Trailer wiring issues?

[Sous]

I recently (2 weeks ago) bought a 2008 Limited Edition Tribeca. The SUV is great in every way except for a couple of things that will just take getting used to.

I have found one big problem though that I need to figure out soon. My Tribeca came with a factory wiring harness and hitch for a trailer. When I hook the 4 way wiring harness to the trailer, I get the following indications on the tralier only:

- The brake lights are on steady
- The right turn signal will work when turned on
- The left turn signal will not work when turned on
- When the lights are turned on in the SUV, brake lights stay on on the trailer
- When the hazard lights are turned on, only the left turn signal will work

I have checked this issue on two different trailers and get the same problem. I have also used a multimeter and a test light to check the problem, and it persists.

I traced the wiring harness into the rear of the Tribeca and removed the tool box that holds the jack and tools. There is a small box under there that says Subaru on it that is connected to the 4 way wiring harness for the trailer, and then the box is connected into the factory harness of the Tribeca.

I removed the 4 way harness from the Subaru box, and hooked the tralier directly to the Subaru box with the same results.

Any ideas on what the problem may be? It is fairly obvious the problem is somewhere in the Tribeca wiring, but I am hoping that one of you can shed some light on the issue.

[SimAwd]

Welcome to the club! I would suggest that maybe you need a diffrent 4 wire cable from your Tribe to your trailer. I have an 06 beca and I don't know the 08 but you may need the one with a box that split the brakes, tail lights and flashers from the beca to the trailer. That is the cable that I needed for my 03 impreza because the flashers were orange instead of red on the car and at the time that I did my first wiring on my old car with a regular 4 wire cable and plug-it, I had the same problems that you have. (on all reserve if I do remember the cable with a box has 4 wire towards the trailer and 5 (or so) wires towards the beca)

Cheers, J.

[Sous]

The trailer adapter I have does have a box between where it hooks into the Tribeca harness and where it meets the 4 way trailer plug. Are you saying that you think this is the wrong box, or that maybe it is bad?

I unplugged the 4 way cable directly after the box and had the same bad results. So, this leads me to believe that the box is bad or the wiring from the Tribeca harness itself is bad.

[SimAwd]

I know you've checked your wires but I would try to remove one of the tail lamp from the tribeca and try to tap the wires directly there. Like I said in my last post, if your beca have the amber flasher in the back you NEED the small box between the trailer and the suby. If you still have the same problem, try to go at an auto parts to by a new wire.

Cheers, J.