This is the wiring they installed, which says it is compatible with 2005 Hybrid:

http://www.drawtite-hitches.com/prod...26#accessories

Does not look like there is a separate power supply with this wiring set.

 

OK, under the hood there was a 10 amp fuse in a small rubber housing right next to the 12v battery. I replaced the fuse and lights worked on my dad's trailer i had hooked up. Went home and hooked up the jetski trailer and new fuse blew immediately. In fact, I blew 3 in a row. Does this make a short in the jetski trailer the problem for sure, or could it still be wired wrong on my 05 Hybrid? I'd hate to rewire the trailer for nothing. The tester at the place that installed the wiring showed it should be operating appropriately, and it did with dad's trailer for a short amount of time...but I still don't know if they really know Hybrids that well.

 

Try this link at etrailer.com: http://www.etrailer.com/Vehicle-Wiri...eid=2005303261

 

Eagle Fan-

Sounds to me like there is a problem with your TRAILER.

Like I said, in the 2005, I was successful with just crimping the trailer wires onto my rear lamp wires. Small caveat. Trailers are 4-wire, and the FEH is 5 wire. ( FEH has separate wire for stop (red) and turn (amber) and the trailer uses one (red) for both stop and turn.

No Problem Mon! I put BOTH the wire for the amber turn and red stop on the FEH to the trailer turn lamp, with a 50 cent diode between the two.

No fancy box required, and I've never been over amp, and my trailer has a dozen marker lamps in addition to the tail lamps.

I'm confused why Bill had a problem.
And Bill is confused about the term "Vampire tap".
Vampire tap is what I did, just a simple crimp on ( with "fangs" ) onto an existing wire. The more elaborate wire scheme uses dedicated power on a separate wire to the 12v battery, and a fancy box to control the blinker.
I still say the box is un-needed. I've not blown any fuses ever, towed 4 separate trailers, over 9000 miles total.

What do those fancy boxes cost? I'm out $2 and it has been more successful than other posters.

KISS - Keep It Simple Sir

 

The wiring kit I got (Tow Ready 118426) cost $99 installed. If I read Billk's post correctly, that is the wiring with the "fancy box".

 

gpsman1: you're confused because you don't really understand how the FEH lights work. You were lucky that you didn't have the problem.

The FEH software is simple. It monitors the current drain on lights and turns them off if it thinks they are too high. So you have to bypass that somehow. Using a controller with a separate power source finesses that issue.

Note that if your trailer lights draw a small enough current they won't trigger the cutoff and so you won't see the problem.

Doing something that entails installing a "simple diode" to split out circuits certainly works... but is rather geekoid for most.

I got my box for free since when I ordered the towbar & light package I specified the FEH and they said it would work. When it didn't I complained and they sent on the vampire tap system. Call it what you want... as I see it it sucks the juice right from the jugular of the FEH (ie right from the battery).

 

Wouldn't replacing the stock trailer lights with LED's minimize the power draw on your FEH. Thus increasing the chance of a successful electrical trailer hookup? Didn't someone on this site do just this?

 

I don't know who you are taking about Billy, but when I owned a tilt-bed trailer with two rear lights and two side marker lights, I changed those to LED thinking I would have amp issuses. I didn't. I sold that trailer in about 4 months, and bought the big white box trailer that has all incandescent bulbs, and whole lot more of them ( 12 marker lights + tail ). I didn't change a single bulb and it is still A-ok.

In fact, with LED the system thinks a bulb is out because the amp draw is too low. I've never *(yet) had a problem with amp draw too high.

I think the whole amp draw circuit Bill is concerned about only affects the turn lamps, not the running lamps, thus both trailers ( and every trailer ) will have just two turn lamps, and the number of marker lamps won't matter up to the point of blowing a fuse.
It seems there is no "smarts" on the marker lamp circuit.

 

Starting in '06, the SJB monitored all the exterior lighting for current draw. In '08 they started using a FET monitoring system that very complicated setting DTC, etc. Both systems will kill the power to the lights before a fuse is blown but the newer systen counts how many times it happened, if you shut the vehicle off, etc, etc. It's enough that it has a Theory Of Operation of its own!

 

With mine, I think the converter box's tiny current draw is enough to make the computer think there's a problem. I picked up some new tail light bulbs, and I haven't traded the LH one out yet. I'd be willing to bet that, if I undo the converter harness and switch it back to just wiring to the bulb, it'll start working again right away.

Unfortunately, I'm the "installing dealer," so no one to blame if there's actually something wrong other than myself.