'98 Taurus trailer hitch wiring question

I have a 1998 Taurus with 3.0 engine I'm putting a trailer hitch on. When I went to buy the wiring adaptor to add the trailer plug to the Taurus I was quoted a price of $69 for the wiring kit. The parts store said it was so expensive because of a computer isolation module. After some research I found the difference, the expensive kit has two wires that run all the way to the battery and draws power directly from the battery, the module keeps the trailer wiring seperate from the car. I checked with another parts store and they wanted $75 for the kit. Of course both warned of dire consequences & damage to my car's computer if I didn't buy the expensive kit ( the only one they sell). I searched the net and found other kits for the 98 Taurus, one from JC Whitney, for $20-30 that plug right into my cars wiring plugs ( very neat looking) without the isolation module. My question is what could happen if I use the cheaper kit? Is the computer that sensitive? or will I just get a"tail light out" warning or something like that. It would seem that other people are buying the cheap kit without problems. I don't want to shell out the extra cash unless it's really necessary.

TIA

Frank

Reply to
Frankcw
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Well.. even though I didnt stay at a Holiday Inn Express and only trained on electrical theory, I would say that there's SOME merit to the isolator version.

  1. At the least it will keep your flasher rate steady. And may prevent overcurrent damage to the multifunction switch.

  1. Certainly, they could be some effect on the bulb current sensing system... which is probably the "computer" they refer to.

It's a roll of the dice with 40 dollars going against a bunch of aggravation... I wouldnt take the chance.

Frankcw opined in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

I think I would spend the extra bucks to keep the trailer isolated from that $500 lighting module.

Reply to
Scott M

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