Towing Wiring Harness

[dco43054]

If they can't get you one for the '11 Explorer, order one for an '05 F-150..It works perfectly. I'm using the one that came with my SuperCrew.

Took a look on the Tekonsha site. It does look like most of the Fords use the same part number. Ordered one off Amazon for $12 and shipping.

 

[kabiblueline]

So, just to confirm, you ordered part #3035-P ?
That seems to be the most common Ford harness.

Also, I'd love to see pics of where people are mounting their Tekonsha controllers. I haven't really looked around for the best spot.

 

[aarmchair]

please let us know when you receive it and if it does infact work. It seems neither dealers or trailer guys know much about wiring harnesses for 2011 explorers - at least in canada anyway.

The dealer didn't even have a part number in their system which i find very interesting. If anyone has a Ford part number that would be great, i will call my dealer and let them know the part number, and hopefully they can order.

The other option is to simply clip the harness off, and hard wire controller into wires. I assume some have gone that route.

 

[dco43054]

So, just to confirm, you ordered part #3035-P ?
That seems to be the most common Ford harness.

Also, I'd love to see pics of where people are mounting their Tekonsha controllers. I haven't really looked around for the best spot.

Will Do. Got it off an Amazon vendor. JDraper says his worked from his F-150, so I selected that one.

I also thought about stealing the one from my '02, but sure as I do, I will want to tow the big trailer with it sometime before I sell the '02.

 

[JDraper]

The only difference in the F-150 harness is that it has an extra wire for dash lighting. Connector is the same in the Explorer, it just doesn't have a pin in the hole where the dash lighting wire exists in the F-150 harness.

Since I don't use my trailer controller that often, I velcro'd it to the panel below and to the left of the steering column.

 

[aarmchair]

acutally, I have a prt number from my dealer for the harness 3U2Z-14S411-XTA - seems like this part is used in numerous applications from some web searching. I am going to track one down and see if this does the trick.

The downside is that they do not really seem convinced it is the right part, as they seem to have limited experience with everything about the NEW explorer - seems as fast as they are getting them in, they are going out the door, and are not having an opportunity to play around with them and check them out.

I assume that this is just a plug and play exercise and nothing needs to be re-programmed with the onboard computer. My previous Volve needed some reprogramming when a brake controller was installed.

 

[aarmchair]

Actually just spoke with the dealer again, and the Ford ordering part # is WPT -1004. The Canadian cost for this is $ 59.73 plus tax. He did advise that it is coming in from Detroit and would take 3-5 days. Hopefully those numbers help others who are looking for this ever elusive part.

 

[dco43054]

Actually just spoke with the dealer again, and the Ford ordering part # is WPT -1004. The Canadian cost for this is $ 59.73 plus tax. He did advise that it is coming in from Detroit and would take 3-5 days. Hopefully those numbers help others who are looking for this ever elusive part.

I paid under $20 for the one I bought, delivered.

 

[aarmchair]

that is the difference between Canada and the USA for many of these things, we pay 2-3X more here then the USA. Actually looked at some online sites and found that with shipping it was going to come out to about $ 45 CDN

 

[dco43054]

So, just to confirm, you ordered part #3035-P ?
That seems to be the most common Ford harness.

Also, I'd love to see pics of where people are mounting their Tekonsha controllers. I haven't really looked around for the best spot.

I received the cable this afternoon. It's about 32" long. Snapped right into the connector.

The connector is located above the parking brake pedal on the left side. It is tied to the other wires that connect to the fuse panel. It is toward the rear of the fuse panel (farthest away from the firewall). You will have to lay on your back to see it. I'm not ready to hook up my controller, but since I was laying there, went ahead and plugged the cable in and then coiled the cable around some other in the vicinity.

 

[aarmchair]

mine comes in Monday and am trying to figure out where the controller should be placed as well. My concern is also the angle of the bottom of the dashboard.

I tool a look tonight for the harness, and it appears that it is indeed hanging near teh paring brake, in clear sight - no covers even need to be removed if i am indeed looking at the proper connector. I don't want to plug into the wrong connector and blow something up. Am i correct in assuming that is the proper one.

My controller has to be between -35 and 90 to work properly and not sure where I can get that angle.

Anyone who has mounted a proportional controller that requires it to be fairly level - advice would be much appreciated. The other alternative is to go to an time based, but they are not as good. We are only pulling a small coleman pop up trailer so it is not a huge deal.

 

[dco43054]

Am i correct in assuming that is the proper one.

First, I'll give you the legal liability influenced answer - "If you are not sure of what you are looking at, or how to install your controller, I'd leave it up to a professional".

That said, I had no problem identifying which connector I should plug the controller cable into. The plug on the end of the cable fits into the connector hanging by the fuse block. And if you call "plain sight" being able to see it under the dash, behind the lower fascia, above the parking brake pedal, and can be seen while laying on my back on the floor of the Ex with the seat rail poking me in the shoulder, yep, it's in plain sight.

Regarding mounting the controller, I have a Tekonsha Prodigy that requires nose up mounting from 0 degrees (level) to +70 degrees (90 degrees is vertical). When I put my protractor on the lower fascia and measure various possible mounting positions, it appears there are at least a couple that will keep me in that range. As JDraper did, I think I will mount with double sided velcro using the sleeve mount that came with the controller.

 

[aarmchair]

thanks for your candid answer - as their seems to be 2 connectors, i was not sure which one is correct. As to being relatively easy to find, it was much esasier to find then the connector in my pervious volvo, where the fascia needed to be removed, and the connector was buried about as far back as it could be. I was quite surprised when i looked and found it essentiailly hanging their just above the parking brake and below the lower fascia.

Yes the velcro idea is a good one - i will do that as well.

many thanks for your input

 

[ia]

Has anyone towed a boat trailer with surge brakes? Our ex is being built today, so haven't had a chance to play with it. I know the tow package has the 4 and 7 pin connector, I have an adapter that goes from the 7 to 5 wire (boat trailer with surge brakes, deactivates when you put it in reverse=wire5) Do you know if the 7 wire plug on the ex has the reverse sense wire in it our do we need an additional jumper? My Dad's f150 did not need anything else.

 

[aarmchair]

As an upate - this is not the right part. This is the replacement pigtail that is already included with the trailer tow package. If you ordered the ex with trailer tow, this will not work. My trailer guy took one look at it and determined this is a standard Ford connector. To wire up my controller he found a harness that is used on 90% of the Ford vehicles, plugged it in, wired up the harness, and i was out the door in 20 minutes.

I am not sure of the exact model #, but he did indicate that it was for a Ford 150 or expedition and many other models. They keep them in stock, as do most trailer guys as it is a very common part.

He mounted the controller in the middle of the lower fascia, above the other connector and below the steering column. This seemed like the most logical place. It does not interfere with knees getting in and out.

 

[dco43054]

As an upate - this is not the right part. This is the replacement pigtail that is already included with the trailer tow package. If you ordered the ex with trailer tow, this will not work. My trailer guy took one look at it and determined this is a standard Ford connector. To wire up my controller he found a harness that is used on 90% of the Ford vehicles, plugged it in, wired up the harness, and i was out the door in 20 minutes.

Which part is not the right part?

The 3035-P Tekonsha, which does appear to be used on most Fords, plugged right in, and I plugged my Prodigy controller in and it went through the startup sequence OK.

I haven't tried it with my trailer yet, but since I didn't get any error codes, I'm not expecting any problems.

 

[aarmchair]

i looked at this on the internet, and that is essentially what they put in my car. They tested and everything worked fine. Will let everyone know how it tows after this weeked - we are off on our first camping trip. have about 250KM each way, with a mix of city and highway.

Mine was the first 2011 explorer with a tow pacakage that they did and liked the set-up, especially the removable receiver cover.

Said they have 5 customers who ordered/bought without the tow package waiting for receivers and wiring kits. Said no real good solution for the Explorer without the factory kit, as the receiver is going to sit pretty low on the back.