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DIY: 2nd gen hitch wiring (Nissan factory harness w/ aftermarket plug)

1K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  J Everett 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey guys and girls. Some of you may know that I nearly ripped the factory towing harness plug off my hitch a few days ago. Well, today, I repaired it by reusing the factory wiring and a $15 Hopkins plug that I picked up at Wal-Mart.

First, I removed the receiver hitch, rear bumper, and unplugged the wiring harness from the truck.

I used the bracket that came with the plug to make a template.


Then I used a 2⅛" hole saw to cut a hole in the bumper and a ³⁄₁₆" drill bit to drill the holes for the mounting screws.

I painted the bare metal after drilling with some Rustoleum to keep it from rusting.


Then I cut the old broken plug off the end of the Nissan factory harness and stripped the ends of wires.

Then I connected them to the new plug.
FYI, the color coding on the wires is as follows (as per FSM wiring diagram and double checked by me with multimeter; I'm 100% certain of these):
RED: Electric brake
BLUE: Auxiliary battery power
GREEN: Right turn/stop lamp
YELLOW: Left turn/stop lamp
BROWN: Tail lamps
WHITE: Ground
Black: Reverse lights

Fish the wiring harness through the hole in the bumper, and then using the provided hardware, mount the plug to hole in the bumper. Here is a view from the inside of the bumper.


That takes care of the wiring. Then I removed the old mounting tab from the receiver hitch. I just locked the tab in a vise and twisted the hitch by hand. It came off remarkably easily.



Then I ground the old welds down and repainted with black Rustoleum.



After the paint dried I just bolted everything back up and reconnected the plugs for the hitch wiring and license tag lights. Here's the finished product:



I'm a big believer in "if it ain't broke don't fix it." But I also believe that if it does break, replace it with something better. This, I think, is better. :)


Hope this helps someone!!
 
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#3 ·
Nice write up!!! Clean and an improvement.

Rep points for sure.

:thumbsup-big:
Thanks, man. After last week, the last thing I wanted to do was climb under my rig and turn wrenches again, but my nephew wants me to take him fishing when I get home from work, so I decided to get it done today so I can tow the boat on Wednesday.
 
#5 ·
Looks good man. That's where mine was before I got rear ended
 
#7 ·
Thanks, guys. :) The main info I wanted to get out was the color coding for the wires, as I've seen the question asked a few places and it took me a few hours work poring over wiring diagrams and then testing with the meter, but I figured I'd take pics of everything I did and do a write-up while I was at it.
 
#8 ·
Great job sir, I would do this if insurance wasnt going to cover a new plug for me.
 
#12 ·
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