Trailer hitch electrical harness for 1990 Jeep cherokee

I think the wires are behind the trim plate inside of the drivers side rear corner panel. Under the spare. I also think you can get a kit that plugs right into the harness from either the Dealership or a rental place like Budget that sells hitches and such that would come with directions likely.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build Photos:

That's intresting. On my '90 Cherokee it's all done behind the tail lights using blue Scotchlock connectors. Not the best way to do it, as I noticed the first time pulling a trailer.

With that said, be careful when using your hitch. I got serious trailer sway when pulling a car behind mine, but it's lifted with 31" tires and I exceeded the trailer weight somewhat.

Thanks, I'll check under the tail lights and the spare tire. I thought there would be some sort of connector hanging down somewhere behind the bumper...

I'll certainly be careful pulling the trailer. Towing a trailer is the sort of thing that can kill you pretty fast, and I don't want to get hurt, or hurt anyone else.

(BTW, a stock 4wd Cherokee is rated for 5,000 pounds or so. I'll be pulling an open dual-axle trailer, so I figure 1,000 pounds for that, and either a mill or a lathe. The lathe is the heaviest thing, at

2,000 pounds. So at 3,000 pounds total I think I should be fine. I'm not going far and I'll be going slow the whole way.)

Thanks again to everyone for the tips.

It's not the weight of the trailer, it's how that weight is distributed -- There should be 10-12% of the total weight on the tongue (err on the heavy side) or else the trailer is trying to "lift" the tow vehicle rear and affects handling -- Also, it's best to tow dead level, or nose down, not nose up.

As far as the trailer lights go, if the Cherokee has red brakes and yellow turn signals, then there needs to be a diode block installed to prevent the trailer light from backfeeding to both bulbs. In the factory wiring for later models, the diode block is installed inside the left light fixture.

Pete

I've seen a few really scary examples of a mis-balanced trailer out on the freeway. At a certain speed (downhill seems to make it all start sooner) ) they start wagging back and forth. This can get worse fast

-- especially if the driver, usually inexperienced at towing if he loaded the trailer that way in the first place, indulges the widespread belief that speeding up will straighten 'er out.

Some sage advice:

Keeping such a heavy object in one place upon the trailer is worth some attention too -- I guess the choice between chain-type load binders and three-or four-inch wide ratchet straps is driven by what you can attach-to on the lathe and mill.

Back to wiring -- does the trailer have electric brakes, or inertia? (Or, for that special touch of excitement, none?)

Drive safe,

--Joe

I've done this before. Thanks for the concern, though. Towing can be very dangerous and it's important to make sure everything is safe. I don't have chain binders, but I have heavy-duty straps and I'll make sure the lathe and mill are strapped down tight.

I've already hauled the lathe and mill to my house, and I've hauled some similar equipment over the grapevine (near Los Angeles, CA). As far as ti goes, the Jeep is rater well above what I'm carrying. The lathe is 2,000 pounds, and 10% of that (for the tongue weight) is still well below the rating for the hitch.

I'll be using a plain dual-axle trailer without surge brakes or anything else. I'll be driving slow and leaving a lot of room in front of me to stop.

I ended up going to NAPA and getting the correct wiring harness and some splices, and installed it last night. There were no plugs or anything in the jeep, at least none that I could find. So I spliced it into the wiring harness behind the panel under the spare tire.

Thanks for the link to the Sea Ray guide. I'll print that out.