Trailer Wiring Recommendation for 2006 Toyota Highlander to Replace Shorted Harness

Question:

I was looking to purchase that wiring harness to replace the existing one that I believe blew out on me. I backed trailer down into water when harness was still plugged in, and I know my trailer lamps are good but none of the lights work on my trailer since then. My question is, this particular wire harness does not run off my Toyota fuse box why didnt a fuse blow in my vehicle? is it the actual converter box on my wire harness that blows out instead of a fuse? and my last question I have is on my existing wire harness I have an extra black wire that is ran underneath my vehicle but I could not follow to were it actually gets wired into and what that extra black wire is for. I see the wire harness I am looking at part #118413 does not have that extra black wire otherwise it looks like it will work for me. Any help with these questions would be greatly appreciated. Thank You for your time

asked by: Tom H

Expert Reply:

Trailer wiring converter boxes are designed to absorb the shorts in trailer wiring and basically sacrifice themselves to prevent your vehicle wiring from getting damaged. That's what happened in your case.

That extra wire you mentioned is used for drawing power for the trailer taillights instead of drawing them from the vehicle lights. This is another way it protects the wiring. The part # 118413 does not use a wire like that. Since I prefer that type of install since it's safer I would recommend you go with the # C55400 instead which is also a fit for your vehicle.

expert reply by: Jameson C