Replacement Trailer Wiring Harness Recommendation for 1996 Ford Explorer

Question:

Hello, About a year ago I ordered Hopkins Plug-In Simple Vehicle Wiring Harness with 4-Pole Flat Trailer Connector Item # HM40315 for my 1996 Ford Explorer. The harness installed easily and worked great for about a year. Now somehow it is shorting somewhere and blowing its own inline fuse, and then my Explorers parking lamp fuse. I went ahead and pulled the whole harness out and cannot find any damaged wires anywhere or damage to the converter box. Is there a way to troubleshoot this thing, or should I just scrap it and try the Curtis brand next time? I feel like it should definitely last longer than one year. Thanks

asked by: Joshua C

Expert Reply:

The converter boxes of trailer wiring harnesses like the Hopkins part # HM40315 that you referenced are designed to take the brunt of a trailer wiring short and prevent it from making it to the vehicle wiring. When this happens though the converter box internally damages itself and the only solution is to replace it. Most likely though a short on your trailers wiring is what caused the box to start behaving weird so you'll want to find that and fix it first. You'll want to look for cut or exposed wiring on the trailer and fix as needed.

When it's time to replace the harness I recommend the Tekonsha brand the highest as we have found it's the hardest to short out and is the most reliable long term. For that you'd want the part # 118345 which is a fit for your 1996 Ford Explorer.

expert reply by: Jameson C