Just wanted to let everyone know (haven't done a search on this, so maybe you already know about this problem) about a problem I ran into early this morning. I turned on the headlights & the left blinker lights (dash & all outside ones) were steady-on. The right blinker worked fine. With the headlights off the left blinker worked fine. I took it to my local Honda dealer & they found it was a problem with the UHaul hitch wiring. They said the way UHaul does the wiring it allows power to feed back up front (from the headlights, back to the tail lights, then back up to the signal light) & that an isolator needs to be installed to prevent this. The dealer disconnected the hitch wiring so the lights on the E are working properly now, but I need to go back to UHaul to fix the wiring if I want to tow a trailer (we're probably not going to use a trailer, just a bike rack or a goal post for the kayak so may not bother fixing it). But just wanted everyone to be aware of this so if you have UHaul install your hitch, ask them to install the isolator the 1st time.

Thanx for the info! ;)


-tom :)

Forgot to mention that the hitch was installed last October or November, so it's worked fine for a while. Dealer said they had seen similar problem with a Pilot.

mlwschultz,

I would advise against having U-Haul perform any more electrical work on your vehicle.

6 years ago, I used to work at my father's shop, which installed hitches and wiring harnesses. I have installed wiring in just about every vehicle that was out there at the time. No Elements of course.

During the 3 years that I worked there, I heard countless stories from customers about the shoddy and questionable work that was performed by U-Haul. I also heard that the employees they hired were poorly trained and supervised. I personally fixed their work when customers came to us, both wiring issues, and hitches that were ready to fall off if actually used for towing. This was back when I lived in Minneapolis, and only represents the U-Haul dealers there. Take it for what it's worth.

There are vehicles that require a special type of wiring harness. Older vehicles only require you to hook directly into the wiring near the taillights, and at most, would require a converter if it had separate turn signals and brake lights. These types of harnesses get the power directly from the tailight wiring.

Newer vehicles can have sensitive electrical load detecting and various other electronics that can possibly be damaged by the simpler trailer wiring harnesses, especially if you try to power a large load because there are a lot of lights on the trailer. I'm thinking the Honda dealer was referring to a "powered converter harness" when they referred to the need for an "isolator" to be installed. This type of system powers the trailer lights with a power wire that is run directly to the battery, and the tail-lights merely function as a trip mechanism to activate the signal. These will range from $80 to $150 installed.

From what I have gathered, Draw-Tite makes a wiring plug-and-go part #18336 for the 2003 and 2004 Elements. This is just a standard non-powered converter type harness. A powered converter could still be installed, and is a much safer way to go.

I have recently purchased a 2005 model, which does not work with the 18336, as there is no connection plug behind the right rear panel, like there is in the 2003 and 2004's. It has the connection plug in the spare wheel area, and the threads I have read here indicate that a powered converter harness is required, such as the Honda OEM product that goes for I think $120. A steep price, but worth it to protect electronics and warranty. It is possible that Honda made this change to gouge us for a more expensive part, but I for one am not willing to call their bluff.

I am looking at purchasing this part, as I am going to install the Valley hitch anyway. I could wire directly into the tail-lights, but I am too concerned about the possible problems that might arise.

Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the info. Based on that info, I'm going to have my honda dealer install the honda hitch and wiring . I don't need warrantee problems.