Fifth wheel trailer wiring

[FGK]

I own an '08 F-250 Super Duty long bed. The folks who installed the hitch also wired in a plug-in into the inside of the truck box. It works but as the weather turns to rain I am getting a "Trailer wiring fault" message on the dash. The Ford dealer says the trouble is with the connections where the pig tail taps into the factory installed trailer wiring. They suggest all connections be soldered and the wiring be sealed with heat-shrink tape. Seems like lots of work.

A local hitch installer suggests I use an available wiring harness that plugs into the factory system. They sell theirs for $69.

Does anyone know of other sources for these wiring harnesses?

[Cyrus]

If your truck came with a plug below the bumper try plugging into it vice the one they put in the bed. I bought the stuff to put one inside my bed but have never installed it. When I looked at the package, it uses those wire connectors that cut into the insulation and the wire. I have used those things with boat trailers and if you are lucky they work some of the time. I would suspect the dealer connection before anything else. There are kits you can purchase that have a connector to insert into the factory wiring and would think they would work OK. I understood there was not one to fit my truck but that was couple years ago.

[stiles watson]

I have a 2008 F350. I also had trouble with the fault message. It turned out to be the the connections under the truck were not water tight. Traveling in wet weather got water into it over time and began to corrode the connections. The Ford mechanic took it all apart and remade the connections properly and sealed them. I have not had a problem since.

An earlier problem came because of poor factory connection up in the engine compartment relating to the built-in brake controller. It corrupted a circuit board that had to be replaced. The technician did not find it until he opened up the area above the left fender well. It is a little scary to be in the mountains and that warning comes on intermittently. Makes you wonder if your gonna have breaks when you need them.

[William H. Collier]

This is the one I installed and it has worked great so far.
Bill
http://www.etrailer.com/p-20110.htm

[daneboy]

FGK,
Welcome to the forum. I have had the same problem several times. Check the female plug in your truck bed first. Then all the connections to the plug. Pull the plug out of the housing and wrap the screw heads with electrical tape. Next check the brake wires and connections under your trailer. Last but not least is a worn wire inside the wheel at the brakes. The Ford control works great but it is sensative to any small fault.
Jerry

[radio flyer]

I have a 2008 F250 V10 short bed with factory trailer tow package. When I had a superglide hitch installed they put a plug in the bed at the tailgate. The other end plugs into the factory plug under the bumper when I need it. It is just like an extension cord, sealed at both ends no problems.

[FGK]

My thanks to all who replied.

I went back to the installation shop and they replaced their hand wiring set-up with the wiring harness suggested by Bill Collier at no additional charge.

I have driven the truck twice since then and have not had a recurrence of the "Fault" message. Hope it lasts.

Fred