I have an DP that has separate brake lights and turn signals and my 2006 Honda Odyseey also has separate turn signals and brake lights. I have towed it flat for quite a while and I am tired of magnetic lights. I want to wire the Odyssey so the tail lights work with the DP. I have searched wiring kits and I am a little confused. Which type of kit do I really need? I do not care if the Odyssey's brake lights will now be the turn signals as well.Thanks,Todd

I bought my wiring kit here. Reasonable and precise.http://www.etrailer.com/Tow-Bar-Wiring/Hopkins/38955.html

suggest you avoid kits and have you splice into the existing Honda's wiring harness and instead install a completely separate harness and install a second set of bulbs in your Honda's taillight assembly.

tlecronier wrote:I have an DP that has separate brake lights and turn signals and my 2006 Honda Odyseey also has separate turn signals and brake lights. I have towed it flat for quite a while and I am tired of magnetic lights. I want to wire the Odyssey so the tail lights work with the DP. I have searched wiring kits and I am a little confused. Which type of kit do I really need? I do not care if the Odyssey's brake lights will now be the turn signals as well.Thanks,ToddTodd, The issue of toad light wiring always has minor debates. There's basically at least four different ways of handling this issue.1. Direct wiring into the toads wiring system to utilize the stock tail lights as toad lights.2. Magnetic lights 3. Drilling the tail light housings and installing a second set of bulbs4. A "Light Bar" which, auxiliary tail lights are mounted on a bar of some type (wood, aluminum etc.) that fits into the toads towing receiver. We've been towing for a few decades now and the only way I've wired at least 10 toads, (1) Toyota pickup, (7) different Jeeps, (1) Honda CRV EX-L and our present toad, a 2011 GMC Sierra 1500 4x4 Extended Cab, is by wiring directly into the toads tail light wiring and, utilizing the stock tail light bulbs for toad lights. I have done it that way forever and have never, REPEAT NEVER, had any issues with toad wiring, electrical problems, the so called "Frying the wiring" as many have stated, nothing, zippo, nada! I do it that way primarily because to a person that's following you when you're towing, those lights act completely naturally, just as though it's being driven. And, even with the 2011 Honda CRV EX-L that we just recently sold, it too had separate turn signals and brake lights and, THEY ALL WORKED AS THEY SHOULD WHEN TOWING. Some guys are terrified of tying into the toads wiring. Well, that's a problem they'll have to handle. It is in fact, seriously simple. You simply "T" into the toads tail light wiring, as close to the tail lights as possible. Now, that takes care of the signal being sent from the motor homes tail lights, through the pig tail all the way to the toads tail lights. But, the primary issue with that way of wiring is, you'll also be sending those signals to the front of the toad too. So, that's where the infamous DIODES come into play. I install those diodes, just ahead of the "T" intersection I just created. Those diodes simply stop the signal(s) from the motor home from traveling up stream, to the front of the toad. But, since they're "ONE WAY VALVES" for electricity, the toads lighting system will continue to work as normal. Now, it can get a bit complicated in certain respects. But, in your case, it wouldn't be very hard at all to wire your toad the way you want it. That is of course, if you want to have your stock tail lights on the toad, act normally when towing, your choice. I'd bet dollars to donuts that, even though your motor home has independent turn and brake lights, your trailer plug on the back of the coach, has them combined, right? What that simply means is, the factory wired in a "Black box" tail light converter BEFORE, all the wiring enters the back side of that trailer plug. That's an easy one to handle. All that's needed is, another "Black box" wired into the toads system, to convert your "combined" turn/brake signal from the coach, back into independent signals before they are introduced to the toads tail lights. DONE! Another way of handling your issue on this would be, something a bit harder in the onset but, in the end, you'd eliminate ALL THE BLACK BOXES. And that way would be to find the black box tail light convert that's inserted into your motor homes tail light wiring and, eliminate it. Then, you re-wire the trailer plug so there's a 1. Running lights2. Brake lights.3. Right turn4. Left turn.5 Power.6. Ground Then, all those go right through the pig tail, and, all the way back to the toads tail light wiring. Again, you simply strip a tiny bit of insulation without cutting those wires, solder the wires from your new harness to each appropriate wire, tape up/re-insulate and, you're done. Then, the insertion of the diode for up stream protection and, you're done forever. One more thing. If you were to go this route, you don't have to buy those fancy packaged super wazoo diodes from Camping World or any other RV supplies, Trailer outlet etc. All that's needed is a $3.00 package of three or four (can't remember how many in a pack) of Radio Shack diodes. They work flawlessly. Again, in almost 30 years of towing and using them, I've NEVER, EVER, had one go bad. I'm not a fan of magnetic lights, light bars, or the "drill the tail light housing and add more bulbs" type thing. It's just personal preference with me to wire the stock bulbs into the system. One final thing. My way or, I should say, wiring them direct into the factory bulbs is fine and dandy for anything prior to about 2012's toads. On or around 2012 and later, many auto manufacturers have started using either CAN-BUSS or, "Multi-plexing" wiring systems. If you tie into one of those systems, problems can, and most likely will arise. For those type of situations, there's companies that build and sell, a "Plug and Play" wiring harness for the late model toads. Good luck.Scott

tlecronier wrote:I have an DP that has separate brake lights and turn signals and my 2006 Honda Odyseey also has separate turn signals and brake lights. I have towed it flat for quite a while and I am tired of magnetic lights. I want to wire the Odyssey so the tail lights work with the DP. I have searched wiring kits and I am a little confused. Which type of kit do I really need? I do not care if the Odyssey's brake lights will now be the turn signals as well.Thanks,ToddAs I've explained many times before, here's another train of thought that doesn't involve the toad wiring at all. Install a hitch receiver on your toad if you don't already have one and then use a hitch hauler or just make up a bar for installing some LED lights with a connector towards and next to the hitch receiver. Wire a mate and run it to the front of the toad and to the connector used for the umbilical cord that connects it to the coach. Some may want to move their license plate to under the proper tail light and a quick change can be fashioned for that as well, if you intend to remove the thing when not towing. I like using the hitch haul the best, since it has many other uses and will double as a bike carrier as well. We wired one up, so as to use the towing connector as well, when not being towed by the coach, so that all the lights worked and just as if you were pulling a trailer with the toad, instead.

I just had the hyundai we bought wired for towing at Camp World. $100 for the wire harness and $29 for them to install (now $39). Additional $8 for the receptacle to hook the wire harness cable. Works well, no muss/fuss with lights or other cables. My BIL uses some attached to a bar and tied up to the rooftop rack on his towed vehicle. The wire rubbed the paint off where it makes contact with the vehicle (old but still serviceable isuzu).

Toad tail light wiring | Good Sam Community

19 Replies

MPond
Explorer
Mar 27, 2016
The downside to wiring separate brake lights and turn signals is that you end up with a non-standard plug setup on both your RV and toad. In my family we have 3 RVs, 3 boats, 1 toad, and 4 trailers, and they're all wired using the same standard.

I can't imagine having to remember which ones were 1-off...
tropical36
Explorer
Mar 24, 2016
eheading wrote:
In years gone by I always ran the wires to the existing toad lights and used diodes. For the past two cars I have used the separate bulbs. As someone said, my connector on the rear of the MH was wired for 4 wire. If you get a blue-ox wiring kit they even show you exactly where to drill the hole for the extra bulb. What I like about this way is that there is NO way the toad electrical system can be compromised. Anyway, the separate bulb is the only way I'd go now providing there is a place to put the bulb.

Ed Headington

Depending on the toad and since we have a JK Wrangler, this plug and play harness can't be beat IMO.....COOLTECH
No mods required whatsoever of the towed vehicle and easily unplugged and kept intact for future use in another qualifying toad.
eheading
Explorer
Mar 24, 2016
In years gone by I always ran the wires to the existing toad lights and used diodes. For the past two cars I have used the separate bulbs. As someone said, my connector on the rear of the MH was wired for 4 wire. If you get a blue-ox wiring kit they even show you exactly where to drill the hole for the extra bulb. What I like about this way is that there is NO way the toad electrical system can be compromised. Anyway, the separate bulb is the only way I'd go now providing there is a place to put the bulb.

Ed Headington
CatchinBluegill
Explorer
Mar 24, 2016
FIRE UP wrote:

I'd bet dollars to donuts that, even though your motor home has independent turn and brake lights, your trailer plug on the back of the coach, has them combined, right?

Another way of handling your issue on this would be, something a bit harder in the onset but, in the end, you'd eliminate ALL THE BLACK BOXES. And that way would be to find the black box tail light convert that's inserted into your motor homes tail light wiring and, eliminate it. Then, you re-wire the trailer plug so there's a

Thanks for this great info! Not long ago, I bought an MH that has separate TS and brake lights, and I'm in the process of prepping my '09 Odyssey to flat-tow it, so reading this was great. I'd just assumed the MH would not have them combined at its 7-pin connector, but I'll definitely test that assumption now.

In some forum, I once read of somebody putting his diodes behind the driver's side kick panel of IIRC a CR-V. I may try to find the wires there in my Odyssey, for the same reason he did it there: not having to run wires all the way to the back of the vehicle.

If the SD in SDFD is San Diego, then we're sort of neighbors, even if you're in Lake Havasu City now :-)
tlecronier
Explorer
Feb 28, 2014
Bobbo wrote:
My guess would be poor ground.

Does it matter if you ground the wire before or after the bulbs?
Bobbo
Explorer II
Feb 28, 2014
My guess would be poor ground.
tlecronier
Explorer
Feb 27, 2014
I went with bulb and socket toad wiring. It was fairly simple. The only problem I have now is when I turn on my blinkers, the one I turned on works nice and bright but the opposite one "lightly" flashes.
Any ideas?
rk911
Explorer
Feb 13, 2014
tlecronier wrote:
rk911 wrote:
suggest you avoid kits and have you splice into the existing Honda's wiring harness and instead install a completely separate harness and install a second set of bulbs in your Honda's taillight assembly.

I do not mind doing that. Is there an disadvantage as far as convenience of hooking up to the DP or is the same as a hard wire?

Thanks,
Todd

nope. when you're hooked up to the MH the umbilical connects to the second wiring harness/second set of bulbs in the taillight assembly. when you're not hooked up and driving the toad when you brake you use the toad's original wiring and bulbs. clean. simple. no diodes to install or blow which eliminates nasty surprises.
katysdad
Explorer
Feb 13, 2014
Check out this link from blue-ox for adding bulb & socket to tail lights
bulb & socket wiring

The baseplate install instructions will show where to place the bulbs in the tail light housing
baseplate install

Tried led kit from them a while back, wasn't bright enough to illuminate the tail lights during daylight. Returned it & advised them of the issue but do not know if anychanges were made.
tlecronier
Explorer
Feb 13, 2014
rk911 wrote:
suggest you avoid kits and have you splice into the existing Honda's wiring harness and instead install a completely separate harness and install a second set of bulbs in your Honda's taillight assembly.

I do not mind doing that. Is there an disadvantage as far as convenience of hooking up to the DP or is the same as a hard wire?

Thanks,
Todd