2013 Subaru Outback.3.6 / Electrical

We will be towing our planned and highly anticipated 560 with our 2013 Subaru Outback 3.6. Plan to have the current 4 pin connector upgraded to a 7 pin connector this coming January. Any recommendations on the type of 7 pin to use. Thanks R

 

Ron,

You betcha. This here is the one we always recommend for this application where the car already has the 4 pin wired in:

http://www.etrailer.com/Wiring/Hopkins/37185.html

The big thing with this is to make sure the shop doing the wiring actually hooks up all the wires coming off the back of the connector, especially the large white ground wire. All too often we see these here at pick up time with the ground wire taped off and not connected.

Cary

 

I replied to Ron privately but thought I should also post here for those who search the forums in the future.

I have a 2013 Outback and I did the wiring myself. I watched the video on Etrailer a lot and referenced the instructions that came with our parts.

I decided on this controllerhttp://www.etrailer.com/Brake-Controller/Tekonsha/TK90160.html

and this wiring harness
http://www.etrailer.com/p-ETBC7.html

There were a few other parts I needed to complete the job which they mention in their installation video, dielectric grease, red wire, some extra loom material, electrical tape, some loom clamps, and the long brackethttp://www.etrailer.com/p-18136.html

Drilling the hole for the ground was difficult but my husband was able to get it done. We could not drill the holes for the loom clamps into the frame under the vehicle to hold the wiring up. We just didn't have a powerful enough drill. I paid a dude at UHaul $5 to do it for me on the side.

I ended up mounting the brake controller onto the door to the fuse box to the left of the steering wheel. It was easier to do it this way, just take the door off and screw in the mounting hardware. The controller is not in our way at all.

It took me a whole day to do it but I took my time, it looks nice and tidy, and I saved some cash doing it myself.

Mechele

 

Cary, have ordered the 7 pin connector and wiring kit from etrailer as recommended. Plan on tackling the 4 to 7 pin connector myself seems pretty straight forward. We have order our 560 with the battery isolater. If I compete all the wiring for the 7 pin as instructed is there any additional wiring I need to do for the battery to charge from the TV. Any other thoughts you may have would be appriciated. Thanks Ron

 

Ron,

The important thing is to wire all the connections as instructed with connector. The most common mistake we see is the person doing the install does not bother to hook up the white ground wire as instructed. It won't work like that. Make sure to connect that solid to the vehicle somewhere.

Cary

 

Completed the 4 to 7 pin wiring conversion this weekend. Fairly straight forward. Completed using the instructions provided by etrailer. Total time of project was 4 hours. The only changes I made were to route the wires through the interior of the Outback as opposed to the under carriage frame. With the harsh Iowa winters the wires will avoid the elements. Doing this also allowed me to ground in the interior spare tire compartment rather than the under carriage. The hardest part was fishing the wires via the interior having g to remove rear seat and door seals and interior door sill plates. Looks great and there are no exposed wires. All checked out, the final test comes in April when we pick up the 560...Thanks to all who answered my questions during this project. Figured I save about $250 doing it myself. ..R