'96 Impreza Outback Trailer Wiring

[jarz21]

I just ordered a Draw-Tite 24710 Class I SportFrame Hitch with Drawbar from Amazon for my '96 Impreza Outback wagon. I'm now trying to figure out what wiring kit I can use for the trailer plug. After searching the forum and reading most of the trailer wiring threads, I'm having difficulty identifying whether a '96 Impreza Outback would be pre-wired (ie, have the taped-off plug on the wiring harness) in the same way the Legacy Outbacks of that same time period allegedly are. I suspect that it isn't, so I'll probably have to order a hard-wire kit. JC Whitney has something for $13.99 (SKU Number 1JA 428712) that is claiming to be "4-way". The picture is probably not for the actual product. Otherwise, I've been looking at the ModuLite Tow Ready Circuit Protected Taillight Converter with 4-Flat End, part number 119175. The ModuLite is supposed to help protect the car's wiring in case of a short in the trailer wiring, and I doubt that the JC Whitney harness would have much more than a fuse. Not that it's a problem for me, but it might be worth noting that the 119175 will not work for cars with LED taillight bulbs (must use the upgraded 119176 instead), but will work if the trailer has LED bulbs.

 

Mostly, I'm wondering if anyone has installed either the JC Whitney harness or the ModuLite. Odds are that I'll end up going with the ModuLite for $30 shipped, but it would be interesting to know if the Whitney unit has the same/ similar features for nearly half the cost.

[Cougar]

I think there is a trailer harness located in the left rear area of the car. Have you checked that?

[jarz21]

I pulled off the small taillight panel and was trying to reach around to see if I felt a connector of some sort, but couldn't find anything. The back of my car is completely packed with work stuff and I haven't had an opportunity to unload it and pull the whole left side plastic panel off. :-\

[mxmikie]

i cant find the trailer harness plug in my 1997 outback sport napa has a harness #7551473 and hoppy #1170338055 i also have the factory harness #L1010AS012 but i cant find the car side plug for the trailer harness

[jarz21]

Work and such have been crazy busy lately, so today I finally got an opportunity to remove the plastic pieces inside my '96 Impreza Outback to see if I could find a factory trailer wiring connector. Before removing anything, I found the small two-prong connector pictured in the attachment, but that is clearly not for trailer wiring. My only guess was maybe for an AC power outlet, but otherwise I don't know. After removing the rear plastic side panels, I found no sign of a factory trailer connector. Fortunately, I had been helping a friend move a few weeks ago and, while picking up his UHaul truck, I purchased a trailer wiring harness (UHaul product # 13486) for $16.95 just in case. Good thing I did; I was able to install the trailer wiring while all of the plastic panels were unfastened.

 

I learned (after connecting everything once) that the harness wire colors do not necessarily correlate to car wire colors. I ended up having to remove two of the scotch-lock wire taps and busting out the voltmeter to make sure I was actually tapping the correct wires.

 

Note that, when installing the trailer wiring harness, all but one wire (right turn signal) are hooked up to the driver's side taillight wiring. I quickly realized that all of the bulb holders and wiring were on a single, small sub-harness that included the female harness connector, so I decided to splice all of my trailer wires onto those wires rather than the primary wiring harness. This way, if I accidentally cut through a wire, I could always go to a junkyard and yank out just that sub-harness with the bulb holders (which is probably the same on any Impreza from that time period). I ended up connecting the ground terminal to the taillight mounting bolt (8mm nut).

 

I connected the wires as follows:

 

Harness Wire Color / Car Wire Color (Function)

-Yellow / Yellow with Red Stripes (Left Turn Signal)

-Green / Yellow with Red Stripes (Right Turn Signal)

-Brown / Red with Black Stripes (Running Lights)

-Red / Green with Red Stripes (Brakes)

-White / None (Ground)

 

The nice thing about the UHaul harness is that it has test LEDs built right into the trailer connector. This is how I realized that I had connected something incorrectly at first, but was then able to swap a couple of wires around and was good to go.

 

**Caution!** The UHaul trailer wiring harness will work on trailers with LED taillights/ turn signals, but the tow vehicle must have regular incandescent bulbs. This should not be an issue for 99% of old Imprezas, but some people do install those aftermarket LED bulbs.

 

I suspect that these steps will work for any 1993 to 1997 Impreza wagon, coupe, or sedan, but you'll probably want to double-check your wiring first.