BCM Community

Has anyone rigged a 2005 Element to drag behind the bus?  Long time ago I posted that we intended to do it.  Finally have the bus conversion nearly complete and the last project is to get the car ready for towing.  I installed a Blue Ox base plate; purchased a Blue Ox tow bar and a tail light wiring kit that does not tap into the car's electrical system.

The installation of the base plate was pretty much per instructions.  OK ... a few descriptive phrases were needed to get it to fit, but it is now in place.

However running the four-wire bundle from front to rear has me bugged.  Has anyone done this without cutting or drilling into the car's structure?  I mean ... is there a neat little plastic plug to remove to fish a wire through a channel or something?  I'm embarrassed to say that the last car I was under was my '56 Chevy (way back in college days).  Present day Mattel pressed tin and plastic was not part of my old Chevy.

My gut tells me to do as little drilling and cutting into the Honda as possible.  I hate surprises when a drill bit locates something seriously important for me.

Any suggestions for running the front-to-rear wiring will be appreciated.

Merlin D. Moon

Follow-up(Saturday, 12 Sept):
I will manage the wiring by attaching under the Honda with clips and wire ties.  Not a big issue except for the location to re-enter the car at the rear.  As far as I can tell, I will need to drill into the bottom of the spare tire well and then seal the opening around the wires with silicone.

Another issue arose when I started to connect the four wires into the front receptacle.  What is considered the "universal" pattern for the four wires?  Actually this is not a problem for me as long as I use the same pattern at the other end on the bus.  However, if I need to tow someone else's car that has a four wire system, will my choice of wiring pattern be compatible?  The random chance of this may be rare. I'm likely over-agonizing this small issue, but I just thought I'd ask in case someone knows of a generally accepted universal wiring pattern.

I got a tail light converter (relay device) from Gumpy.  It is a very well designed unit and solves the 24v to 12v towed tail light issue.  So far so good; it is being installed today in the engine compartment (not recommended location) where I will set it into a Tupperware cake container that has a tightly sealing lid. It will be as far from the heat as I can get it as well as being in an area of good air flow.  My battery minder has been in that area for a long time with no ill effects.
Merlin

I never wired an Element but all the Toads I have wired I ran the wires underneath.

Terry

On our CR-V, I found an existing hole with a grommet that I could work the wires through the firewall, then under the carpet to the rear.

Don't know anything about the Honda, but on the Explorers I've done, there was a rubber plug in the floor panel somewhere that I could just cut an X into and run the cable through that. They came up into the wiring channel next to the doors which was perfect for connecting into the tail light wires.

I've also been known to run wires through either the brake or clutch boot in the firewall.

If  you're planning on tying into the existing lights, you'll need to find where the tail light splits to go to both sides, and put your diode before that. Finding where they run the left and right brake wires can be fun, also. None of the 3 Explorers I've wired were the same.

Good luck.

craig

     I'm with Redbus, I always run the wires under the rig. Tye wraps hold the wires away from moving and hot spots, and can fasten to most anything....Cable