Troubleshooting Hopkins Wiring Harness HM11143325 Constantly Powering Trailer Brakes

Question:

I have the HM11143325 but havent used it in a while. I went to pull the Boy Scout trailer and the brakes wouldnt disengage. Upon inspection the blue and black wires didnt line up when connecting to the 2008 Toyota Sequoia with tow package. Is there an easy way to switch the wires on the part or can I get a replacement?

asked by: J G

Expert Reply:

Since the Hopkins Plug-In Simple Vehicle Wiring Harness for Factory Tow Package - 7-Way and 4-Flat Connectors # HM11143325 you have is designed specifically for your 2008 Toyota Sequoia, then it should have the wires in the correct location.

You can test this with a circuit tester like # PTW2993. You will want to test the 1 o'clock pin of the 7-way and it should have 12v power constantly, and next test the 5 o'clock pin on the 7-way connector it should only have 12v power when the brake pedal/manual override on your trailer brake controller is pressed.

If your connector tests as mentioned above, then the trailer is actually wired incorrectly, and you will need to swap the trailer brake output (Usually blue wire) and 12v power circuit (Usually black or red wire) in the trailer connector.

If you find that your vehicle's connector is backwards in regard to the blue and black wire functions, you can unplug the harness from the vehicle and cut the blue and black wires from the back of the connector and reinstall them in the other location using heat shrink butt connectors # DW05745-5.

I included a video of the # HM11143325 for you to take a look at.