Wiring Harness Installation
Back when we bought Zeus we installed a
hitch to add utility to the Bolt. Eventually we wanted to also install a wiring harness so we could tow a small trailer for various errands. Right after I bought the receiver I also purchased a small 5'X8' trailer and a Powered Circuit Protected Tail-light Converter to power the lights on the trailer. I would normally link to the website I purchased this on but it is no longer available. The closest I could find was this:
Curt Powered Tail Light Converter with 4-Pole Flat Trailer Connector which looks very close to the one I installed here but the converter seems a little smaller (newer model?).
Anyways here are the steps I took to install the wiring harness:
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To start remove the back panel by pulling out at the bottom, then once all the clips have popped out pull up for the top clips to release.
Next remove the driver side floor mount, then pull out the driver side panel. It doesn't have to come all the way off, just enough where you can access the wiring harness in the corner of the Bolt. |
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| The bolts brake lights can activate in 1 of 2 places, on the rear hatch (when closed) or on the bumper. I wanted to be able to use the trailer regardless of if the hatch was open or closed. I found the controller for the gate lights, released the harness from the controller and pushed down on the tab to release the connector from the latch. |
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| Connector and latch separated, this made testing for which wire was the correct one much easier |
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| Eventually I identified the tail light signal wires. The green box shows the one for the tail lights and the red one is the signal for the brake lights. |
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| Using the quick splice connectors I attached the tail light and brake light signal wires to the Curt module (each wire is labeled when you receive the kit). |
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| Everything reconnected, the ground wire was connected to the frame as well with the provided self tapping screw. |
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| My only complaint about the unit I bought was the left turn signal wire was too short. I had to extend it to reach the left blinker. |
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| Wires were fished outside of the body through this hole. |
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| This is the only change I had to make to the vehicle, the vent I fed the wires through was not wide enough to fit the trailer plug. I broke one off and it fit without a problem. |
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| I removed both reverse and blinker lights to give me enough room to access the yellow blinker wire. There is some tape keeping the black and yellow wire together that needs to be cut back so enough of the yellow wire is exposed for the quick connect splicer to fit. Do this on both the left and right blinker then replace both lights. |
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| Attached the provided fuse for the powered module to the battery. |
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| Everything fits nicely so you can hardly notice that you have a powered attachment. |
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| The wire from the battery is run through the firewall in the same place the main wiring harness is (driver side). I used an xacto knife to puncture an X in the rubber and ran the wire into the cab of the Bolt. From there I ran the wire under the hard plastic the runs under the doors along the drivers side all the way up into the area where the brake module is that we attached our tail light indicators to earlier. It was a bit tricky feeding the wire up from the back seat area into the brake module area but if you follow the harness its not too bad. I was able to push the wire up under the plastic then reach in from the back and feel around for the wire to pull in through. |
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| I mounted the Curt Powered Module right next to the brake module using the supplied double tape. Then I popped the driver side panel back in place, reattached the driver side floor mount, and then replaced the rear panel by first pushing down on the top and then pushing in on the inside bottom. |
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| The whole thing working together with our Bolt, Trailer, and Wiring Harness |
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