What is the Circuit Protection on the Curt Replacement Wiring Harness # 56097

Question:

I put this part on my 2011 Honda Pilot. My 56097 part has failed twice. The customer service at etrailer told me that I may have either too many lights on my trailer or that it has a short somewhere. She recommended upgrading my trailer to use LED lights. What are the specs for this part? What is the max load? What is the most current this thing can drive before failing? Is there any short circuit protection at all on this module? I really expect that there should be some.

asked by: Michael C

Expert Reply:

The Curt Replacement Circuit Protected OEM Wiring Harness, # 56097, for your 2011 Honda pilot is rated to handle up to 3 amps on the turn and brake circuits and up to 6 amps on the tail light circuit. The circuit protection on this harness is the converter box. The converter box will short out if there is a short on the trailer or the trailer lights are drawing too many amps to protect the vehicles electrical system. This is how most vehicle specific circuit protected wiring harnesses are manufactured.

If multiple wiring harnesses have failed, then the issue is most likely a short or over amperage draw from the trailer lights. Before installing another wiring harness, I would recommend checking the turn, brake and tail light circuits on your trailer for any pinched, frayed or damaged wires. If you have a trailer that has the wires inside the frame, like most boat trailers, then you will want to be sure you pull those wires out to check for damaged sections.

I would also recommend checking the amperage draw on those circuits using a multimeter, # BTMT15, to ensure the trailer is not trying to pull too many amps through the converter box. If you find that the issue is that the lights are drawing too much power, switching to LED lights would be a good idea because they require only a fraction of the power of standard or incandescent lights.

There are a few universal fit wiring harnesses like the the Tow Ready Upgraded Heavy Duty Modulite Circuit Protected Wiring Harness, # 119190KIT, that have higher amperage ratings and that can automatically reset themselves rather than shorting out.

One option that you may be interested in is to get the # 119190KIT harness and use the converter box from that harness to upgrade and replace the converter box on your existing harness.

First, you would just need to cut the wires from your converter box going to the white connector. Next, cut the wires going into and out of the upgraded converter leaving enough wire length to connect the wires from the upgraded converter to the wires still attached to the white end connector.

You will need to make sure the connections are made the same as the original converter box. You will splice the wires from the original white connector to the wires going into the upgraded converter. The only wires you need to connect that are coming out of the upgraded converter are the green and yellow wires. Be sure you mark the wires on the white connector which green wire was going in and which green wire was coming out. Do the same for the yellow wires.

The only wires that will be used on the trailer side of the converter box are the green and yellow wires. The brown tail light wires on the upgraded converter box will not be used so they can simply be cut off and both white wires should be grounded to metal. I have attached a video and a photo explaining how to change your converter box.

I still recommend checking your trailer for a short or for the correct amperage draw because a short or excessive amperage will still prevent the upgraded converter box from working. If you have any questions feel free to send me an email.

expert reply by: John H