curt echo brake controller needs 7 pin wiring kit?

[cashcow]

Hi Savage,

Thanks for the chart I will keep it handy. I watched the video and it all looks pretty simple. The unit has a 10 amp fuse, but the video does not suggest wiring it to the aux/power socket in the rear of the RAV4 EV because it might draw more and damage the wiring harness.

I don't quite understand why it would draw more, unless it is related to the wiring length of the trailer light kit in combination with the aux/power socket wiring harness length?

The fuse for that aux/power socket is 15 amps, but the fuse is shared with the middle aux/ power socket in the rav4 ev. The only aux/power socket with a dedicated 15 amp fuse is the front socket next to the passenger. The instructional PDF for the unit seems to say in total the lights draw almost 9 amps. Unless I read that wrong and is more. Should I even consider wiring it to the aux/power socket even though wiring lengths will increase in total?

Specs:

Maximum amperage:
Stop/turn lights: 2.1 amps per circuit
Tail lights: 4.2 amps per circuit

About how much amps is the unit going to draw during operation. I keep thinking it could be ok to wire it to the aux/power socket back there since the unit comes with a 10 amp fuse and the rav4 ev uses a 15 amp fuse. I'd guess just be careful with what you plug into both the aux sockets since the line is now shared. I guess the unit is on all the time regardles of use. I'd guess when no trailer is towing behind the unit itself uses way less energy than when towing and using the trailer lights?

[asavage]

Those specs are the maximum for that converter, but if you're smart your trailer will have LED tail & stop lights, just the like the RAV4 and pretty much all modern stuff these days, and the trailer's lights (including marker lamps) won't draw half that much. That's why I said I'd look hard at using the cigar lighter socket for power.

If you think you'll actually be using near 10A on trailer lights, then I'd run a dedicated wire from the front, but if unless you're going with incandescent lamps -- and a lot of them -- I'd think using the OEM cigar lighter circuit will be adequate.

If you think you'll be running, say, a Peltier thermocooler off that socket at the same time your towing, that might be a good reason to run a dedicated wire. That wouldn't be an unusual situation for camping.

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Back in the day, I used to construct my own European-to-US tail/stop/brake converters for my cars: four Schottky diodes is all that's required, if powered by the tow vehicle's existing lighting circuits. I could use standard diodes, but the 0.7v forward voltage drop made the trailer's light just a tad dimmer than they had to be. Back in those days, you had to swap in a different flasher relay when you towed, or the lights would flash too fast when the trailer was connected -- all the OEM flasher relays' timing was based a thermal unit on a bimetal strip and required a certain lighting load for the flasher timing to work out correct: change the lighting load, change the flash rate. Then electric flasher relays became affordable and that problem went away, with the side effect that you could no longer know you had a turn sig lamp burnt out by noticing the remaining lamp flashing too fast.

Now that many modern vehicles monitor lighting circuit power draw in order to illuminate a warning lamp that there's a lamp "burned out", adding trailer wiring sometimes requires a bit more thought.

Later, I had an '89 Aerostar with factory tow package that I had to reverse-engineer one day, and Ford's package had a lovely bank of three relays to isolate the van's lighting power supply from the trailer, with the unfortunate side-effect of occasionally blowing a very well hidden and hard to access fuse, about once a year I had to tear out panels to get at it until I replaced it with a circuit breaker. It was also a completely deactivated relay module until activated but a feedback loop in the factory tow adapter harness, which was unobtanium at the time, and which I reproduced using the wiring diagram from Ford that had a misteak. Lots of fun! Then two other later Aerostars with variations on that theme, which I extensively documented about six years ago . . .

For my own reference, and the search engines: Ford Aerostar tow wiring: three eras and versions.

[jimbo69ny]

Im sorry but I didnt read the whole thread.

I have been towing with my Rav regularly since I bought it new in 2014. Ive towed A LOT!! If you havent heard of me you can check out my youtube channel Youtube.com/jimbo69ny You can see my builds..

Last year I installed a very cool and very small brake controller. I made a video about it. Here is the link.
https://youtu.be/eBObGi5mqv4

I currently tow a 2300lb range extending camper that I built. I call it T-Rex V2. It extends the range of my car and gives me a place to sleep. It works great. I just got it out of the paint shop and Ill have another video shortly. Basically, it tows like it isnt even there. The Rav ev is awesome. I love it!

[asavage]

Rather than start a new thread, I'm tacking on some trailer wiring info here.

Without doing adequate research, I bought a Toyota tow wiring kit for 2006-2012 RAV4 in Feb., on the assumption that Toyota probably didn't change much of the non-drivetrain wiring from the gas to EV models. My RAV4 was smacked again just after that, was in the body shop's parking lot for two months, then had an OBC AC input fuse fail. I just got around to installing the factory kit today, and as it happens the Junction Block Assy, Instrument Panel, Cowl Side LH is unique to the 2012-2014 EVs and not shared with the older gasoline equivalents. That means the factory kit is not PnP. I paid $120 for 08921-42900, which is a bit more than most of the aftermarket kits (Tekonsha, Curt, Hopkins, etc.) but it does offer resettable trailer lighting overload protection, which is a nice plus.

Toyota seems to have made a couple of odd wiring layout choices in the kit. Toyota's kit makes you run a harness in the sills to the rear of the IP's Junction Block (located just ahead of the driver's left knee), but it's merely two wires: 12v and a right turn signal tap. I guess they figured that as long as they're running to the front for power, go ahead and pick up the right turn signal there . . . but then, why not pick up the left turn there as well? Odd choices.

The kit ships with an "Owners Manual" that's around five pages of mostly fluff, and no installation instructions, which you're on your own to track down. Those install instructions are the usual awful Toyota stuff, with terrible line drawings that barely help, and it runs to 28 pages.

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This post is to inform any prospective future tow wiring installers to avoid the Toyota kit, and either purchase one of the alternatives or roll your own. I've looked at the kits and decided to to the latter; the prices of the typical universal converter modules from the brand names are silly ($80 for a couple of MOSFETs? Sheesh).

Aftermarket trailer wiring kits for the older 2006-2012 RAV4s, whose taillight tee connections might work as PnP, include:
https://www.etrailer.com/t1-2012_Toyota_RAV4.htm

Tekonsha 118412, $66
https://www.etrailer.com/Custom-Fit-Veh ... 0121176386
7% 1-star ratings https://smile.amazon.com/product-review ... filter-bar

Hopkins 43445, $78
https://www.etrailer.com/Custom-Fit-Veh ... 0121176386

Curt 56165, $54
https://www.etrailer.com/Custom-Fit-Veh ... =201214705
5% 1-star ratings https://smile.amazon.com/product-review ... filter-bar

I've ordered a $12 universal box and a 5' vehicle-side harness & socket, plus a dust cover; I'll look at tapping the rear cigar lighter outlet for power (which means I probably won't have trailer brake lights when the vehicle isn't in ACC or Ready). I don't need the PnP convenience of socketed tees on the rear vehicle lights enough to pay the outrageous kits' prices, esp. since reviews of the various RAV4 kits have >5% 1-star reviews, with lots of converter failures reported.