Can a Trailer Reverse Light Function Be Hardwired to a 2010 Ford Escape Trailer Wiring Harness

Question:

I am installing a trailer light wiring harness on a Ford 2010 Escape. I am buying the product designed for vehicles without a trailer package. I was told by the dealer that if I spliced directly into the tail lights the smart fuse panel would shut me down. Is that also true of the back-up lights ? I want to install the Pilot reverse lights. Is there a wiring harness that provides an extra protected wire or a single wire protected harness? The easiest solution would be to splice directly into the back-up lights but I am concerned that a problem will develop.

asked by: John A

Expert Reply:

A typical 4-Way trailer wiring harness does not have a reverse light function so what I recommend is using powered converter # 119177KIT. This harness does require splicing into the tail light wiring but it is a powered converter so it will only put a minute amount of draw on the tail light wiring. The bulk of the power for the trailer lights will come from the battery connection.

You can run this by a technician at your Ford dealer to determine if they think it would cause problems.

If they tell you it will not work then you can ask them if using the regular harness specific to your 2010 Escape will work along with using a 4 to 5-Way adapter, # 20036, will work if you were to use a fuse tap on the reverse light fuse to power the reverse lights.

expert reply by: Michael H