Troubleshooting Trailer Lights Not Functioning On Trailer When Towing with 2011 Honda Pilot

Question:

I have a 2011 pilot and installed a Curt 56366 harness. It was working fine, but recently rented a uhaul and no lights functioned on the trailer, but all fine on the pilot. All fuses seem to be fine. I use a Hopkins 47345, LED Test 7 Blade to 4 Flat Towing Adapter, currently only one light constantly illuminates on the adapter. With the brake lights on, and directional on there is a very slight illumination on the adapter. I checked connections, and no sign of corrosion. Could the be a problem with the converter? What voltages should I be seeing at the 7 pin plug?

asked by: Dan

Expert Reply:

Thank you for all of the details.

If the Curt T-Connector C56366 (discontinued) for your 2011 Honda Pilot is only showing 1 light on your Hopkins Tester/Adapter # 47345 with the trailer plugged in then either the tester/adapter is malfunctioning or your Curt wiring harness is malfunctioning.

If you have a circuit tester then I recommend using that instead to test your Curt T-Connector or you can either plug a trailer that has a 7-Way into the Curt connector or use the Hopkins adapter with a different trailer that has the 4-Way connector. This will help you figure out which part of your setup is the issue.

To replace the Curt T-Connector I recommend using the Tekonsha Kit # 118253 instead as we have found the Tekonsha wiring to be a bit more reliable altogether. To replace the adapter you can either get the same Hopkins # 47345 or you can replace the 7-Way with the Hopkins # 30955 which plugs into the US Car Connection and gives you both a 4-Way and a 7-Way connection without the need of an adapter.