mws Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 I need to wire my '87 Pathy for towing a trailer. Is there a convenient spot to access all the necessary wires in the factory wiring harness? In many vehicles, the running, stop, left turn and right turn wires are all together on one side or the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagwoodzz Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 Open rear hatch. Look on left side. There is a plastic access panel between the door and the fender well. All the wiring is visible there. I used (interior) spare tire mounting bracket for a ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted March 14, 2006 Author Share Posted March 14, 2006 Perfect! Thanks! (And I'm glad it's the left side - it doesn't require pulling out the subwoofer to get to!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mookie Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 With most of the kits, you can do everything from that access panel as dagwoodzz pointed out. Some of the plug and go "T" kits require you to run a few wires to the passenger side to (I ran them under the plastic moulding to hide them) so you can just plug or 'T' into the existing factory plug. Either way, pretty simple! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagwoodzz Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Some of the plug and go "T" kits require you to run a few wires to the passenger side to (I ran them under the plastic moulding to hide them) I'm with Mookie, I thought all wires were connected on driver side. Not true. If it helps you ID proper wires faster. Left turn is - Blue & Gray w/ Red Stripe. Brake is - Green & Yellow w/ Red Stripe. Right turn ran to passenger side - Gray & Red w/ Red Stripe. I tried to illustrate this with modern invention of electronic photo editing. RED NECK STYLE, Enjoy! This is US model could be completely opposite in Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted March 15, 2006 Author Share Posted March 15, 2006 great information! Thanks! We call it "pencil CAD" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I had the dealer throw in the harness as an extra when I bought my pathy. (dang I love free stuff). It's wired so that you unplug your light harness (passenger and drivers sides) inside the access panels and plug in the tow harness. Then plug your lights back into the tow harness. Since it's so easy with the connectors, I inly plug it in when I'm gonna tow something. Otherwise, it's just stuffed in the access panel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted March 15, 2006 Author Share Posted March 15, 2006 Being the AR enginerd, I will be cutting into the stock wires and soldering the connections in. My 25 years experience of doing custom vehicle wiring (stereos, alarms, etc) have given me the following opinions of termination types: The number is how many connections caused problems over the next 10 years or so of service (usually intermittents that cropped up in cold or wet conditions): Quality solder joint with heatshrink insulation: 0% problems (This is based on several thousand terminations. I have never had a failure. I am IPC trained and certified) High quality connectors with gold plated contacts soldered to wires: 0% problems (Amp Multi-Mate II connectors - expensive, but excellent. Probably 1 or 2000 I did at home, a couple hundred thousand at work building mainframe computer wiring harnesses for IBM - 0 reported failures) Connectors with tin plated contacts soldered to wires: 0.5% problems (Standard Amp Multimate style, have had some issues when exposed to elements) High quality crimp connectors with high quality crimps (3M or Amp contacts with commercial crimp tools): 0.5% problems Average connectors with home style plier style crimps: 1-2% problems Quality IDC T-tap style connections or wire splice: 5% problems - usually 1 or 2 years after install. Quit using them, even had intermittents with 3M versions. El Cheapo Taiwanese style splice or T-type connections: 10%+ Never use them anymore.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagwoodzz Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 (edited) :bow: I agree, however I would have never known the answer to the original question if the wiring installed by previous owner didn't need screwing with every time I hitch up. It is on my to do list to solder and heat shrink as well. Take pride in knowing You will never be confused with a Red Neck! I however fully intend for my last words to be "HEY YA'LL WATCH THIS!" Edited March 15, 2006 by dagwoodzz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted March 15, 2006 Author Share Posted March 15, 2006 That got me literally laughing out loud! I am soooooo a redneck in so many ways.... And I have cursed many a previous owner... And I have actually uttered those immortal words... Well, maybe not the Ya'all part... If you want some heatshrink, PM me your address. I have some to spare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Take pride in knowing You will never be confused with a Red Neck! I however fully intend for my last words to be "HEY YA'LL WATCH THIS!" or "Hey Y'all wanna see some @!*%" i basically did that but i had to repair the crap job the guy that owned my 87 B4 me...i did it a lil different b/c i couldnt figure out how to get the right turn signal to work so i just spliced in there and ran a wire across for it too then there is a plug under the spare tire dip (i think) i cut it and fed the wires up thru B4 soldering and put silicone on it so i could run it up to the hitch unlike the guy b4 he ran it out of the tailgate whenever he wanted to use it and the way it was done was UGLY... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagwoodzz Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Describes mine 2 a T. I don't mind hanging it out the back door. The only time I use it is to pull a single axle utility trailer to HomeDepot. The rest of the time Its tucked neatly away in the side pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 As above, I placed mine in the drivers side access panel.. Mine is not a "T" though, it is hardwired in. (As with Mookie, I ran a line under the trim panel from the passenger side) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 DONE! Dagwoodzz pictures matched my '87 perfectly. Did have to run a wire under the rear door sill for right turn signal. All soldered in, clean as a whistle. I went with a 7 prong "RV" socket as those seem to be evolving into the default standard these days - and what the tow van and existing trailer use. I already have a 7 to 4 converter for towing little trailers. And I was VERY impressed with how well the little pathy pulled the trailer! I towed a rather large tandem axle flatbed car trailer with the carcass of a full size Chevy van on it about 10 miles across town. I avoided exceeding 45 mph as the really short wheelbase makes me nervous, but power wise, it did just fine up to 45! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 Cool, glad everything went well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmgar99 Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 I however fully intend for my last words to be "HEY YA'LL WATCH THIS!" Amen to that brother... Actually my wife told me those words will be my epitaph when all is good and done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moospis Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 I'm with Mookie, I thought all wires were connected on driver side. Not true. If it helps you ID proper wires faster. Left turn is - Blue & Gray w/ Red Stripe. Brake is - Green & Yellow w/ Red Stripe. Right turn ran to passenger side - Gray & Red w/ Red Stripe. I tried to illustrate this with modern invention of electronic photo editing. RED NECK STYLE, Enjoy! This is US model could be completely opposite in Europe. tx dagzz and all- ok so how does that wesbar connector work? does it hook into the rear panel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 or ya coulda checked out my write up.......... http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=10354 and damn this topic is OLD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moospis Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 I'm with Mookie, I thought all wires were connected on driver side. Not true. If it helps you ID proper wires faster. Left turn is - Blue & Gray w/ Red Stripe. Brake is - Green & Yellow w/ Red Stripe. Right turn ran to passenger side - Gray & Red w/ Red Stripe. I tried to illustrate this with modern invention of electronic photo editing. RED NECK STYLE, Enjoy! This is US model could be completely opposite in Europe. ok dag but what about the left side with the other 2 wires? Is one the ground and the other the running or hazards? Im still confused Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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