Tow / Haul Questions
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Joined: Jul 2005
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Tow / Haul Questions
Here is the background story:
My girlfriend hit a pillar with her Saturn VUE, and broke one of the front control arms on the driver-side wheel. In her defense, this particular pillar is located about 5 feet beyond the last parking spot in the lot, and it is partially hidden by a large lamp post until you are right on top of it.
So the tow truck doesn't show, I say "screw it", and we go pick up a Penske car carrier (one of the full carriers that the whole car can drive up onto, not just the "front tire" model) since she rents them at work. We get the vehicle loaded, and drop it off at the shop with no problems...
Questions to make tow/haul life easier in the future:
I manually plugged in the carrier's wires into the under-side harness on the hitch (fortunately there was ONE carrier available that had the proper plug ends on it instead of bare wires), but there is a covered connector positioned right next to the license plate. I assume this is another trailer light connector. Can anyone tell me what type of connector this is so I can rig a spare one up with some alligator clips should I need to use a carrier with only the raw wires available?
Tow/Haul mode was quick to jump into 4th, even on a grade. I assume I could get the ECU to shift more agressively by "training" it with a few hard accelerations, but is there anything else I am missing here?
Thanks for any replies.
My girlfriend hit a pillar with her Saturn VUE, and broke one of the front control arms on the driver-side wheel. In her defense, this particular pillar is located about 5 feet beyond the last parking spot in the lot, and it is partially hidden by a large lamp post until you are right on top of it.
So the tow truck doesn't show, I say "screw it", and we go pick up a Penske car carrier (one of the full carriers that the whole car can drive up onto, not just the "front tire" model) since she rents them at work. We get the vehicle loaded, and drop it off at the shop with no problems...
Questions to make tow/haul life easier in the future:
I manually plugged in the carrier's wires into the under-side harness on the hitch (fortunately there was ONE carrier available that had the proper plug ends on it instead of bare wires), but there is a covered connector positioned right next to the license plate. I assume this is another trailer light connector. Can anyone tell me what type of connector this is so I can rig a spare one up with some alligator clips should I need to use a carrier with only the raw wires available?
Tow/Haul mode was quick to jump into 4th, even on a grade. I assume I could get the ECU to shift more agressively by "training" it with a few hard accelerations, but is there anything else I am missing here?
Thanks for any replies.
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Joined: Dec 2005
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RE: Tow / Haul Questions
Most people have 4 way trailer tow wiring on the trailers, that is the flat connector under the rear bumper. The other connector is for people who tow with electric brakes. That connector has the circuits for electric brakes, and a 30 AMP feed for whatever you need on the trailer. Walmart caries the adapters that plug into this socket pretty cheap.
Thread Starter
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Professional
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 124
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RE: Tow / Haul Questions
Yeah, I used that 4-pin connector under the rear bumper, as the trailer just happened to have the correct individual mating pins on the harness.
What I've done is gone out and purchased one of those 7-pin connectors that plugs into the covered connector on the rear bumper (next to the license plate). I put alligator clips on the Ground, Left Turn and Brake, and Right Turn and Brake wires. Now when I need to tow, I can hook up to any trailer and be legal with the brake and turn signals, without having to match wires under the bumper.
If I find myself towing / hauling quite a bit, I might consider bumping up to the 3.92's next time I need my differential fluid changed.
What I've done is gone out and purchased one of those 7-pin connectors that plugs into the covered connector on the rear bumper (next to the license plate). I put alligator clips on the Ground, Left Turn and Brake, and Right Turn and Brake wires. Now when I need to tow, I can hook up to any trailer and be legal with the brake and turn signals, without having to match wires under the bumper.
If I find myself towing / hauling quite a bit, I might consider bumping up to the 3.92's next time I need my differential fluid changed.
