Trailer Wiring Harness Installation on 2015 Nissan Murano

Question:

hello, i watched your video on installing this connector... however, i would like to have the connector outside the vehicle next to the hitch. are there any reasons for not doing that?

asked by: Luis S

Expert Reply:

Actually, there's a very good reason to store the 4 pole trailer connector in the cargo area when it's not being used- it protects the connector from corrosion, damage and road grime. When the trailer connector is needed, simply pull the connector out far enough so it plugs into the trailer and close the rear hatch on the wiring harness (be sure to avoid the latch area.) The weather stripping is thick enough that the wiring harness won't be damaged in the least.

The wiring harness on my van is installed the same way and it's worked perfectly for almost 5 years.

If you wish to run the connector outside the vehicle, you'll need to find a grommet in the floor of the cargo area. You can usually find one in the spare tire well. Use a sharp utility knife to cut an X in the grommet to feed the 4-pole through the grommet. If the grommet isn't large enough to allow the connector to pass through you'll need to cut the plug off the harness, feed the harness through the grommet then splice the connector back onto the harness. When you cut the harness, make you do so on the portion of the harness that will remain in the vehicle to protect the splices from corrosion. When you make the splices, use butt connectors like # 05730-5 to connect them and heat shrink tubing like # DW05451 to protect the connections.

You can mount the connector to the hitch by using the # 18140 and # 18144 brackets.