Trailer 7-Way Won't Work with Vehicle 7-Way

Question:

I have a popup camper with a 7-way plug, Camper wiring is correct and works great with other vehicles. I have a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan that I just installed an OEM trailer wiring harness kit on, with included Mopar 7-way plug. But I am not getting any electrical connection between the 2 when plugged in. The Mopar kit came with a 7-way to 4-way trailer adapter plug and I had a 7-way to 4-way car adapter I had made for use on other vehicles. If I connect the two adapters together between the car and trailer, the trailer lights all work. obviously I dont have brakes or aux power though. I can see that the contacts used in the OE Mopar plug are different from most 7-way receptacles Ive seen with the contacts being crimped much thinner than the others I have. Is this a common problem? Have the 7-way plug design standards changed? Should I try to modify the old plug to fit the receptacle, or visa versa? Frustrating to have to change the old but perfectly good plug on the camper and the pay back I get for buying the goodinch vehicle wiring harness.

asked by: Todd Z

Expert Reply:

The 7-way trailer connectors are an industry standard design and cross compatible among brands. That said, the manufacturing tolerances are not the same among all brands which is why you can sometimes run into issues although this is not very common. It's hard to say which side is out of spec so I will give easy to install replacement options for both side and let you decide which to replace if not both.

Trailer Side: Pollak Black Plastic, 7-Pole, RV-Style Trailer Connector part # PK12706 (Best)
Vehicle Side: Pollak Black Plastic, 7-Pole, RV Blade-Style Trailer Socket part # PK12-707E (Best)

expert reply by: Conner L