The story of installing a 7-way connector on a 2020 Telluride

[tokmane]

I have a 2020 Kia Telluride (SX AWD with tow package). I was in need to replace the factory-installed 4-pin connector with a 7-pin in order to utilize the spec-declared 5000lbs towing capacity. According to the User Manual, max towing capacity of 5000lbs can only be achieved when using the trailer brakes, which requires brake controller. Even if using wireless brake controller, the connector must be a 7-way with a live 12V aux.

I watched multiple videos showing how to achieve that, all of them were by wiring an additional wire all the way from the back of the vehicle to the battery itself.

Given that the 2021 model has the 7-way straight from the factory and the recent recall that involved adding a harness in this area, I figured I should give the dealer a call and ask if the 4-pin can be "converted" to a 7-pin using a genuine KIA parts. So they checked and the answer was that YES, it is possible!

So they ordered the part (S9F67-AC500), and I placed the vehicle into the service department for installation. It was installed and I was promised everything works besides the brake signal, which is fine as the vehicle is not equipped with a brake controller.

When I got home, I discovered that the 12V aux doesn't work. The only thing that fancy new harness did is adding reverse light!

So I brought the vehicle to the service department again, and few hours later I got a call with the unfortunate messaging that the connector on the vehicle's side doesn't even have the 12V aux pin, so an aftermarket wiring is a must, which they will NOT do. I was offered to put the 4-pin harness back, and get reimbursement for the part I paid for.

I find it very odd that Kia declares 5000lbs towing capacity, officially requires a brake controller usage to achieve this, and yet unable to provide the means to do that.

 

[Kwim]

what bothers you about the power line from the battery? this does not affect the warranty. on performance too.

 

[tokmane]

what bothers you about the power line from the battery? this does not affect the warranty. on performance too.

I always prefer things to be original.
As for warranty - being aftermarket, it does void warranty if determined by the dealership it caused an issue.

At the highest level, Kia are forcing their customers to do (potentially warranty-voiding) aftermarket changes in order to meet the declared vehicle spec. It's annoying.

 

[jw_tx21]

I have a 2020 Kia Telluride (SX AWD with tow package). I was in need to replace the factory-installed 4-pin connector with a 7-pin in order to utilize the spec-declared 5000lbs towing capacity. According to the User Manual, max towing capacity of 5000lbs can only be achieved when using the trailer brakes, which requires brake controller. Even if using wireless brake controller, the connector must be a 7-way with a live 12V aux.

I watched multiple videos showing how to achieve that, all of them were by wiring an additional wire all the way from the back of the vehicle to the battery itself.

Given that the 2021 model has the 7-way straight from the factory and the recent recall that involved adding a harness in this area, I figured I should give the dealer a call and ask if the 4-pin can be "converted" to a 7-pin using a genuine KIA parts. So they checked and the answer was that YES, it is possible!

So they ordered the part (S9F67-AC500), and I placed the vehicle into the service department for installation. It was installed and I was promised everything works besides the brake signal, which is fine as the vehicle is not equipped with a brake controller.

When I got home, I discovered that the 12V aux doesn't work. The only thing that fancy new harness did is adding reverse light!

So I brought the vehicle to the service department again, and few hours later I got a call with the unfortunate messaging that the connector on the vehicle's side doesn't even have the 12V aux pin, so an aftermarket wiring is a must, which they will NOT do. I was offered to put the 4-pin harness back, and get reimbursement for the part I paid for.

I find it very odd that Kia declares 5000lbs towing capacity, officially requires a brake controller usage to achieve this, and yet unable to provide the means to do that.

Yeah, just run a 12v line from the battery. Brake controllers aren't standard in many towing packages because people who need to tow heavy trailers usually do their research and have customized solutions for their needs. There are many threads discussing towing - and a 12V line is a cheap, simple fix. DIY if so desired.

If you need the threads with info, search "Towing" or see posts by @NCTelly

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[tokmane]

Would you guys recommend leaving the new, genuine 7-way harness and connector in place, or revert back to the 4-pin before adding the aftermarket wire?
The upside of keeping Kia's 7-way is having reverse light. The downside is that it's $170 .

 

[jw_tx21]

Would you guys recommend leaving the new, genuine 7-way harness and connector in place, or revert back to the 4-pin before adding the aftermarket wire?
The upside of keeping Kia's 7-way is having reverse light. The downside is that it's $170 .

You need a 7 pin connector with the 12v line, so you may want to keep the 7 pin harness you bought. Else, you have to get a 4 to 7 pin adapter and run the line. Your choice. There are videos on etrailer.com and a list of needed parts - you can calculate whether it makes sense to keep the harness.

 

[Kwim]

there are smarter ways to spend 170 bucks, while saving.

 

[2020Telly]

Technically there is nothing wrong in the manual. It says the trailer must be equipped with brakes and you can tow a trailer with 4-pin harness if the trailer has hydraulic brakes. But most people see brakes on a trailer and think electronic brakes with a brake controller.

I'm shocked the dealer told you that a 2020 4-pin could be adapted to 7-pin. The 12-pin connector on the 2020 is missing wires that exist on the 2021 harness. It's my belief that you can plug in the 2021 7-pin harness but the necessary wires aren't there to make the connections you need live. You will still need to run wires from the back to the front even if you are using the wireless brake controller (Bluetooth or RF).

I guess I'm not shocked they saw the connection and didn't bother to research it further.

This should include most of what you need to know: How To: Full Tow Hitch Install

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[2020Telly]

I think this is what you may have learned the hard way by having the dealer try it: Towing Pins #7 & #12 are not present on the 2020 Telluride vehicle harness but they are present on the 2021 vehicle wiring.

BTW, if properly installed there is no way Kia is going to try to void your warranty. If you are really worried have a reputable camper dealer install the 7-pin or U-Haul. But adding a wire from the battery to the trailer hitch doesn't touch your vehicle harness, so they would have a real tough time proving that it would be enough to void the warranty if you had electrical issues. You can keep the 7-pin 2021 harness and run one wire to the cab and have to penetrate the firewall and seal it up for a wired brake controller but you still have to splice to the other side or else find a way to create your own pin for the #7 and #12 and then you need to tap into the fuse box to power your brake controller. OR you can just run one wire the length of the frame to the battery (not go through the firewall) and use a wireless brake controller. Then the reverse can use a posi-tap connection. The dealer would need to tell you why they can't honor the Moss-Magnuson Act because the burden of proof is on them to void your warranty. But at that point the 7-pin 2021 harness from Kia is $160, when you can get the same or better with an aftermarket 7-pin upgrade kit for less that you can add to the 4-pin flat you got from the 2020 Kia harness.

 

[tokmane]

I think this is what you may have learned the hard way by having the dealer try it: Towing Pins #7 & #12 are not present on the 2020 Telluride vehicle harness but they are present on the 2021 vehicle wiring.

BTW, if properly installed there is no way Kia is going to try to void your warranty. If you are really worried have a reputable camper dealer install the 7-pin or U-Haul. But adding a wire from the battery to the trailer hitch doesn't touch your vehicle harness, so they would have a real tough time proving that it would be enough to void the warranty if you had electrical issues. You can keep the 7-pin 2021 harness and run one wire to the cab and have to penetrate the firewall and seal it up for a wired brake controller but you still have to splice to the other side or else find a way to create your own pin for the #7 and #12. OR you can just run one wire the length of the frame to the battery (not go through the firewall) and use a wireless brake controller. Then the reverse can use a positap connection. The dealer would need to tell you why they can't honor the Moss-Magnuson Act because the burden of proof is on them to void your warranty. But at that point the 7-pin 2021 harness from Kia is $160, when you can get the same or better with an aftermarket 7-pin upgrade kit for less that you can add to the 4-pin flat you got from the 2020 Kia harness.

Looking at eTrailer's Tekonsha harness, it seems to indeed have the back up wire but only between the vehicle's connector to the control box. After that, from the control box to the 4-pin connector, it's 4 wires only.

How would you connect the back up light wire?

 

[2020Telly]

Looking at eTrailer's Tekonsha harness, it seems to indeed have the back up wire but only between the vehicle's connector to the control box. After that, from the control box to the 4-pin connector, it's 4 wires only.

How would you connect the back up light wire?

Use a Posi-tap to connect to Pin #8 on the other side of that 12-pin adapter that the 4-pin harness goes into.

 

[tokmane]

Use a Posi-tap to connect to Pin #8 on the other side of that 12-pin adapter that the 4-pin harness goes into.

You mean cutting the Tekosha's harness back up light wire between the control module to the 12-pin connector and then directly connecting it to the 7-pin while bypassing the control module (for the back up light wire only)?

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[2020Telly]

You mean cutting the Tekosha's harness back up light wire between the control module to the 12-pin connector and then directly connecting it to the 7-pin while bypassing the control module (for the back up light wire only)?

I don't follow. 6 wires go to the box from the 12-pin adapter and then out of the box comes 4-pin flat. Reverse is not included (white is ground).

1 - 12V
2 - Right turn
3 - Left turn
4 - Stop
5 - Tail
6 - ground
7 - not present
8 - backup
12 - not present

HOWEVER if you look on the Telluride's side of that 12-pin connector, pin #8 should have a wire connected, that means you can tap in with a pushpin size tap using a posi-tap right there and get your reverse connection without cutting any harness.

 

[tokmane]

I don't follow. 6 wires go to the box from the 12-pin adapter and then out of the box comes 4-pin flat. Reverse is not included (white is ground). HOWEVER if you look on the Telluride's side of that 12-pin connector, pin #8 should have a wire connected, that means you and tap in with a pushpin size tap using a posi-tap right there and get your reverse connection without cutting any harness.

I guess I don't understand the "tap in with a pushpin size tap using a posi-tap right there" part. Can you provide links to the relevant components please?

BTW, is it safe NOT to go through the firewall? I'd prefer not to in order to avoid water leakage risk (had such an issue in a 2016 Subaru Outback without even making any modification/wiring)

 

[2020Telly]

I guess I don't understand the "tap in with a pushpin size tap using a posi-tap right there" part. Can you provide links to the relevant components please?

BTW, is it safe NOT to go through the firewall? I'd prefer not to in order to avoid water leakage risk (had such an issue in a 2016 Subaru Outback without even making any modification/wiring)

The orange connector on the Tekonsha connects to the Telluride the same as your 4-pin Kia harness does. The Connector has 12 pins. On the 2020 there is a wire for reverse at pin #8 that the 4-pin harness does not use.

I'm not advocating going through your firewall unless you know what you are doing. That's exactly why I'm saying go the route directly to the battery and use a wireless brake controller.

Posi-tap connectors are a more graceful solution than what Kia is doing with the recall to fix the trailer brake lights when on cruise control. Kia is requiring the use of an inline tap which is okay but it's a metal cut into the wire. Posi-tap connectors have a pin that tap into the line.

 

[2020Telly]

I'll find some time this weekend to take the dust cover off where my harness is connected and I'll try to snap a picture of the wires that are present to confirm that #8 is there.

This is what I mean: Trailer Wiring

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[tokmane]

I'll find some time this weekend to take the dust cover off where my harness is connected and I'll try to snap a picture of the wires that are present to confirm that #8 is there.

This is what I mean: Trailer Wiring

Thank you! I’m sure it’s there, I verified that with the 2021 harness the backup light works.

 

[2020Telly]

Found a very thorough video on eTrailer that talks about a 7-way dual output upgrade on a 2020 Telluride. The guy does a great job describing the entire installion on a 2020 Telluride to prep it for a Curt Echo, (Tekonsha Prodigy RF or Autowbrake). This is the full install that integrates with the 4-way flat harness and results in a nice clean install with dual output 7-way round and 4-way flat. (It does not compromise the vehicle wiring harness.)

Video with detailed explanation of installation:

https://www.etrailer.com/tv-install-etrailer-brake-controllers-7-way-trailer-wiring-2020-kia-telluride-etbc7l.aspx

Parts page on eTrailer with detailed pictures from Telluride install:

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/etrailer/ETBC7L.html

The only thing I would do differently is connect the Yellow wire on the 7-way upgrade kit to the #8 pin (reverse light) using a bullet connector and a posi-tap or in-line tap, I would still leave the blue wire unused. I would use a bullet style connector because I have a cargo basket that I added turn signal lights to that has a white reverse wire and I also plan to purchase one of those receiver hitch covers with brake and reverse LEDs. The other thing is that some of the circuit breakers come with red plastic boots to protect the terminals.

There are also pictures using the supplied mounting bracket on a Subaru Outback. If you went with one of the aftermarket hitches on the Telluride that hangs below the bumper you would likely use the bracket in a similar way to install the connector just under the bumper with the hitch.

The $83 kit comes from eTrailer with all the ring terminals, zipties and screws you need (minus the extension of the ground wire that the guy did and the connection to reverse light connection). But if you have some of the supplies like ring terminals and zip ties already you could probably buy the Curt 57672 for $25, a 30A circuit with plastic boot for $10 and 25ft of 12-gauge wire for $13. And if you have the self tapping screws and washers you can probably go with a Hopkins 47185 for $17 and save another $8. All in, $50-85 gets you wired up with a nice OEM look on a 2020 Telluride ready for a Wireless Brake Controller and you get a dual output, so no $10 adapter for the 4-pin flat like you would need to buy on the 2021.

Then if you decide to change to a wired brake controller, you still have that option by just running a wire into the cab and connecting the blue.

 

[JonFar111]

I have a 2020 Kia Telluride (SX AWD with tow package). I was in need to replace the factory-installed 4-pin connector with a 7-pin in order to utilize the spec-declared 5000lbs towing capacity. According to the User Manual, max towing capacity of 5000lbs can only be achieved when using the trailer brakes, which requires brake controller. Even if using wireless brake controller, the connector must be a 7-way with a live 12V aux.

I watched multiple videos showing how to achieve that, all of them were by wiring an additional wire all the way from the back of the vehicle to the battery itself.

Given that the 2021 model has the 7-way straight from the factory and the recent recall that involved adding a harness in this area, I figured I should give the dealer a call and ask if the 4-pin can be "converted" to a 7-pin using a genuine KIA parts. So they checked and the answer was that YES, it is possible!

So they ordered the part (S9F67-AC500), and I placed the vehicle into the service department for installation. It was installed and I was promised everything works besides the brake signal, which is fine as the vehicle is not equipped with a brake controller.

When I got home, I discovered that the 12V aux doesn't work. The only thing that fancy new harness did is adding reverse light!

So I brought the vehicle to the service department again, and few hours later I got a call with the unfortunate messaging that the connector on the vehicle's side doesn't even have the 12V aux pin, so an aftermarket wiring is a must, which they will NOT do. I was offered to put the 4-pin harness back, and get reimbursement for the part I paid for.

I find it very odd that Kia declares 5000lbs towing capacity, officially requires a brake controller usage to achieve this, and yet unable to provide the means to do that.

The inconsistency between dealer service departments is mind numbing. This morning when I was in for a recall, I asked the service advisor if they could do a 4-pin to 7-pin conversion on my 2020 since the 2021's have a 7-pin. He said no and pointed toward the local UHaul dealer... (nope, that ain't gonna happen)

 

[KenP]

I have installed the e-trailer 7-Way RV Upgrade Kit for Trailer Brake Controller Installation
Item # ETBC7L in my 2020 Telluride. . It took me about an hour. However running the 12 volt wire from the harness to the Telluride battery was more than I wanted to do. I ended up going to a Pickup truuck aftermarket accessories store and they gladly handled the job for $40 in 15 minutes. I just post this to suggest that if the job seems to much one can hire out part of it. I'm much older than when I was age 19 when I could easily crawl under vehicles and under dash doing car stereo wiring! I plan on using a curt echo wireless brake controller, so no need to run a brake controller wire to the Telluride cabin.