Product review: Repro tow hitch wiring

[Bdc101]

I just wanted to report my experience with this reproduction product. An ebay seller "bahgellson" is making trailer wiring harnesses for use with the factory towing module (AHM), which have been out of production since before I bought my E53 in 2016.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/324580444572

When I bought my E53, it had a factory Westfalia hitch (improperly installed) and it had a seven-pin wire connector which I found was wired up to a Hidden Hitch wiring module that had been spliced into the brake lights. Since we are trailer campers, I fixed the hitch, added a brake controller, but could never find a used wiring harness for use with the AHM module. The modules themselves are all over ebay in the $60-80 range, but the wiring harnesses are few and far between. Anyways, I was glad to pay the $190 for this repro harness with the new dual trailer plugs.

I installed it this weekend and found that it was plug-and-play. No coding was required on my 2003 (11/2002 production) which is a pre-facelift car. I did have to remove the bumper cover to fish the wires through, as there was no way at all to do it without removing the bumper cover. I also had to trim about an inch off the bumper cover to fit the dual trailer plug, and drilled another hole in the hitch to screw it on. However, it ended up looking fine; since it's kind of tucked in underneath the bumper it's hard to notice. My E53 isn't a garage queen like some of yours either

I did have to buy another pin for the trailer brake controller wire, and I haven't wired that up yet, but the seller was helpful in identifying which pin to buy and it can be crimped with a normal automotive crimp tool.

Overall I was very happy with the purchase. Now, I don't get the light alarms on the dash when I plug in my trailer, and I can charge it while towing, and the lights are actually brighter than they used to be (probably because of the crappy aftermarket splices). Just wanted to give credit where credit is due. I'm glad to see someone making reproduction parts for our cars (and also E83s, apparently).

(Sorry no pictures -- I don't have a smartphone)