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Dr4Film · 01-29-2010, 09:12 PM

Just today I discovered that both Blue Ox and Roadmaster are selling 6 Way Coiled wiring harnesses to use for going from the MH to the Toad, Blue Ox is Blue, Roadmaster is Red, that are wired completely backwards based on the standard 6 Way diagram I downloaded from the Internet, see photo below. The diagram states Car & Trailer, but you can substitute MH & Toad, same thing. Anyway, sometime ago, I had wired both my Monaco coach and my 2006 Saturn Vue based on the diagram. I used 6 Hy Power diodes on the car as the directional’s and brakes are separate on both the coach and car. I purchased the Blue Ox 6 Way coiled harness, BX8862 and tried it out for the first time yesterday as I had to take the coach in for the Norcold refer safety recall work done. Much to my surprise, the left & right turn signals were backwards and my brakes wouldn't work. No time to try and figure it out so drove the rig that way, the service center was only a short 5 mile trip.

Did my troubleshooting on the wiring today and discovered the coiled cable problem. A neighbor had a Roadmaster 6 Way coiled cable and that was exactly the same way, the left to right pins were completely reversed as to what there are supposed to be. I could not believe that two company's would produce such a product.

So I wrote an email to each of their customer service departments asking them to explain their logic behind making the cables non-standard. I hope to hear something from them soon. And then again maybe I won't.

To fix my dilemma I simply took my Toad’s front 6 way receptacle apart and reversed 4 of the 5 wires except for the top one which is for the tail lights. The left & right turn signal's had to be reversed along with the ground and brake lights. Hence the reason I had no brake lights yesterday, they were being grounded out and blowing the fuse immediately, refer to the diagram below.

Has anyone else on this forum experienced the same problem?

I have no idea what those 2 company’s were thinking when they designed the cables, obviously they weren’t, but they certainly caused me a huge inconvenience and headache for two days.

If they had supplied information to the customer in the package somewhere or even on their Internet web site referencing the fact that the cables are NOT straight through cables or commonly called mirror images, that in fact they are the same on both ends, I would have wired the receptacle that way in the first place.

Go Figure !!!

Dr4Film ----- Richard.

Norm4015 · 01-29-2010, 09:25 PM

It depends on which way you look at the plug. You can look at the plug where the wires connect or look at the pins in the plug. If you look at it wrong you will wire it backwards. I have wired several toads using Blue Ox cables and I have wired several making my own cables. So far all cables have worked the first time they were hooked up.

Dr4Film · 01-29-2010, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norm4015

It depends on which way you look at the plug. You can look at the plug where the wires connect or look at the pins in the plug. If you look at it wrong you will wire it backwards. I have wired several toads using Blue Ox cables and I have wired several making my own cables. So far all cables have worked the first time they were hooked up.

Hi Norm,

These products are factory built, sealed and wired with connectors on both ends. You can only see the plug. You cannot get to the inside pins as the cable and ends are weather sealed against moisture.

If I had made my own cable it would not have been a problem and I wouldn't have had to write this post, however I wanted to use the Blue Ox coiled 6 Way for a variety or reasons and that's when I discovered this problem.

Dr4Film ----- Richard.

Norm4015 · 01-29-2010, 09:54 PM

Yes, I am aware of how the coiled cables are built and I guess I misunderstood you. I was relating a problem I ran into with a friend who bought a new toad and wired it using diodes. When he connected the cable it blew a fuse and none of the lights worked correctly. He swore he wired it according to the diagram and I found he had wired it backwards. He wired it to the "pin view" instead of the "connector view."

Alan_Hepburn · 01-29-2010, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr4Film

Hi Norm,

These products are factory built, sealed and wired with connectors on both ends. You can only see the plug. You cannot get to the inside pins as the cable and ends are weather sealed against moisture.

When we had our Blue Ox system installed on our smart car the installer needed to know what kind of connector we had on the back of the motorhome so he could put the correct one on - it seems that the cable came from Blue Ox with the small connector for the car end but the motorhome end is wired up at the installer so that they can make sure it's the correct one.

paz · 01-30-2010, 06:04 AM

Our motorhome has a 7-pin connector on the back as many do. I knew when I put a 7-pin to 6-pin adapter in the circuit all bets were off as to which wire was which, so I checked the output from each pin of the cable using a volt meter as I activated turn signals and brake lights on the motorhome. I made my own wiring diagram and wired the toad accordingly. Even if you don't need the 7 to 6-pin adapter, checking the output from the motorhome with a volt meter or test light is the best way to go.

Dr4Film · 01-30-2010, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paz

Our motorhome has a 7-pin connector on the back as many do. I knew when I put a 7-pin to 6-pin adapter in the circuit all bets were off as to which wire was which, so I checked the output from each pin of the cable using a volt meter as I activated turn signals and brake lights on the motorhome. I made my own wiring diagram and wired the toad accordingly. Even if you don't need the 7 to 6-pin adapter, checking the output from the motorhome with a volt meter or test light is the best way to go.

Hi Paz,

I wired the Coach as per the diagram labeled "Car" then wired the "Toad" as per the diagram labeled "Trailer". I checked each connection with a volt meter while activating each function. The BIG problem started when attempting to use the Blue Ox or Roadmaster coiled pre-assembled cables. They are NOT one to one cables. They reversed the pin assignments from right to left, from one end of the cable to the other without making any reference to that fact in the package or on their web site letting the customer know that it is not a standard cable. That's what I have a problem with.

No big deal as I said earlier, all I had to do was reverse the wires on my "Toad" receptacle, taking the two wires on the left pins and putting them on the right pins and taking the two wires on the right pins and putting them on the left pins.

It was very aggravating to say the least,

but the problem is resolved. I would just like an answer to their logic behind making the cables with that type of reverse configuration which goes against the standard layout for 6 way car/trailer hookup.

Dr4Film ----- Richard.

Flagelpater · 01-30-2010, 03:55 PM

FWIW Don't assume the connections are "sealed against the weather." My first Blue Ox cable had to be repaired, by me, after about 6 months of use. The pin side of the connectors was full of rust! this gave me all kinds of intermittent problems. I now take all connections apart and add dielectric grease, no problems since with over 5 years of use. My lights are independent of the Toad lighting system so I can not comment on the way they were wired.

Dr4Film · 01-30-2010, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flagelpater

FWIW Don't assume the connections are "sealed against the weather." My first Blue Ox cable had to be repaired, by me, after about 6 months of use. The pin side of the connectors was full of rust! this gave me all kinds of intermittent problems. I now take all connections apart and add dielectric grease, no problems since with over 5 years of use. My lights are independent of the Toad lighting system so I can not comment on the way they were wired.

Hi Flagelpater,

I also use the dielectric grease on all of my connectors, coach to cable, cable to car, coach to trailer, car to trailer. I dab a little on every time I use the cables, that way they stay rust free and problem free.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

Flagelpater · 01-30-2010, 05:01 PM

You might want to open up those "Weather Tight" boots and pump a little grease in there too.

Dr4Film · 01-31-2010, 08:54 AM

I heard back from Blue Ox today and I NOW understand their logic behind how they manufactured the cable. When re-thinking it over, it now makes sense. They are not looking at it as a Towing Vehicle and a Towed Vehicle. They are ONLY looking at it from the Plug and Receptacle point of view. That's where I made my mistake and assumption.

What I learned is to never assume anything is logical as whenever I do, it makes an ass out of U & ME.

Here is their response and my email back to them. I have included their diagram that they sent to me.

Richard,

Our 6 wire coiled cable is wired to standards just as the Roadmaster 6 wire cable is. I have included a wiring diagram that we have for customer assistance. I apologize for the confusion. I will be happy to send you any additional information, please forward your complete address and phone number. Thank you for contacting Blue Ox.

Thank You
Deanna Graham
402-385-2868
Returns & Warranty
deannagraham@blueox.com

My email back to Blue Ox:

Deanna,

Thank you for your reply and wiring diagram. I now see your logic behind how both you and Roadmaster wired the cable. When referencing your wiring diagram, you are assuming that since both the Motor Home and the Car have the same type of receptacle, not a PLUG on one side and a RECPTACLE on the other, you wired your cable as such, two plugs on the cable and two receptacles, one on the Motor Home and one on the Car. Whereas I assumed that the Motor Home is providing the power for the lamps and the car is receiving the power to drive the lamps, referencing the wiring diagram that I included in my original email below, the Motor Home would be the same as in the diagram labeled “CAR”, and the Toad(car) behind the Motor Home would be the same as in the diagram labeled “Trailer” which is a mirror image of the “Car”.

My lesson learned is to never assume anything.

Best regards,
Richard Smith

I hope this post will help others understand the complexities of wiring between vehicle and towed vehicle, whatever it may be, if they decide to tackle a similar project by themselves.

Dr4Film ----- Richard.

jimhfurlong · 06-11-2010, 10:45 AM

Thanks for posting this. I hope it will get me through wiring my monaco to my toad (5 to 4 pin) today!

Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376 · 06-17-2010, 09:50 PM

My roadmaster cord is Blue and was wired correctly.

wilanddij · 06-20-2010, 12:58 PM

I have a blue coiled cable from Blue Ox. It was wired same as all the others from the factory, except that they didn't tighten a couple of the internal set screws that hold the wires in the pins. When they finally worked totally loose and the wires fell out, it caused all sorts of weird symptoms every time I hooked up the toad. The connectors on my cable were in no way sealed, so I could take them apart (a couple of phillips head screws) and solder the wires in their correct pins. No more crazy problems with that cable.