Adapting Different Connectors on 2014 Mercedes GLK250 and Prolite Suite Trailer

Question:

Hello, Both our GLK250 car and Prolite Suite trailer have 6-way round connectors 7-pin blade and are clearly compatible. But the diameter of the male on the trailer seems to be a tiny bit too large and it cannot be ed in the car female connector. Have you seen this before? Perhaps the Mercedes has a European version and has a slightly different diameter from the Canadian Prolite? Which side should be fixed?

asked by: A.Martel

Expert Reply:

Vehicle and trailer connectors come in several varieties, including both 6-way round and 7-way blade types. The linked article on trailer wiring illustrates both, as well as other types. These two types are NOT compatible with each other.

Within each type of connector sizes are usually standardized, although the actual wire configuration (what particular signal is carried by any given pin/wire) can vary by brand. My associates and I have not heard of this issue before but certainly a specific brand of 7-way plug might be made with a housing that does not mate well with another brand of vehicle socket. Trailer connectors in Europe use totally different trailer connector formats and wiring schemes and we do not support those products.

We do offer a wide range of wiring adapters that can join a vehicle with one connector to a trailer with another. For reference I have linked our main page for wiring adapters. You can check for an available part by clicking on the filters. Click on the type of connector on the vehicle and then the type on the trailer; any available adapters that could work for you will be displayed.

You can also change one of the connectors. I suggest doing this on the trailer side since this is usually easier to do. Let's say your vehicle has a 7-way RV-style blade socket; in this case you could re-wire the trailer using a junction box # 38656 and 7-way plug # H20046. You might use a wiring kit like # HM51020 or you can select ring-terminals # 44-5356A (order at least 6) and # DW05702-1 (order at least 8).

Please feel free to get back to me with your confirmed connector types and I will be glad to assist further.