Trailer Hitch Wiring Harness Installation
Let’s cover how to install a Honda Trailer Hitch Harness. This will be installed on a 2014 Honda Odyssey minivan. I showed how to install the Hitch itself in another article/video, so you may want to check that one out too. I want this install to be like the factory or dealer would do, so this will be using the actual Honda parts kit. I ordered the kit and will have a link to it in the description below. So let’s get started.
Here is a link to the Honda Trailer Hitch Harness:
The video showing how I did this installation is at the bottom of this article. Let’s get started!
Battery Terminal
To start, we’ll remove the negative lead off the battery to ensure there are no issues as we work with the wiring. Before you disconnect the battery, raise the rear liftgate because we’ll need access to that area of the van. There are two clips that we can pop up with a flat screwdriver. Then remove the clips and the air duct. That provides access to the battery and we can remove the lead and make sure it won’t contact the battery. Note that you either need to have the security code or just press the power button for a few seconds to recover your radio presets. I was able to just press the power button after I was done to get the radio functional again. I still had to reset the clock, but everything else was still there.
Panel Removal
The bulk of the work is removing panels to have access to the factory wiring harnesses. The first panel to remove is the sill by the sliding door on the drivers side. Carefully pull the panel up and set aside. In the back of the van, we need to remove the rear trim panel. There are two threaded hooks that need to be removed to free the panel. I’ll use a pliers and cloth to turn the hooks with to prevent scratching them. Slide the weatherstripping away from that panel and carefully pull the panel away from the car body.
If you have the Odyssey with a vacuum cleaner, it and the covers should be removed now. I don’t have a built in vacuum cleaner, so now I’ll remove the trim panel on the drivers side. There is another threaded hook to remove. I’ll also move weatherstripping away and unplug the connector to the 12 V plug. The large interior panel is challenging to remove to avoid any damage to the connectors. Lower the back seat into the floor to get to the bottom of the panel. Very carefully work your way around the panel to loosen it from the clips. It was about this time that I was wondering if I should really do this myself. It would be easy to damage the panel or connectors. So work slowly and with caution to prevent any damage. With some patience, eventually, you can pull it away from the body and set aside.
Bumper Removal
Next we need to remove the rear bumper. To protect the paint, apply painters tape on both sides of the joint. Then we can remove the hex bolts on the inside of the van, the screws in the wheel well, and the clips underneath the bumper. Then you can get a helper and gently pull each side away from the vehicle. Removing all the panels turns out to the bulk of the work. Now we can move on installing the new components.
Socket Harness
Now lets install the socket harness. One end will be outside on the hitch to connect with the trailer. Let’s remove the grommet plug in the back of the vehicle. Now we can thread the assembly through the hole and install it’s grommet. Remove the backing and place the foam tape against the body above the entry hole to protect the wiring. The harness will be attached to the existing wiring with 3 cable ties and rest on that foam tape.
Control Unit Harness
Moving on the control unit harness, we’ll plug in one end to the socket harness we just installed. Then attach the ground to the existing ground location by removing the bolt, adding the terminal, and reinstalling the bolt.
Let’s route the control unit harness along the existing wiring. We’ll attach it to the existing wires with 6 cable ties. The 14 pin connector is installed in the open spot in the fuse box. I don’t have backup sensors, but if you do, unplug the existing connector from the fuse box into the other connector on the harness and put the harness connector in the fuse box spot.
Control Unit
Now we’ll install the control unit. We’ll start by putting it on the bracket in the kit. Then remove the mounting bolt on the front side of the fuse box and mount the control unit and bracket. The control unit harness 12 pin connector will be installed in the control unit. Let’s also attach that to the existing wires with a cable tie.
Fuses
There are 3 fuses with the kit. One 10 amp and two 7.5 amp fuses. The 10 amp goes in the last spot on the right in the second row of the box.
One 7.5 amp fuse goes in the same row as the 10 amp, but in the second spot from the left. The other 7.5 amp fuse goes in the next row down, in the center spot.
Socket Harness
Now we get the satisfying part of bolting the socket harness to the trailer hitch. Snap the clip on the wire into the hole on the mounting arm. Then bolt the harness to the hitch. And we are done. I tested the harness pins with a multimeter to make sure everything was working with the brakes and the turn signals applied. Then we need to put all the panels back on in the reverse order that they were taken off. That was much easier than removing them, but you still need to be careful not to damage anything. So now we have installed a Honda trailer hitch harness kit and we are ready to connect to a trailer light system when needed.
Wrap up
The video showing how I did this installation is below. I hope this article was helpful to understand how to install the hitch wiring harness kit.
