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Curt Now Makes A Towing Wiring Harness For TC


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There is a towing wiring harness assy. avail from CURT through e-trailer.com They claim no cutting and easy install, even an Adobe how to install:it Connect

Curt Custom Fit Vehicle Wiring

Code: 56090

Retail:$103.52

Price:$64.95

Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds

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56090 Installation InstructionsInstallation Details 56090 Installation instructions

Curt Circuit Protected T-Connector Vehicle Wiring Harness w/ 4 Pole Connector - Ford Transit - 2010 Ford Transit Connect

Curt T-Connector Vehicle Wiring Harness

* Provides a 4-pole flat trailer connector for the Ford Transit Connect

* Installs quickly and easily - simply plugs in to factory connectors

o Does not require cutting or splicing

* Connector has a built-in circuit-protected powered converter

o Protects itself and the tow Ford Transit Connect against harmful electrical shorts and mis-wire situations

o Powered converter draws power for the trailer lights directly from the Ford Transit Connect battery, by-passing expensive electrical components on the Ford Transit Connect.

* Includes installation instructions

Can be used with 5-pole, 6-pole or 7-pole adapters.

Tech Tip: It is always a good idea to apply a small amount of grease to all electrical connections to help prevent corrosion

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  • 5 months later...
   

I ordered the kit and took about an hour to install. Not simple yet well within the realm of most DIY novices. Everything worked as per claims and I`d say overall quality was excellent. I repeat, everything worked from the get-go with no problems.

Richard

Ready to order the Curt kit and have looked at the installation .pdf. Is there any reason I can't tap the 12V, fused, power supply already located in the rear of the van instead of running another stand-alone circuit from the battery? Thoughts? Thanks.

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  • 3 months later...

I ordered the kit and took about an hour to install. Not simple yet well within the realm of most DIY novices. Everything worked as per claims and I`d say overall quality was excellent. I repeat, everything worked from the get-go with no problems.

Richard

Richard, since you've done it, perhaps you could enlighten me on one point. The instructions say to "remove the rubber grommet behind the taillight assemblies." I found the grommet in question, but I can't get my hand in there and the opening doesn't appear big enough to get the connectors through anyway.

How on earth did you manage it? I don't suppose there's any chance of you posting a photo?

Update 12/26/11: well, I found I could get to it from behind the bulkhead, i.e. from underneath the vehicle. However, all that is moot because I discovered that there is no opening at all behind the right taillight at all, just blank metal!

So, sadly, this kit doesn't work at all on my van. Clearly, not all TCs are made the same. Check yours before you buy.

Cheers,

Lewie.

'11 XLT Passenger

Edited by Lewie
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  • 2 months later...

Take out the tail lights, unplug them, be carefull not to brake the security clip on the plugs.

On the bottom of the opening is a gromet, pull it out. Below the door hinge is a nother gromet, pull it out. It is a little difficult to to route the wires through those holes.

Start with the passenger side. First you have to cut the green wire on the harness, about 3 inches from the plugs. Than cut the flat 4 wire of the trailer plug about 3 to 4 inches from the module.

Now cut a hole into the gromets big enough that the flat wire, the green wire and if you want to route the 12 gage power wire that way, fit through it.

Tip, split the flat in the middle it fits better through the hole.

Tip rout the 12 gage power wire along the passenger side, along the taillight wiring harness.

Run the green wire through the gromet and than guide it through the chasi holes, starting with the hole at the bottom of the opening for the tail lights. Needs a little wigling to get it through both holes.

Now push the trailer plug wire through the gromet and than starting at the hole under the door hinge fiddel the wire through the holes. Help full is a sturdy wire with a hook, with which one can pull the wires out of the holes.

That is the most difficult part and takes a little time.

Once the trailer plug wire is inside the tail light openingguide it through the gromet push the gromet into its hole and than connect the wire to the module, I used the fast connect clips. Since the wires are color coded no big deal.

The green wire is guided through the gromet and the gromet is pushed into the hole under the hinge.

There is a small opening between pumper and chasi, thats were I pushed the trailer plug and the green wire through. The plug barely fits. Than run the wires inside the bumper. The trailer wire naturally only to were the hitch is.

the green wire all the way to the left, same procedure as on the right. I ran the 12 gage power wire to the left. It makes the deal with the gromets especialy on the right side a little more difficult, it gets really crowded. Thats why I would on a nother instalation run that wire along the passengerside to the batterie.

conect the green wire to the plugs, route the power wire inside the chasi to the front.

Right side now, connect the power wire to the modual. Using the 2 sided sticky tape, mount the modual at the very bottom of the tail light opening. It is a little crowded inside the opening and when instaling the taillight one has to push wires and plugs out of the way. push the plugs together. Install taillight. Same on the left.

Now finish routing the 12 gage to the front. One has to remove some of the plastic moldings, some hex screws and phillips. The wire is not long enough, to reach the batterie, About 3 feet short. Left of the Brake Pedal are 2 rubber gromets. Pull one out, push a whole into it, run 12 gage wire through it, take the wire with the hook and fish it inside the motor compartment out. It will come out just behind the main fuse and relay box. Attach the supplied wire with the fuse holder to the batterie, connect it to the 12 gage, secure it with wire straps. .Put your plastic mouldings back.

Test everything, install fuse, test everything.

If the car does not burn down, good job.

1 hour and 30 minutes.

Installing the hitch from Curt is a piece of cake, takes about 45 min.

Remove Spare. Inside of the frame are the holes with the weldet nuts. On the pasenger side just at the rear hole is a wire. Pull the clip. Forget about the clip it will brake, but it has to be removed and the wire pushed out of the way.

Twist the rubber hanger from the muffler 90 degree and it will come out of the slot.

Now slide the hitch under the vehicle and lift the right side in place, whatch for wires and the fuel lines. I could not get a screw to catch a thread at this stage. So I took a bungee and wraped it around the braket and the spring to hold the right side of the hitch in place. Now push the muffler down, don't be shy and slide the hitch over it and push it up onto the frame and insert the screws .

Tkae the bungee of, push the braket in place insert screws. check that no wires or fuel lines are in the way.

19 mm wrench or socket, tighten the bolts. Install spare. Done.

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  • 1 month later...

I just used this kit to wire my dad's 2012 Transit wagon. His did not have the grommet on the passenger side either. We wound up drilling a hole and installing a grommet to get the wires to the passenger side. We tied the power wire into the rear 12v power point instead of running the wire all the way to the battery. Works great. Hitch install is really simple, wiring is doable but a little more involved.

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  • 2 months later...

I just used this kit to wire my dad's 2012 Transit wagon. His did not have the grommet on the passenger side either. We wound up drilling a hole and installing a grommet to get the wires to the passenger side. We tied the power wire into the rear 12v power point instead of running the wire all the way to the battery. Works great. Hitch install is really simple, wiring is doable but a little more involved.

..

I PLAN on doing this job this week. Does your 4-way flat plug dangle out of the bottom undernear=th the bumper??

Also, can you show where you tapped into the 12v power point? who and where did you access that hot wire?

thanks.. JH

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Take out the tail lights, unplug them, be carefull not to brake the security clip on the plugs.

On the bottom of the opening is a gromet, pull it out. Below the door hinge is a nother gromet, pull it out. It is a little difficult to to route the wires through those holes.

Start with the passenger side. First you have to cut the green wire on the harness, about 3 inches from the plugs. Than cut the flat 4 wire of the trailer plug about 3 to 4 inches from the module.

Now cut a hole into the gromets big enough that the flat wire, the green wire and if you want to route the 12 gage power wire that way, fit through it.

Tip, split the flat in the middle it fits better through the hole.

Tip rout the 12 gage power wire along the passenger side, along the taillight wiring harness.

Run the green wire through the gromet and than guide it through the chasi holes, starting with the hole at the bottom of the opening for the tail lights. Needs a little wigling to get it through both holes.

Now push the trailer plug wire through the gromet and than starting at the hole under the door hinge fiddel the wire through the holes. Help full is a sturdy wire with a hook, with which one can pull the wires out of the holes.

That is the most difficult part and takes a little time.

Once the trailer plug wire is inside the tail light openingguide it through the gromet push the gromet into its hole and than connect the wire to the module, I used the fast connect clips. Since the wires are color coded no big deal.<snip>

I installed the Curt & same wiring kit. I found the instructions with the kit somewhat vague & referred to this post.

The hitch itself was a no-brainer. Of course, I picked the hottest day Nashville has seen in many years to do it. Still, 40 minutes, done.

I started on the passenger side with the wiring kit. I do have 2 grommets on each side, under the door hinges & inside the tail light wells. Used a piece of 20 ga. solid as a fish tape. Only wires to exit passenger side to drivers side were green power & flat 4 cond. ribbon. Took black 12v wire through back of right tail light well, past the convenience power point. Inside plastic wire wrap are 2 wires. Orange is hot 12v, straight off battery. Grabbed power there. Short run, maybe 4'. Stuffed module in right tail light well. Left ribbon harness inside TC, ran green wire under bumper to left side. Checked for power. Ran to Uhaul. Hate that place, but had to get on the road to Detroit. Hooked up 5x8. Had employee watch turn signals. I yell left side turn signals, he looks & then looks right & yells "got 'em." Vice versa for right turn signal. I get out & ask the guy if he's trying to get me killed. He looks like a deer in head lights. I gotta go. Pull module out of tail light well, reverse yellow & other color leads (don't remember). Everything works. Uneventful empty tow to Detroit. Had grave concerns pulling with a Ford Focus. No issues. Stayed in OD with cruise control. 65-70, 2800 rpms. On hills, TC down shifts, cancel cruise & keep revs under 3k.

Coming back with Hammond C3, Leslie, bench & pedals in trailer AND a 73' Fender Rhodes Suitcase 88 in TC no issues. Of course, I'm not counting straight line winds in Ohio north of Dayton & a killer, glorious light show courtesy of God, on I71 between Cincy & Louisville. Raining sheets. Slowed down, way down. Made it home 11 hours later, cargo intact.

I wouldn't do it on a daily basis, but I don't fear hurting the Cub Cadet (TC).

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Well I just got done with my 2012 XLT Passenger TC with the help of my bud..

about 2 hours.

I can also confirm that there is NO big round grommet on the passanger side of the van

Only one small one that goes nowhere straight down.

We drilled down thru that to expose a false bottom.... had to keep drilling till we got thru the second bottom to exit the van real close to the U-_Tie down point.

We had to cut the green wire and feed that and the power wire thru that newely drilled passage,on the passanger side.

Plus we started on the drivers side as per instructions..

I also ran the power from the control moduel on the drivers side... under with the 4-way flat and green wire...

under to the passenger side and up to the 12vt power outlet near the tailight.

Reach thru and grab the wire wrap... undo it and tap your fuse holder and black power wire to the fatter orange wire..

Then GM clear silicone sealant to gob over as much as possible the newely drilled hole with the green and black power.

It wasnt so easy for the '12 XLT wagaon... Curts instructions needs to be changed to reflect that.

we made it work, cause it took less time to 'work around' than it did for a 'return' and try to find one that does it easier..

But like it's allready been said.. the Wagons DO NOT have a grommet big enough to fit the Curts Plugs thru.

good luck

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  • 7 months later...
  • 2 months later...

I just finished installing the Kurt wiring kit in my 2013 Transit Connect.. It is clearly not plug and play. I have no large grommet in the right turn signal, and if there is one in the left, it is unusable.. if it is there, I can't reach it, and would never be able to get it back in place. I never could find it anyway. I did the install using the tips in Shrott's post in this topic. Just change every right side reference in Shrott's method to the left side, and vice versa. The green wire is clearly marked as the right turn signal and it is. Likewise, the Kurt electronic module goes into the left rear taillight, not the right side. It just lays in the bottom of the rear taillight body cavity and it is not in the way when you put the taillight assembly back into place. I ran the power wire up the left frame rail. I also put black corrugated plastic tube around all the wires, so that it would look like a factory installation and match the rest of the wiring on the vehicle. I would give the Kurt kit a one star rating out of five.. the wires in the kit are the same quality that have been used on trailer wiring for 50 years.. the kind that gets brittle in about 8-10 years. They should be using more modern insulation on the wires by now, similar to modern automotive quality.. Installation of the wiring kit took me four hours, working by myself. Bottom line is that kit does work, but you have to cut all the Kurt wires and then re-join them, as the chassis holes you end up using are too small to fit the plug ends through. On the plus side, at least you don't have to cut into or splice into any of the vehicle factory wiring. I also don't think there is a better option than using the Kurt kit. I would have given the kit a four star rating, if the sales pitch on the package had been accurate.. loosing one star for the wire insulation quality.

If you Google or Bing the Kurt wiring kit, you get hundreds of matches, most of them repeating the same marketing pitch that the kit is plug and play and quick to install and so on. Same for the reviews. All the ones that quickly come up say how great the kit is.. In my mind, that means shills have been writing the reviews.. Even if your Transit Connect has both large grommets in the tail light body cavities, you can't install the kit neatly in the advertised time.

IMG_6113.JPGIMG_6110.JPGIMG_6114.JPGIMG_6115.JPG

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  • 3 years later...

I have been attempting to install this on my 17 TC Cargo Van. I followed You Tube instructions for a Transit Express.
Fairly close, except for the "Remove Drivers Side Taillight" .
I ended up routing the hot wire along the drivers side. Got all the way to front seat. Could not get the L/H panel off due to the hood release.
Called my Ford dealer and they said I should be able to pry it off with a screwdriver. {NOPE} ended up stretching the spring and now it won't go back into it's proper place.
Then I find this forum. Now I've pulled everything back to the L/H siding door. Will end up taping into a hot back there . 

Edited by G Money
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  • 3 months later...

Watched a Utube on the wiring install. It shows the bulk of the install to be on the driver's side and shows a grommet to use to pass the main power line through. It also shows to leave the trailer connector cable in the driver's side rear panel by the jack and pull it out under the back door to use. I think I'll just go that route for the trailer connector. But I'll likely use the main power from the access point mentioned above.

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