Towing wiring

Stevie69

Forum Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2014
Messages
12
Location
St. Louis Missouri
Car Year
2005
Car Model
Forester
Transmission
Auto
I towed a cupple dirt bikes today with the 05 forester XS but didint have any trailer lights because I can't find the harness, does it have that ability? I think my owners manual sed it does but couldn't seem to find it after installing receiver hitch?
 
Gidday Stevie

If it's the same as the Australian Forester (RHD), then it will be under the cargo compartment false floor on the passenger side of a LHD car, at the rear below the tail light assembly.

Be VERY careful not to disconnect the seatbelt and airbag sensor circuit, as I nearly did ... :poke:.

I have some photos in a thread here somewhere. I will chase them up for you.
 
Cool thanks man you been a lot of help! As you probly understand I'm new to the subi world as I come from a Chevrolet family haha... so an autoparts store will have the harness connector piece that connects to the cars wire harness then frome there to the trailers wire harness?
 
No worries Stevie.

Has your car got the wiring loom plug installed?

If it has, you may be able to buy a plug with covered tail wires attached that plugs into the car's wiring loom connector.

After fitting that, you then need to mount a connector for the trailer wiring plug to plug into.

Two ways to do that:

1) connect up a long tail with a female plug on the end, and just keep this in your boot (trunk) and shut the lid on it when the trailer is connected;

or 2) run the cable tail through a grommet in your boot or anywhere that's convenient to a plug attached to the outside of the car near the tow ball.

If doing the second way, try for a grommet that's as high up the car as possible. The one in the bottom of the spare wheel well is not ideal! That's the one the idiots who installed the tow bar on my car chose to use ... :( :puke:.

Be aware that there is a standard wiring pattern that is dependent on what size and type of trailer electrical connector that you use. I recommend that you use the type that's common in your geographic area.
Once you have identified what type this is, I can direct you to a wiring diagram for that type.
 
Ratbag said:
If doing the second way, try for a grommet that's as high up the car as possible.
Click to expand...
^ This. On the SG-II at least, there is a blank oblong grommet on the RHS (looking from the back, aka fuel filler side) which is high up near the front of the bumper wrap-around, behind the wheel arch. It suited my Hayman-Reese harness installation perfectly, finishing up near R79 (Subaru trailer connector). A glob of silicon sealant keeps it water/dust-tight. I had to de-pin the connector to get the harness through the slot, but that's no biggie as long as you document the pinout before doing that.
 
Thanks guys for the help! This is by way far the coolest car I ever owned possably even driven!... Comming from a General Motors family��
 
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