Showing posts with label tag_trailer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tag_trailer. Show all posts

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Volvo 2001 V70 Trailer hitch wiring adapter

Trailer hitch wiring adapter. Part no. 8698079 ("Taillight Converter"), purchased from IPD in Portland, Oregon.

The wiring adapter plugs right in to a connector in the spare tire well of the Volvo. The wiring assembly comes with a grommet pre-installed, so that the wire passes out through the bottom of the spare tire well right by the receiver hitch.

The wiring assembly is meant to be used with a Volvo OEM hitch, which presents a vertical, rear-facing surface to mount the 4-pin plug to. The wiring assembly comes with a bracket having a 90 degree bend that is configured for that vertical, rear-facing surface. My "Hidden Hitch" brand receiver hitch didn't have a similar place to mount the bracket, so I unbent the bracket to make it totally flat, then mounted it to the underside of the Hidden Hitch.

I drilled and tapped a 1/4-20 hole into the underside of the hitch so that I could affix the bracket. My cordless drill was a bit too big to fit under the hitch, so I used an air-powered angle drill. I could have figured something else out, e.g., jacking up the rear of the car, but the angle drill worked fine.