Flat tow equipment needed to flat tow the 2021 Bronco?

[pbryan]

Is it wired the same as the Curt 56468? If so, this should help:

Not quite the same problem, I think... The video for the trailer plug harness is about making it work for a base tail lamp vs. LED. The Curt flat tow harness seems to have an issue where they connected the wrong pins causing the amber turn signals to be used for the combined turn and brake lamp while being towed.

Did I miss it? Did someone post a wiring diagram for the Curt 58992? I guess I will have to learn to repin a molex plug. Wish I would have saw this forum before I installed it

Don't think there were specific instructions or diagrams posted, but i think it's just a matter of swapping pins 3 & 5 on the connectors.

I'm curious if the Curt harness (with the pin swap) can be used on a non-LED tail lamp. Mostly concerned about the diodes they used and if they are rated for the (presumably) higher current draw of a bulb vs. LEDs.

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[SRICKEY]

Not quite the same problem, I think... The video for the trailer plug harness is about making it work for a base tail lamp vs. LED. The Curt flat tow harness seems to have an issue where they connected the wrong pins causing the amber turn signals to be used for the combined turn and brake lamp while being towed.




Don't think there were specific instructions or diagrams posted, but i think it's just a matter of swapping pins 3 & 5 on the connectors.

I'm curious if the Curt harness (with the pin swap) can be used on a non-LED tail lamp. Mostly concerned about the diodes they used and if they are rated for the (presumably) higher current draw of a bulb vs. LEDs.

Might not be exactly the same but I think it gives me the info I needed. Was not sure how the pins were numbered. I assume the same methodology is used in both flat tow and trailer harnesses.

I appreciate the help!

 

[Triceratops]

Might not be exactly the same but I think it gives me the info I needed. Was not sure how the pins were numbered. I assume the same methodology is used in both flat tow and trailer harnesses.

I appreciate the help!

Yes you can use this exact procedure. Same plugs. I did not count pins as I instead used the wiring guide to make sure that I was going to the correct wire. You just swap around the white wire and the trailer wire between pins three and five. Just look at the wire you’re plugging into and make sure the correct colored wire is going into your trailer wire pin.

 

[SRICKEY]

Got the pins 3 and 5 swapped, it works on the red LED lights now. Sure hope Curt gets that error corrected for all those yet to get their Broncos. Had a machine shop mill out the adapters on my Blue Ox. I am ready to go. Going to take a little weekend trip (about 500 miles round trip) and see how it goes. I use the Patriot 3 braking system so the EBB should not be a problem for me. Thanks for the help guys!

 

[Triceratops]

Got the pins 3 and 5 swapped, it works on the red LED lights now. Sure hope Curt gets that error corrected for all those yet to get their Broncos. Had a machine shop mill out the adapters on my Blue Ox. I am ready to go. Going to take a little weekend trip (about 500 miles round trip) and see how it goes. I use the Patriot 3 braking system so the EBB should not be a problem for me. Thanks for the help guys!

EBB is still a pain with the P3, need to be on force H (hybrid) for the first 45 minutes and then change to an unboosted setting (I use 3).

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[pbryan]

I haven't seen any good pictures of the Curt harness. Are the diodes built in to the connectors? Or somewhere else? Are part #'s or any rating info on the diodes accessible?

 

[Happy]

I appreciate so much the efforts being made to help dummies like me understand the tow issue.

grtharris made mention of the NSA Ready Brute braking system. If I understand it correctly, this system will work equally well with OR without Electric Boost or vacuum.

Is my understanding correct that the 2.7 motor with EBB will work with the Ready Brute when the EBB cycles off? ? Is there a need to pull any fuses or other complications?

 

[Keith Dunford]

I just had a customer inform me of this issue with the Curt Harness, I gave them a call and they informed me that they are working on a harness for the Base Taillights and they really weren't aware of the problem with the LED. They have only had one customer complaint logged on a person with a 2022 with LED tail lights and after the first call they where never able to get back in touch with the customer. If y'all are having issues call Curt and let them know it seems that ford has changed the wiring between the 2 years.

 

[pbryan]

I don't have 2 vehicles to compare to be 100% sure, but based on wiring diagrams there was no change in the tail light wiring from 21 to 22.

 

[Ranbronc]

I appreciate so much the efforts being made to help dummies like me understand the tow issue.

grtharris made mention of the NSA Ready Brute braking system. If I understand it correctly, this system will work equally well with OR without Electric Boost or vacuum.

Is my understanding correct that the 2.7 motor with EBB will work with the Ready Brute when the EBB cycles off? ? Is there a need to pull any fuses or other complications?

should not be anything to pull, the Ready brute is a mechanical system, I have it on my Focus but waiting on RockHard to build a towable bumper for the Bronco before I set it up for flat towing.

The Blue ox towbar mount tabs would be around 24-25" high at my bronco my RV is around 15" so I would need a 10" riser, based on Rockhards jeep pics the tabs would be about 4-5" lower on the bumper putting me at 5" riser.

If anyone is near St Paul Nebraska and has a Bronco they want to loan out Rockhard needs one until their order shows up, I'm too far away or i would do it.

 

[SRICKEY]

I just had a customer inform me of this issue with the Curt Harness, I gave them a call and they informed me that they are working on a harness for the Base Taillights and they really weren't aware of the problem with the LED. They have only had one customer complaint logged on a person with a 2022 with LED tail lights and after the first call they where never able to get back in touch with the customer. If y'all are having issues call Curt and let them know it seems that ford has changed the wiring between the 2 years.

Chris, that was me. Thanks for doing your part to notify your supplier. Make sure they know we are talking about the harness for flat tow behind an RV. I think they have a problem with a harness for trailer towing that affects the Base. That may be what they are saying they are working on.

 

[Triceratops]

I just had a customer inform me of this issue with the Curt Harness, I gave them a call and they informed me that they are working on a harness for the Base Taillights and they really weren't aware of the problem with the LED. They have only had one customer complaint logged on a person with a 2022 with LED tail lights and after the first call they where never able to get back in touch with the customer. If y'all are having issues call Curt and let them know it seems that ford has changed the wiring between the 2 years.

They are full of shit, do you want my email thread or the multiple calls? I don't have a 2022.

I sent them pictures where their construction was going to pin 5 instead of the proper pin 3. There was no change in wiring between the years. This BS makes me want to file a DOT Safety complaint on them. I was decent and explained the problem. A bunch of clowns now.

 

[grtharris]

I appreciate so much the efforts being made to help dummies like me understand the tow issue.

grtharris made mention of the NSA Ready Brute braking system. If I understand it correctly, this system will work equally well with OR without Electric Boost or vacuum.

Is my understanding correct that the 2.7 motor with EBB will work with the Ready Brute when the EBB cycles off? ? Is there a need to pull any fuses or other complications?

It will work with or without boost. No fuses to pull. The harder the vehicle pushes on the motorhome the harder it brakes.

 

[Keith Dunford]

Chris, that was me. Thanks for doing your part to notify your supplier. Make sure they know we are talking about the harness for flat tow behind an RV. I think they have a problem with a harness for trailer towing that affects the Base. That may be what they are saying they are working on.

i will call them again in them morning and confirm it’s that flat tow harness that’s also having issues, when I talked with them today I gave them the part number.

 

[GunninGopher]

They are full of shit, do you want my email thread or the multiple calls? I don't have a 2022.

I sent them pictures where their construction was going to pin 5 instead of the proper pin 3. There was no change in wiring between the years. This BS makes me want to file a DOT Safety complaint on them. I was decent and explained the problem. A bunch of clowns now.

I agree this isn't just a 2022 problem and that Curt is still claiming to be unaware of the scope of the issue.

We have a 2021 Outer Banks and installed the Curt 58992 in February. I didn't finish wiring it up because I was waiting on my RVi system to come in and wanted to finish the wiring all at once. Once I heard about this problem I tested it out and sure enough, the wrong lights are being activated. I e-mailed them 2 weeks ago with the concern and they never got back to me. I called early last week but I it was after hours. I called again yesterday (Friday) and the Tech Support guy was saying that this sounds exactly like the problem they have when being connected to incandescent lights. I said I have LED's because that is what the Outer Banks has. He said he won't proceed until I take the tail light apart and verify that it is LED. I'm like, dude, I paid extra for these upgraded tail lights, they're LED. Ford literature says they are LED, Outer Banks has upgraded LED lights standard and I'm pretty sure most people would say incandescent is a down-grade anyways. He wouldn't budge.

So last night I went out there to shoot a video (attached) and you can see the typical LED flicker with them. This morning I went to see how they come apart and I just can't tell. I really don't want to try to dis-assemble this tail-light assembly just because Curt won't believe the obvious. These things aren't cheap and I have a warranty to respect. I have wired TOADs with diode's before. I know I can do that for about $40. I paid $130 for this because I didn't want to risk my warranty and it is my wife's dream car, so I want to make sure she sees that I'm doing everything I can to make it stay nice.

I've sent the video and I expect them to provide a fix to me without having to go any further.

I don't mind at this point modifying the harness, because that is the least pain in the ass way to get this on the road in 8 days. I just expect the manufacturer to own up to it. This issue was documented months ago in this and other forums. There is a whole lot of IRL testing being done that they are ignoring. They should know by now that this is happening to LED's too without making me jump through hoops. To their (hopeful) credit, the tech support guy said they'd send out a fix once they confirm it is happening with LEDs.

On another issue, I have a Blue Ox and ended up just grinding the tabs myself. It took about 1 hour, 4 disks and about 12ah on my DeWalt 4 1/2" 20v angle grinder. I widened it out to 30-30.5mm and there is plenty of clearance. Primed and painted and they look fine. You will need a caliper to do this properly. I went to 1 machine shop because I figured I could maybe get them milled for a 12 pack, but they were saying that it was going to cost too much to be worth it. I'm glad I did it myself.

I just ordered some nylon washers to fit in between the loop and the tabs since I have some extra play. I ended up having to order 100 washers so if anyone wants them, DM me and as long as I have the right thing delivered to me, I'll mail 4 of them out to anyone that asks for the price of good karma.

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