Solution for Towing Trailer with 5-Way with Vehicle with 4-Way

Question:

How do I convert the 4 wire connector from vehicle to 5 wire connector on Trailer? I am not getting anything, in terms of lights? Do I need an adapter, or can I cut the 5 wire connector, and then wire color for color, including all the browns? Thanks,

asked by: Brandon L

Expert Reply:

To convert the 4-way of your vehicle to a 5-way to match your trailer you'd need a 5-way adapter like part # 20036. Normally 5-ways are used a lot on boat trailers to activate the reverse lockout solenoid of the surge brake setup. This allows the trailer to back up without the brakes locking up. So in this case the 5th wire is ran to the reverse light circuit of the vehicle.

You might verify where the fifth circuit goes on your trailer and be sure to match it accordingly on your tow vehicle but in most cases it's for reverse light.

expert reply by: Jameson C