If you have a Honda Element with a trailer hitch installed, you have the ability to hook up a trailer and tow whatever you need around town and beyond. However, to legally tow a trailer, you also need to connect the taillights from the Element to the taillights on the trailer. Otherwise, the driver behind you may not see your brake lights when you stop. To easily connect the trailer taillights to your Element, you must first install a trailer wiring harness. This simple task takes about an hour to complete.
Crawl under the driver's side of the dashboard and locate the Element's wiring harness plug. The plug is close to the inside edge of the dashboard, where the firewall meets the side panel. On some models, it has a piece of blue tape wrapped around it. Connect one half of the trailer wiring harness into the harness plug. Install the fuses from the kit into the fuse panels on the wiring harness.
Stick the module box from the trailer wiring harness onto the firewall. The module will usually comes with double-sided tape that will hold the box to the firewall. Next, open the rear hatch on the Element. Open up the spare tire compartment on the floor with your hands and locate the harness plug sticking out from the back of the compartment, near the rear bumper.
Remove the cap on the harness plug with your hands. Plug the second half of the trailer wiring harness into the rear harness plug. Tuck the trailer wiring into the spare tire compartment and reinstall the floor panel. Shut the hatch. When you need to connect your trailer lights, you can simply pull the trailer wiring from the spare tire compartment and plug it into the trailer's wiring system.
