Toad tail light wiring

Ray & June wrote:
I bought my wiring kit here. Reasonable and precise.

http://www.etrailer.com/Tow-Bar-Wiring/Hopkins/38955.html

This looks like what I need. Is there an extra wire I need to buy to go from dinghy to the DP or is there extra wire that ties-up in the grill of the dinghy or something and then stretches out the DP when hooking up?

Thanks,
Todd

Thanks to everyone for all of the suggestions. I currently use a 6/7 round pin to a flat 4 adapter to run the magnetic lights. With the use of that adapter, how many diodes would I need to hard wire without putting in the extra bulbs? 6 or 4? I would prefer to keep the amber lights as the turn signals, but it is not a deal breaker. I have watched videos online and it looks pretty simple. I previously have had the tail light assemblies off the Odyssey, so that is not big deal. If I use the the adapter I have, which I believe will make it easier, do I have to use the same bulb for the brake and turn light?

I wired my RAV4's lights to work exactly the same as the coach when hooked up. The coach brakes light the toad's two red brake lights plus the high center brake light, and the coach directionals light the toad's amber directional lights. I used diode packs, and all of the connections were made behind the driver's side front kick panel, eliminating the need to route wiring all the way to the back. My coach to toad umbilical cabling consists of a six conductor coil cord set and a four conductor coil cord set, handling the lights, the toad charge line, the Remco pump controls, and the coach dash indicator LED for the ReadBrute/ReadyBrake system.

I was in exactly the same situation and wired the dinghy to use the separate brake and turn lights. As another post pointed out, the trailer connector will likely be wired for combined turn/stop lights. In my rig, they use two relays for each side to combine the stop/turn lights, which are separate on the chassis. I had to change the relay-logic circuit in the motorhome, use the aux line in the 7-pin cable for the extra brake light line, and had to relay the dinghy brake lights because the chassis computer senses too much current if the dinghy's bulbs are driven directly. I would have been extremely difficult to do this without wiring diagrams for the motorhome and dinghy.

If you just let the Odyssey's brake lights act as combined brake/turn lights, it's most likely the trailer connector is already set up for that. You just need to add an extra bulb or go the diode route.

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).

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,
Todd

As 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.

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,
Todd

Todd,
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 bulbs

4. 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 lights
2. Brake lights.
3. Right turn
4. 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

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 bought my wiring kit here. Reasonable and precise.

http://www.etrailer.com/Tow-Bar-Wiring/Hopkins/38955.html