Wiring the 12volt Feed and Back-Up Wires to the Trailer connector on a 1995 Ford F-150

Question:

I have a 95 F150 with factory trailer wiring. Brake contoller and all signals and running lites work. All the fuses in the power dist box are there and OK. All of the fuses in the cab fuse panel are there and OK. At the back of the truck there is a plug that has the blue wire for the brakes and a black and orange wire, which I figure is for the 12 v feed and the b/u lites. I found a plug up on the front left inner fender near the power dist box that is just sitting there. It has a blk and orange and 2 small wires in it and this wire goes down and back to the rear of the truck. I think these are the same wires at the back. Question is, if these are the wires i need then, is there an adapter wire or kit I have to get from Ford and if so then where does it plug into the fuse panel? I would like for the 12v feed and b/u lites to work, so any help would be appreciated.

asked by: Brian S

Expert Reply:

It sounds like you have checked things out pretty good. I think you are correct in your findings, but I would use a multi-meter and a extra length of wire to make sure that the orange and black wires are ran from the front to the rear of the vehicle. Set the multi-meter to continuity and, at the front of the vehicle, connect one probe to the extra wire and the other to the orange wire. Have a helper touch the other end of the extra wire to the orange wire at the rear of the vehicle. If the tester shows continuity then this wire is usable as long as there is no power on the wire when the ignition is on. Do the same with the black wire. If these are the tow package wires then they should be ran through the fuse panel and no additional wiring for that would be needed.

These wires could then be spliced to with quick splices, item # SWC501915-1, and ran to the appropriate circuits in the trailer connector. I would still use a 40-amp circuit breaker, item # PK54540, for the 12-volt power circuit. Use the larger of the two wires for the 12-volt circuit, usually 10-gauge, item # 10-1-1.

For the reverse light circuit, I would run a wire from the center pole of the 7-Way connector to one of the rear taillights and connect to the reverse circuit there, using a circuit tester, item # PTW2993 if needed, to find the correct wire.

At this time, we do not have a wiring harness for the connector under the hood. If the factory wiring does not work out, you will need to hard wire the power wire and the reverse circuit wire.