Curt Tail Light Converter with 4-Way Flat Trailer Connector
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2017 Mini Cooper
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2017 Mini Cooper
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When you just want your trailer lights to work without a complicated setup, this converter keeps things easy. The Curt Tail Light Converter with 4-Way Flat Trailer Connector splices directly into your tail light circuits and gives you a simple 4-flat plug for brake, turn, and running lights. It’s the basic link your trailer needs to stay legal and visible on the road.
Wiring jobs can get messy fast, but this kit includes quick-splice connectors and zip ties so everything goes together neatly. Each wire connects by function—not by color—so you get accurate signals without guesswork. Once everything’s in place, the converter box tucks away behind trim panels or inside the cargo area for a clean install that stays out of sight.
Older or smaller vehicles can’t always handle extra trailer load. The circuit-protected design of this converter helps prevent damage to sensitive tail light wiring by controlling the current draw to the trailer lights. It supports up to 3 amps for stop/turn signals and 7.5 amps for tail lights, keeping both sides of the connection safe and dependable.
If your trailer uses standard incandescent bulbs, this harness is ready to go. It’s made for traditional lighting setups, giving you the confidence that your signals will match what’s expected at the trailer end every time you hook up.
Customer Satisfaction Score:
98% were satisfied with this product
2% of customers were not satisfied
Ratings & Reviews
This worked great for me on my 2004 Oldsmobile Alero. If your familiar with wiring this will be a quick install for you. Every car is different so it may take you a bit to find the wires. The longest part of installing these for me is just figuring out which wire is which. I usually unhook a taillight at the connector and use a grounded testing light and then make my connections. The kit includes snap lock wire connectors, but you can solder if your application calls for stronger connections.
Works great. I filled each connector with dielectric grease sold by eTrailer. (I'm a big believer in dielectric grease even for interior and indoor use. It inhibits oxidation of contact points which occurs without exposure to harsh elements.). The grease made it difficult to grasp 2 wires and operate the clamp-down connector. The green wire (to the RH turn signal) was a barely long enough. I have a rattle when I go over a speed hump. It's the loose green wire. I should have secured it better, but the length limited my options. I was going to use a 4-wire connector mounting bracket, but for my little 2013 Accent, that seemed like overkill. I zip-tied the connector to the hitch's cross bar. It's accessible enough for me, not not dangling.
Did not work with my application. To this day I still don't have working trailer lights.
Nice kit, worked great for a month. Now it doesn't turn the brake lights or tail lights.
Brooke M.
4/27/2022
A common cause for this type of issue is a bad ground connection or bad wiring connection. You will want to make sure all connections are secure and make sure your ground is at a direct, clean, and secure point.
I installed this item on a 2014 Mazda 3 HB. I actually placed the unit in the right rear of the vehicle in the jack compartment, keeping it completely out of the way. Doing this required to have a longer piece of wire for the left turn signal input, as the unit comes with a long wire for the right turn signal input wire. The unit is high quality, easy to install with simple instruction. Note: to those using this in the new Mazda 3 series, there is a hole in the bottom of the jack compartment covered by tape. Since I already have another 4 pin flat car end, I will get a trailer end connector and plug it to the unit and run the wires through the hole with a grommet and splice them on to my other car end connector. This will allow me to have the trailer connector available under the car at the hitch and I won’t have to run the wires out the hatch door possible pinching or rubbing on the bumper.
This kit worked great. Your car or truck may need a little extra wire for the right turn signal but I am very very happy with the quality of the materials and install. Hauled my trailer safely today and did not have to redo any connections!
Mj
2/6/2016
It works
A "shade tree mechanic" perspective:
Contrary to the included "tools needed" my 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan bolts were 18 MM not 17 MM. I bought a 6 point 18 MM impact socket from Lowes for about $5.
You can remove the bolts with a 3/8" socket wrench and about a 12" 3/4 iron pipe as a cheater.
There are two installation videos available on Youtube. 2001 and 2004. One shows removing the spare tire. You don't need to do that.
Access to the driver's side mount is very tight. I could barely touch the rubber flap blocking the channel.
Don't try to pull on the fish wire to force the bolt assembly past the rubber flap. I almost lost one of the bolts. I ended up using a piece of 1/4" rod bent in a U to push the rubber flap out of the way enough to get the bolt past.
I was able to mount the hitch without help by balancing it on three 2 foot long pieces of firewood (rough guesstimate). I lifted one side and fastened it losely to the bolt closest to the end of the hitch, then fastened the bolt on the other side a bit more tightly. then lifted the middle of the hitch and lined up the other bolts.
OK this product is great, installs quickly with the supplied tap connectors and works as expected. i installed on a 05 Hyundai Elantra.
Do yourself a favor and save yourself hours of troubleshooting. take some sandpaper and scratch off the paint on the metal surface of the car. I did it inside the light access panel. Use the supplied self tapping screw to make a Solid ground or your trailer lights will not work! i took a shortcut and secured to a screw in the panel, with paint under it. While this was sufficient ground for my test light, it was not for the trailer lights. <- this really threw me off and i wasted a lot of time troubleshooting. i even thought my trailer lights were bad and got a replacement set! but no good until i grounded properly.
PS tech support was AWESOME! i had to call twice, once for the hitch install, another for trailer light issue. they answered my questions quickly and even helped me troubleshooting my trailer light issue!.
When it comes time to get a hitch for my wife's van, i am definitely re-ordering from etrailer.com.
Fairly easy to attach just had to double check the wiring on the car and had to sandpaper away some paint in order to get a good ground connection.
The quick splice were a bit oversized for my Audi wiring. Required me to wiggle it a bit to get a good connection to the, my guess 22ga, wire. Could also use at least a few more zipties. Otherwise, this is a good kit.
great wire harness, could not have been easier for the "common man" to deal with ! came with the hitch, I paid for it, but same package so didn't have to wait for a second box.
Darrell N.
6/17/2015
WONDERFUL!!
The product works fine. I Youtube video for installing a harness on a Suzuki XL-7 IS NOT this product. If you're not a very handy person you may have problems getting this installed. I figured it out but I'm pretty handy. The video show them just plugging it into a 6 pin connector inside the left rear qarter panel. But the harness itself has no matching connector. You have it splice each wire to a wire on the car.
Patrick B.
11/11/2013
The video that we had was for wiring in Tow Ready part 118372 [no longer available].
Something is defective with this unit. While the running light circuit is fine, the circuits that convert the brake and turn signals into a single circuit (the essence of the device) is intermittent; sometimes it works properly, sometime only the left light responds, sometime only the right, sometimes nothing. I believe the problem is due to a bad diode in the unit. I am experienced with these devices, so it is not an installation error. Due to the installation, I am unable to return the unit in unused condition.
1996 Jeep Cherokee.
FYI- this unit was purchased to replace a similar unit that started having a different problem after ten years of use.
Mike L.
10/10/2018
When a wiring harness is acting up, the first thing youll want to do is isolate the cause to the vehicle or the trailer wiring. Use a standard incandescent circuit tester like our part 40376 on each pin of the trailer connector as each function is activated. If youre not getting signal on the trailer connector pins, try testing on the input side of the converter. If the signal is entering but exiting the converter box, youll have confirmed that the converter is bad. Youll also want to ensure that the ground connection is secure. An insufficient ground can cause all kinds of odd behavior in the lighting. Ill link you to an help article on trailer wiring troubleshooting.
Helpful Links
The online fit guide stated that this would work for my 2000 Honda Civic, but after installation (double checked for proper installation) only one brake light worked on the trailer.
Brooke M.
1/23/2023
I am sorry to hear you are having issues with this. It sounds to me like there is a bad ground connection. You may want to double check once more and just make sure your ground wire has a direct, clean, and secure connection. So often, when it comes to wiring, the ground connection is the issue.
Good price, product was perfect, and the shipping was quick. Problem solved. T-taps are sort of miserable, but that's on the installer, not the product - cutting, soldering, and heat shrinking is definitely the way to go.
If you have a problem with your 'Yota truck lighting acting wonky, chances are very high this unit is your issue! Mount it up high, on the bottom of the bed to keep it dry and give it decent life. The harness cover is a nice touch that does not come with all of these - pack it with dielectric grease, and you'll get many years out of this.
Good job, etrailer!
Patrick B.
3/4/2013
We have seen some wonky trailer light issues with Toyotas when adding aftermarket harnesses like this. Typically the issue is the ground. The Toyota frames do not ground as easily as other makes. Sometimes we have to move the ground or extend it to a factory ground point in order for the system to function correctly.
I installed this on my motorcycle, a 2004 Honda VTX 1300S. The converter itself is attached beside the license plate, exposed to the weather. It has functioned flawlessly for almost a year now, through Kansas cloudburst, desert heat and mountain freeze. If I should ever need another (not likely), I will get the same model.
Alan
11/27/2019
A year later and it still works just fine.
The Circuit Protected Converter # SMT C56175 trailer lighting harness for my 1998 VW Beetle arrived within a few days and was easy to install with the include instructions!
All trailer lights worked perfect the first time they were checked after the install! Great job to ALL of you at etrailer.com
David W.
1/4/2015
From the day I installed the SMT C56175 Converter, I have had no problems at all! This is a well designed, high quality item that I would highly recommend to anyone!This item still gets a five star rating all day long!All The Best,David W
Had a defective harness. E trailer was OK to deal with, but I had to contact the supplier (Curt) who were horrible. They kept telling me it was the car, but it wasn't. Even after I told them I replaced their harness with one from another supplier and everything was fine, they still wouldn't acknowledge their fault. They cost me a lot of time because they had me second guessing myself a lot. I wish E trailer would have intervened.
Gwendolyn Y.
10/14/2024
Hey Kevin. That doesn't sound like the best experience you are going thru. Are you still in need of getting a replacement harness? Let me know and I can get the warranty taken care of for you.
I've been using this wiring harness for around a year now and it's performed amazingly. I have a 2004 VW Jetta Wagon, picked up some cheap female "pin" connectors as my taillights on my car had pins that you could just slide a connector on to. I was able to use this method to install this harness without actually cutting into any of my cars wiring. Working amazingly.
Corey
5/6/2022
Still working great 2 years after purchase. No complaints at all.
Was very happy and satisfied with my purchase and delivery of my product. Insulation went very well.
Good! I found a photo and text demo page that let me match wire color and pin position on my 09 yaris hb, much faster with good intel. The car's wires are skinny and tightly bundled and it's fiddly to get the chunky splices in there, got tight connections though. Works well so far
eTrailer gets a grade of A+. The actual part gets a grade of B-. Two of the wires arrived slightly damaged - luckily near the cut end so I didn't have to lose much length. The sticker identifying the 4 wires on one side and 5 wires on the other was upside down, so I peeled it off and reapplied (my OCD kicking in!). I wanted to keep my original quick release plugs on 1996 Jeep Cherokee Sport & was able to do that. Used heat shrink connectors between them & Curt Converter. All lights on vehicle & trailer working perfectly again!
very complete kit. Great price. I purchased for a 1992 Miata which your web site states "fits" my vehicle. however little is out there showing "HOW" to hook this up. It would be very much appreciated if a "how to" video could be produced to address this issue.
Not at all difficult to wire it in most cars depending on how difficult it is to pull the tail lights or access their wiring/bulbs.
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David B.
10/8/2022
Ill have CS reach out to you William. In the meantime I would double check your grounds, look for damaged wires and loosecorroded connections.