Wiring a 7 pin tow connector

[Sam0330]

Hello all

hope you are all having a great weekend.

im a first time poster so apologies in advance for any mistakes!

I have a 2006 rx400h and today I determined it does have a tow pack installed And I have located the connector in the boot which was taped to the wiring loom in the rear passenger side boot.

I plan to tow a trailer occasionally.

ive been looking online and haven’t been able to find the right connector/ product/ instructions on how I go about connecting this to a 7 pin socket. I was hopin there was a seven pin socket I could simply plug in but I cannot find one. Alternatively I thought perhaps I could tap into the wires before the connector and wire a connector in that way it I haven’t found any information on whether that is possible.

there are 6 wires going into the connector in the boot. I assume the seventh would be an earth.

I have found some wiring kits with relay etc but that doesn’t seem to take advantage of the fact I have this connector. Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Sam

[ColinBarber]

Attached is the wiring installation instructions for the official Lexus accessory - hopefully something in there will help you.

Towbarwiringkit7pAIM0001670PZ457K256000.pdf

[Sam0330]

Thank you Colin for your quick reply. As far as I can tell I have this wiring fitted as part of the tow pack. What I am struggling with is how to connect the plug shown in my picture to the 7 pin socket. I couldn’t work that out from here.

many thanks

Sam

[ColinBarber]

I'm assuming that the item you have in your pictures is the relay box so the wires from it should be going to the external socket. You may need to trace the wires from the relay box to find out where they are going - some of them should be exiting the vehicle. Maybe it has been pulled back into the vehicle or cut off - you may have to take the rear bumper off to see what's going on.

[Sam0330]

Thanks colin

it is a connector and hasn’t been touched since new. There are wires going into it from the main wiring loom.

After more reading, I’ve come to the conclusion that the advantage I have of having this tow pack wiring is that I don’t need to splice into light/indicator wires or run a power wire from the Battery. I still need to purchase a kit with a relay and that is what will connect to a 7pin socket.

what I can’t find is a connector to connect to the one on the car so it looks like I will have to work out what the wires going into the connector and connect these appropriately to a relay and that to a 7 pin connector.

else I’ll have to ignore what is there and fit from scratch by splicing into the various light wires and running a power cable straight to Battery for the relay 

thanks 

[steve2006]

Is the tow bar already fitted? Reason I ask is the loom from it may still be attached but tuck away under the car, the grommet near the boot connector looks like the original entry point.

Other than that if you have a multimeter you could find out which wire does what inside the boot connector by switching on the rear lights, brake lights etc and look for the 12 volts being present. 

[Sam0330]

Thanks Steve.

No, a towbar has never been fitted. Yes I think I will do what you suggested. I’m planning to call Lexus first tomorrow to see if there is anything they have which can be plugged into that socket - even if it’s just a cable/leads on the other end so I don’t have to splice into the cables and it will make the testing you describe easier.

thanks again!

[Herbie]

I'm not convinced it is a 'tow pack' as you call it, or at least not an official one.

If it was, surely the wiring should be colour-coded rather than all white/black (which I think is usually the colour code used for Earth)?

[Sam0330]

Hello herbie

It is standard original and fitted at factory. 
the car is Japanese- i bought in Japan brand new when i lived there and shipped it over when I returned  - that might explain the colours or lack of them - actually the loom these wires come off are all black and white.

thanks

sam 

[royoftherovers]

A key fact appears in 9th Post ?

[Sam0330]

Yes - sorry- should have said. Good to see you’re counting. Are you able to add any more given you now have this ‘key fact’ ?

[royoftherovers]

37 minutes ago, Sam0330 said:

Yes - sorry- should have said. Good to see you’re counting. Are you able to add any more given you now have this ‘key fact’ ?

No Sarfraz, but I bet  that my friend Herbie will burn your ear for witholding important information,🤣🤣🤣

[Sam0330]

😭

[ColinBarber]

17 hours ago, Herbie said:

If it was, surely the wiring should be colour-coded rather than all white/black (which I think is usually the colour code used for Earth)?

Yes this definitely isn't for towing. It is one of many ground junction connectors which as you say all have white/black coloured wiring.

I'm not sure it is this one but it's an example:

[steve2006]

Arrr...personal import so no duty/taxes to pay so excellent idea.

A very good spot from Colin with the earth block.

It looks like a “Track and Trace” required on the wiring loom or the official loom if still available.

[Sam0330]

Thank you Steve, Colin

i see - so basically it’s just a junction box connecting various earths - I’m impressed with the knowledge guys - fair play.

thank you! So it’s looks like I will need to splice into wires and fit a wiring kit after all.

Strange -  car does have a badge with holes in it (apparently those without a tow pack don’t), a bent in front lower bumper and what looks like an additional thinner radiator on front which I took to mean it had a towing pack installed. - Together with descriptions of the ‘towing connector’ position - Ie taped to the main loom in exactly the position I found it - put 2 and 2 together to make 5. 
mall this information I found mainly from us forums.

thanks again gentlemen. If you have any advise on my next steps - I’d appreciate it. 
Sam

[Sam0330]

Here is one of the videos (hopefully no rules being broken by Sharing this here) which LED to my thinking…

 

[ColinBarber]

6 hours ago, Sam0330 said:

Here is one of the videos (hopefully no rules being broken by Sharing this here) which led to my thinking...

 

I've seen a couple of videos that show plugging into the connector just to the left of the big ground connector block that you have photographed, but in your vehicle there is something already connected - maybe trace where that is going (although remember there may be a difference for LHD vs RHD vehicles, and if it was that easy why are the European instructions I posted so much more difficult).

 

[Sam0330]

Ok thanks Colin - will do. I didn’t see any other connectors there- only a small one which is on both sides and I think that’s going out to the lights in the bumper. But I’ll check it out again as it’s quite easy to take all the bits and pieces out.

i think the instructions you shared is putting in what you get apparently with this mysterious tow pack.

It’s the same side drive by the way. I also took out the other side to have a look at where the navigation CD ‘player was’ - not that i have an update dvd - but in case I come across one- been meaning to for a while.

 I didn’t see any such connectors on that side.
thanks for your help.

[ColinBarber]

2 hours ago, Sam0330 said:

this mysterious tow pack.

In Japan and US the tow pack includes upgraded transmission cooling, but that is standard on all European vehicles due to our higher driving speeds. So the European towbar accessory is just the mechanical piece and the electrical kit (multiple ones due to different socket/pin options). You would think the electrical parts are the same but it could just be a European sourced item so cannot guarantee it is.

[Sam0330]

Ok thanks colon- makes sense. Close to the start of the thread I also spoke with Lexus explaining what I wanted to do. I sent them a follow up email with chassis number the video and my pictures(with the red herring socket) - I haven’t heard back yet but in parallel  I’m looking at which non Lexus wiring kits are available online - found a few around the  £20-30. The hardest part I think is going to be feeding a wire from the Battery terminal through or under the car to the back to power a relay (so power for the towing lights is not taken from the existing wiring).

Thanks

[Sam0330]

Quick update- I opened it up again and I found some more plugs on the right hand side - but again these appear to be earth/other connection boxes. The wires going down into wheel arch are going to the fog lights. So at least that’s confirmed - now need to buy the two electric kit and also a tow bar of course (I bought  one from euro car parts but they cancelled due to unavailability- need to find another seller)

thanks again… Sam

 

[Sam0330]

[Gliderpilot]

Have you tried PF Jones, they are in Manchester, they fitted mine on my drive, electrics and all. The 400H I had was a bit of a phaff as there was a connection above the roof lining to make. https://www.pfjones.co.uk/

RX Towbar electrics.pdf

[Sam0330]

Thanks gliderpilot 

I’ll check them out. 

thanks

sam