Dmtaurus Posted September 7, 2019 Report Share Posted September 7, 2019 I bought a class 2, Curt brand hitch and Curt wiring package for my 2015 Edge SEL FWD. The hitch appears to be relatively easy to put on but when reviewing Curt's wiring instructions online I did not see that a power cable has to be run directly to the battery. So, where can I run the power wire through the firewall? is there a body plug around the driver footwell for the factory wiring? It appears that the plastic trim panels have to be removed along the driver side door sill plate. I looked over this site and didn't see any photos of where the factory wiring goes through the firewall. And I sure won't run it under the body because that is too hostile an area to run an electrical hot wire. I am connecting two different, small trailers, where each has only brake/signal/running lights; neither has trailer brakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadgetjq Posted September 7, 2019 Report Share Posted September 7, 2019 Hi Dmtaurus, I think you'll find you're over thinking this a little. If you scour the other posts in this section of the forum you'll find some great wiring tips ranging from what you're trying to do (if you look under the hood at the driver's side firewall you'll see a huge grommet with wiring running through. That's where you can run a power wire if needed) to (this is the easy way) connecting to the existing wiring under the passenger rear tire. It's hidden under a cover. There's a space behind the cargo area right side cover where a trailer towing module goes. You won't need the module but it's good to know where it is. Now then, once you find the four pin connector behind the right rear tire check to see if one of the pins is hot when lights are on and another is hot when brakes are applied. If yes then you're good to go, just connect your new harness to those wires. If no then you have to look a little further north. Under the carpet, about where a passengers right foot would go, there's a white connector. That connector already has trailer power running to the engine side of the connector. I don't remember the color codes but ou'll find all the above info in the other thread posts. Bottom line, don't angst about running a heavy wire all the way to the battery. One way or the other it's already in the cabin for you. We'll want photos when you're finished with your project. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmtaurus Posted September 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2019 If I am understanding you correctly, there are plugs already built in on the factory wire harness so that all I have to do is locate them per your instructions and tap into them. Am I understanding you correctly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadgetjq Posted September 7, 2019 Report Share Posted September 7, 2019 Yes sir, that's correct. Slide under the rear passenger side and you'll see a plastic cover at the bottom of the wheel well. Remove the bolts holding that cover then grab a flashlight. You'll locate the first piece of the puzzle, a four pin square plug, taped to the harness. That's where you'll start testing with a multimeter or test light looking for power when lights are on and brakes are applied. The next stop is under the right cover of the cargo area. Look through the vent above the cargo light. You 'might' be able to see some of the wiring and the area where a trailer module would be if you had the factory tow package. And so it goes. As I mentioned previously, reading other posts in this thread will give you all the info you'll need. Of course if you want, you can still connect that harness you purchased following their instructions. I believe etrailer.com has a YouTube video posted showing how to connect that harness to the Edge tail lights and battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmtaurus Posted September 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2019 Thanks much for the information. Soon I'll be starting this project and I will try to document the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmtaurus Posted September 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2019 I did a preliminary investigation to look for the harness, and I took some photos. Photo 1 shows the whole rear layout with the carpet removed. Photo 2 shows the area where I think you were talking about a cover with bolts, yet I didn't see one. Photo 3 shows what is behind the cargo panel on the passenger side. Pulling that panel open is where I found a 2 plugs, one that is black and one that is brown. Could the black plug be the connection plug for the wire harness? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmtaurus Posted October 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 (edited) It turns out that there is no power connection that is running under the right rear side big trim panel on the interior. I did find behind the right wheel on the outside and underside of the vehicle a removable plastic panel. Removed the panel and I found a female plug that has 4 wires to it that have the same colors and the 4-flat trailer wiring connector. I used a volt meter and this connector has no power to the connector, even though it appeared like it would have power, and light connections. Our local public library has a subscription to Chilton's and Mitchell's manuals and after viewing both I found that Ford uses a trailer module that IS located and wired and mounted on the interior side of the wheel well and behind the trim panel. The power to this module is protected by #78 fuse in the fuse box and the fuse box is under the engine hood. When I viewed the location in the fuse box (this is a double-layer fuse panel and is not one of Ford's better ideas because of the heavy wire cables going into it) and viewed the second fuse layer I found the #78 fuse position. But only one side of the pocket had a female terminal for the fuse pins; the second pocket did not have a female terminal, and I assume the wire was also missing. So Ford must leave the connection and the wire out of the harness to save money. After seeing Ford's asinine logic to make life as difficult for the owner as possible, I decided to go back to the original plan of using Curt's brand wire harness for this vehicle. There is enough power wire in this kit to run from the vehicle rear and follow a factory wire harness that routes near the left rear wheel well ( must remove the long underside fiberboard black panel on the driver side). From there it is easy to make a jump over and route along the gas and brake line bundle, which has an open spot on the plastic loom that the power wire fit nicely into, and along and under the driver side foot-well and along a factory wire harness that runs up to the battery area. I used heavy black wire ties from Walmart to tie to the existing factory wire harness and at any other sensible points. I allowed wire slack along the way so that the wire did not get pulled too tight. After crimping the Curt fuse holder to the power wire and connecting to the battery, I went to the 4-flat connector and confirmed the lights worked. (I did use a wire a sheath cover over the entire power wire length as added outer covering protection.) It took about 2-1/2 hours to do this from start to finish, but I am picky about things like this. I have seen YouTube videos that just allow the power wire to lay on the black panel, and I thought that was a really bad idea since the wire is always "hot". I wish Ford would get smart and make it friendly to do a job like this. I found no instructions or easy do-it-yourself kits from Ford after lots of research, only a kit for an Escape and it was from 2006. My son added 4-flat trailer wiring to a 2014 Nissan Frontier and just about all the wiring was in place in the factory harness and, except for a few relays and a plug and play wire harness in the Curt kit, it took about 30 minutes to install. Ford keeps missing the mark when it comes to the DIY people. Edited October 20, 2019 by Dmtaurus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
27Sport Posted October 20, 2019 Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 Yes, I already experienced this and explained previously. Takes maybe 30 min to get the 4-way plug working using factory parts and about 6' of wire to the under dash fusebox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmtaurus Posted October 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 Not sure what you paid for the harnesses and module but my hitch came with the wiring kit. As I stated earlier Ford make this too hard to do. Even they sell a kit that is a copy of the Curt kit instead of having the owner buy factory parts. Best part is that the Curt kit works and is reasonably priced at $46. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 Well even if they only save $10/vehicle not running the extra wiring that's a couple million bucks a year savings. I think most people who want a hitch get the factory option. I would normally have ordered but didn't want to wait and the one vehicle we found within 90 miles that we liked didn't have it, so I added one to our 16 MKX (hidden hitch - which is no longer offered - it tucks up under the bumper so all you see is the receiver) with the Curt (I think) wiring harness. I only used it to pull a small utility trailer a few times so I tapped into the rear power point and plugged into the factory taillights. It would be a lot easier if they'd leave the wiring - at least on the upper models. Call it tow pkg prep. Easier to bury the price on Titaniums and Reserves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmtaurus Posted October 22, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2019 At those numbers they would be making 200,000 of these a year. Is that a valid production number? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 22, 2019 Report Share Posted October 22, 2019 (edited) 12 hours ago, Dmtaurus said: At those numbers they would be making 200,000 of these a year. Is that a valid production number? The factory produces about 250K vehicles per year which includes Edge, Nautilus and the soon to be discontinued MKT and Flex. Edge is around 140K plus Nautilus at 30K (US sales) plus Canadian sales plus European exports so yes, they do make at least 200K vehicles. But that was just an example. Multiply that by all of Ford's vehicles and the savings are staggering. Edited October 22, 2019 by akirby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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