Troubleshooting Fuses Blowing on T-One 118411 Wiring Harness for my 2006 Volvo XC90

Updated 05/03/2014 | Published 04/30/2014

Products Featured in This Question

T-One Vehicle Wiring Harness with 4-Pole Flat Trailer Connector

(157)

$59.31

Curt T-Connector Vehicle Wiring Harness with 4-Pole Flat Trailer Connector

(82)

$55.73

Question:

Wiring harness fuses blow out for turn signals 3 amp and brake lights 5 amp when towing a rental trailer. The lights functioned correctly at initial checkout but blew while in transit. The circuit fuse 10 amp did not have any issues. I have rented trailers before from this national company and had no issues. However, this particular rental trailer had two sets of directional and brake lights. After notifying the rental company, they verified the trailer lights were functioning correctly and there were no wiring issues that would cause the fuses to blow. Short of purchasing and installing a different harness, is there something that can be done when faced with this situation going forward? For example, if there are multiple signal and brake lights that function along with the standard Volvo running lights, can a higher fuse be used to compensate for the additional load?

asked by: William S

Expert Reply:

I would strongly recommend not using a higher rated fuse to compensate for additional load on the trailer wiring circuit. Those fuse ratings were designed to protect the wiring so that nothing gets fried. Going to a higher rated fuse would just move the weakest link of the setup somewhere else and the problem would show up somewhere else. Most likely somewhere expensive!

The best solution I could give you would be to go with a higher rated trailer wiring harness to allow you to tow a trailer with more lights than usual. This wouldn't work for you most likely since you rent trailers, but converting the trailer lights from incandescent bulbs to LEDs lowers the draw considerably and would prevent fuses from blowing.

The Curt Harness part # C56045 that is recommended for your 2006 Volvo XC90 has higher amperage ratings than the Tow Ready harness # 118411 that you have installed on your vehicle currently, and believe it or not we seem to have fewer issues with Curt harnesses than the Tow Ready's.

I attached an FAQ on trailer wiring for you to check out also.

expert reply by: Jameson C