trike wiring harness

[fastfreddy2015]

I own a 2008 gl1800 Honda trike. I got a trailer (xl1800 timeout ) to go with it, it was included in the sell.

I seem to be having a problem with towing wiring harness that came with the trike. Tested wiring at bike end and not all wires light up (its a pollak 5 pin round socket). wires per diagram=yellow-left turn, green-right turn, brown-running lights, red-brakes, and white-ground. NOTE=on all timeout trailers there is no lights depending on trailer frame ground.

Each light has ground going directly back to bike. I know the lights on the trailer work cause some how I got them all blinking accidently. I'm not good with electrical things. So I'm thinking I'll just replace the tow wiring harness on the bike.

So what I'm hoping for is that I can get some ideas, suggestions, maybe a part no. plug and play would be nice from you guys who have some experience with this sort of thing.

[GoldWingrGreg]

Do you have a test light and know how to use one ??? If so, I'd start by testing the plug at the trike first. Also, make sure both connections (male and female) are clean.

[Gold Rush]

The issue you may run into is based on where the two wheel configuration located the plug and play as you call them connectors. Usually they are toward the back tucked up under the trunk. When the trike conversion took place some installers relocated the connectors so they could be accessed by removing the seat.

Other installers did not and it is a real bugger do any trailer wire chasing. Best suggestion is to pull the seat and attempt to trace the trailer connector back to the OEM bike connectors. Once you've done that finding a harness that will plug in should be easy. Electrical Connection, Honda Direct Line, Cycle Max, and Wing Stuff are all good sources.

You will have to make the connections at the five pin round connector still.. If you happen to have a isolated harness installed right now, you may just have a blown fuse. Most of the isolated units have each line fused just in case something happen in the trailer to prevent the bike/trike wires from getting toasted.

Hope that helps a little Freddy..

[trike tech]

One thing that is worth asking about also.

Is your trailer a 4 wire or a 5 wire system? If it's a 4 wire system & you're connecting to a Goldwing you will need a 5-4 converter to have all the functions on your trailer. ALSO, if the trailer wiring harness on your trike is one with a sealed relay pack, it probably won't work in conjunction with a 5-4 converter (they kinda mess with each other because a relay isolated harness draws power from the battery instead of the signal wires themselves & has slight voltage bleed).

Ok, after doing some research AFTER posting instead of before.. I see that the XL1800 uses GL style tail lights which should be a 5 wire system also.

Like what was mentioned above is the easy way to go. Use a test light on the trike side & write down what wire does what. You can also use a loose battery and do similar on the trailer to identify each wires operation. This will allow you to be sure the wires on both are pinned so they match.

[fastfreddy2015]

Do you have a test light and know how to use one ??? If so, I'd start by testing the plug at the trike first. Also, make sure both connections (male and female) are clean.

Yes I tested lights at plug and only left turn worked. I started by buying new connections to replace old ones.

[fastfreddy2015]

Gold rush, you mentioned that installers relocate at different places so I'm going to contact motor trike to see where they like to install connections when they do a conversion. That one never dawned on me taught they all went to the same place. Hopefully under the seat. That would be very helpful knowing. Thanks for including list of wiring harness places. My 1st check will be the line fuse for sure. Thanks for info much appreciated.

[fastfreddy2015]

Just want to say thank you to all for helping me out. This wiring thing is a real bugger. But now I have some really good info to start checking out things.

[trike tech]

Gold rush, you mentioned that installers relocate at different places so I'm going to contact motor trike to see where they like to install connections when they do a conversion. That one never dawned on me taught they all went to the same place. Hopefully under the seat. That would be very helpful knowing. Thanks for including list of wiring harness places. My 1st check will be the line fuse for sure. Thanks for info much appreciated.

I would recommend contacting the dealer who installed the trike conversion. As we send the great majority of trike kits to the dealers for them to install, the trailer wiring may not be in the same location as it is on the trikes built at the factory. Unfortunately not all dealers do everything the same and located connectors in the same place.

If you're unsure of who built it, I suggest removing one of the rear wheels & following the wiring coming from the tail lights to the plug on the motorcycle (the majority of trailer harnesses plug into the same connector that the tail lights plug into).

[fastfreddy2015]

Just wanted to update you guys. I did call the place where it was triked out. The guy I talked to actually told me where to buy the harness (wingstuff) and how to install it. He also said buy the harness bring it to him, just setup an appointment and they'll install it for me in about an hour @ $65.00 if I don't trust myself. I'm going to do that, buy it and let them install it. Its an hour and 1/2 drive away not bad. Will let you guys know when I do it.

[trike tech]

ALWAYS great to hear of a dealer that's willing to give you the information you need and help out if need be.