trailer hitch wiring harness
 

Does anyone know where I can get the wiring harness for when I tow a trailer that won't be so expensive? I looked at ecs tuning but it's pretty pricey. Is there an aftermarket harness anyone uses?

are you talking about something that goes from the outlet on the hitch to the 4-pin plug on the trailer? about $10 from wal-mart...

or, you are talking about the harness that goes from the outside of the car, with plug outside, through the grommet hole in the back and plugs into the connector on the back wall of the trunk and that connects to the trailer module?

usually that comes with factory kit - what do you have installed right now for the hitch? is it E53 we are talking about??? or what??

Aside BMW, Westfalia, Bosal or others sell the harness but you'll still need the control module so that it works with your car, doesn't set off warning lights and disables PDC when you plug in a trailer.

this item is NOT compatible with onboard electronics of an E53 based BMW X5.

It may perhaps function as a stand alone system on an aftermarket tow hitch installation but it has been noted on this forum by members who actually towed things from a bicycle rack to a 6000 lbs boats that nothing but the Original Equipment (BMW branded) tow package, that already comes with electronic control, should be installed onto the E53 vehicle...

the tow control unit from BMW incorporates the towing package into the rest of the car and supplies the towed trailer with monitored voltages for the lights, tells the rest of the car, when a trailer is hooked up (by means of the trailer lights connected to the car via harness) and the car's air suspension and rear PDC are disabled... the trailers lights are monitored for burned lights... overall, better integration...

Agree. If the OP wants the 119190 kit with wiring ($70 on Amazon), I have the kit in my garage, will sell for $50 with shipping.

I ended up going the OE route because I wanted the bulb monitoring but had already ordered the kit from ETrailer.com. The 119190 has clips that splice into the wiring near the tails.

thanks for all your help guys. I guess I'll have to go with the oem part. I'm guessing the other parts don't integrate with the electronics that well - and I wouldn't want the car beeping at me when I back up with the trailer...

you can turn off PDC
I got court hitch and this module for total of 170$ and im very happy
no problems with electronics because module got separate circuit that power up the module
it only take signal of the lamps so it wont throw bulb check warning MSG

what is a court hitch, and where are attachment points on the vehicle for the court hitch? a picture or a link, perhaps?

I think he meant "curt hitch"