looked at the relay box in a junkyard unit -- 02 Explorer stock with no tow package, just the class 2 stuff that comes standard. The trim pannel was already pulled loose. It looks to me like the relays are already there. I'll report back on this thread if I find that is not the case. The bad news is, if we have to install the relays, then it seems like one has to pull the plastic pannel part way out, which is a bit tricky to do without braking it if one does not know the tricks -- which I do not... Maybe if the right rear tailight is removed, then the relay box will come out for access easily. If needed, I will try that. But I am optimistic (hopefull) that the relays are already in place.
Electric trailer brake controler: Again, the 02-05 Explorers are already pre-wired! There is a connector behind the glovebox. To get at it, one needs to drop the glove box down. This is easy to do, just open the glove box and then press in on the sides of the compartment -- you know, the place that holds stuff. You will see that there are like 2 pins on the sides. Just press enough that these pins clear the dashboard and the glove box will open all the way and hang down. Now you can see some wiring and connectors. Look around in there, you will find an unused connector. This is the electric brake connector. On mine, it was taped to a wire bundle on the left and towards the rear, close to the firewall. Electric brake controllers do not automatically match to this connector, but on e-trailer.com for example, they sell the pig-tail harness with the connector that plugs into this one for $10. On that web sight, when you find electric brake controllers, the wiring adapters are linked easy to find.
From e-trailer.com I ordered a class 3 reciver hitch, $119. A Tekonsha powertrack electronic brake controller. $59.95. And the adapter for the brake controller to fit the Explorer OEM wiring, $10.00. Shipping was 0.99.
Unfortunately, that 7-pin harness on the back seems only a Ford item, and I am not finding one in a wrecking yard. So, its the $25.00 Walmart item and a little splicing. If I don't post here again, it means the fuses and relays are all present. Otherwise, I'll report that.
OK -- Ive done my work here. Hope whoever needs this information finds it usefull!
I have continued to learn about the topic -- adapting 02 and newer Explorers for 7-pin trailer wiring. Much of what I have learned came from this forem by searching old posts. To help the next person who comes along, I now share what I have learned.
The 02 to 05 Explorers are pre-wired for 7-pin trailer wiring. I assume 06 and 07 probably are as well.
The stock 02 -05 Explorer comes with a 1.25 inch class 2 reciever hitch. It is easy to install a 2 inch, class 3 reciever hitch. Good looking after market units are availible from on-line retailers for just over $100. They bolt right on. This gives the added benifit of now having both types on your rig. One can for instance, tow a trailer with the class 3 reciever and have a bike rack mounted on the class 2 at the same time.
The stock 02-05 Explorer comes with a 4-pin trailer wiring plug. If you follow that wire to just under the passenger side tailight, you see a connector there. From this connector on, the Explorer is fully 7-wire trailer ready. So, just get the correct harness and plug it in -- presto, 7-pin ready. The harness is Ford part number 3C5Z13A576BA. MSRP for that is $123.68. However, it can be purchased for less finding on-line discount Ford part dealers. I found one for about $86.00 plus shipping. But to me, that is too much. I am searching junk yards for a wrecked unit that has the 7-pin harness. If I don't find one, I will use a 4-pin to 7-pin adapter from Wallmart ($25). It plugs into the 4-pin connector then has 3 other wires I will need to splice in and one ground connection to bolt to chassis ground. This would give me both 4-pin and 7-pin connectors at the rear of my trailer, which is nice. I already pulled the plug loose from under my taillight. The connector slides off the little plastic thing. Or you can pull the little plastic thing off the mounts by prying with a big screw driver. It's held on with 2 of those plastic-ribbed screw like things, and if you are not too rough, you will be able to put it back in place with no damage. The connector has a little slot on one side where you stick a screw driver to get it open, but be carefull. What you have to do is get your screw driver under a little metal spring clip in that slot. Then the connector comes apart pretty easily. Look in the slot that invites a screw driver with a bright light and you will see the little metal clip.
Fuses and relays: There is a fuse box in the engine compartment. And there is a relay box behind the passenger side plastic trim pannel in your cargo area. Open the tailgate. Look to the right. That big plastic pannel hides this relay box. The relay box is actually just in front of the tailight. The good news is, I think all the fuses and relays are already there on all units. My 03 has the fuses in place under the hood. I looked at the relay box in a junkyard unit -- 02 Explorer stock with no tow package, just the class 2 stuff that comes standard. The trim pannel was already pulled loose. It looks to me like the relays are already there. I'll report back on this thread if I find that is not the case. The bad news is, if we have to install the relays, then it seems like one has to pull the plastic pannel part way out, which is a bit tricky to do without braking it if one does not know the tricks -- which I do not... Maybe if the right rear tailight is removed, then the relay box will come out for access easily. If needed, I will try that. But I am optimistic (hopefull) that the relays are already in place.
Electric trailer brake controler: Again, the 02-05 Explorers are already pre-wired! There is a connector behind the glovebox. To get at it, one needs to drop the glove box down. This is easy to do, just open the glove box and then press in on the sides of the compartment -- you know, the place that holds stuff. You will see that there are like 2 pins on the sides. Just press enough that these pins clear the dashboard and the glove box will open all the way and hang down. Now you can see some wiring and connectors. Look around in there, you will find an unused connector. This is the electric brake connector. On mine, it was taped to a wire bundle on the left and towards the rear, close to the firewall. Electric brake controllers do not automatically match to this connector, but on e-trailer.com for example, they sell the pig-tail harness with the connector that plugs into this one for $10. On that web sight, when you find electric brake controllers, the wiring adapters are linked easy to find.
From e-trailer.com I ordered a class 3 reciver hitch, $119. A Tekonsha powertrack electronic brake controller. $59.95. And the adapter for the brake controller to fit the Explorer OEM wiring, $10.00. Shipping was 0.99.
Unfortunately, that 7-pin harness on the back seems only a Ford item, and I am not finding one in a wrecking yard. So, its the $25.00 Walmart item and a little splicing. If I don't post here again, it means the fuses and relays are all present. Otherwise, I'll report that.
OK -- Ive done my work here. Hope whoever needs this information finds it usefull!
