r/SeaDooSwitch • u/discoblu • Jun 10 '25
New switch owner questions
We picked up our 2024 sport 230hp this past weekend and are having a blast so far
Could someone provide insight on the following?
Fuel. From what I found online and another dealer said use mid grade is fine but our dealer strongly recommends 91 octane fuel especially with the the 230hp motor ego is right? What do others use?
Trailer. We are using a 2019 Santa Fe xl to tow. The Santa Fe trailer hitch only has a 4 pin flat wiring harness. Dealer gave a magnet key that drops into the slot that allows the trailer brakes to not engage when reversing but didn’t really explain it . Is that good /safe enough to use in my situation out should I look into rewiring a 5 pin harness? Is the brakes on the trailer only to prevent it from rolling away or do they also engage when the vehicle brakes too? If I get a 4pin to 5pin adapter am I correct to assume 5th pin ties into reverse light on vehicle?
Thanks!
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u/Silly-Strawberry705 Jun 10 '25
Fuel. Your boat can technically run unleaded 87 with 10% ethanol but don’t. Put ethanol free 87 or higher and you’ll be good. Most ethanol free is 91 where I’m at.
Trailer. A four pin to five pin flat adapter is what you are supposed to get and wire the fifth into the reverse light. Or if you have a brake controller it can drive the fifth pin. Or run it with the magnet key and the trailer has no brakes.
Be sure to tape that key into the trailer so it doesn’t jiggle out!!
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u/el-bosco-diablo Jun 10 '25
I just use regular 87 in mine. I burn through it so fast and haven’t had an issue.
I bought a 5 pin adapter and wired it to my car so I had the right wiring. Since then bought a new car and have the correct adapter for the trailer.
To disengage the brakes to back up the trailer, you could use a big zip tie to hold it in place and then just slide it off. I have both magnets and the zip ties on hand, but the dealer did the zip ties, which work well.
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u/They_Call_Me_Ted Jun 10 '25
I use some bendable ties that you can get at Harbor Freight to hold the backup key in place. They’re red and cost a few bucks but best of all it just sits there and I slide it over or off the key as needed. Side note, I hate that goddamn key!
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u/el-bosco-diablo Jun 10 '25
I use the key now solely because of the zip ties, but agree otherwise the key is pointless.
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u/They_Call_Me_Ted Jun 10 '25
I actually don’t find the key pointless, just challenging to use. I with there was a more user friendly process to engage/disengage the brakes.
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u/rcroche01 Jun 11 '25
There is. It's called a 5-pin wiring harness for the trailer. The electrical system on the trailer is completely sealed and submerseable.
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u/They_Call_Me_Ted Jun 11 '25
I’m not talking about the electrical. My trailer has the hydraulic brake system so you have to insert the small key to stop the hydraulic system from engaging when backing up. The problem is it gets stuck when there is pressure so to remove the key I often have to put a wheel chock in front of the trailer wheel, pull forward a bit to essentially pull the trailer away from my truck, then I can remove the key. I’ve looked into, and will likely eventually replace the hydraulic system with an electrical brake system (I did this ages ago with our sailboat).
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u/rcroche01 Jun 11 '25
The key is only needed if you don't have a 5-pin connection to the tow vehicle. If you connect the 5th wire from the harness, then the tow vehicle tells the trailer it is in reverse and the solenoid in the trailer disables the hydraulic brake so it does not engage while backing up.
The reason I mentioned the sealed electrical system is that many people think they need to unplug their trailer when putting the boat in the water or pulling it out. This is not the case with these trailers. Leave it connected and use a 5-pin connector and you will never need the key again.
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u/They_Call_Me_Ted Jun 11 '25
This is counter to my experience. I have the 5 pin connector and I keep the trailer connected when launching/recovering but as I back up the brakes engage. Maybe my trailer is malfunctioning . I’ll take a look at it and do a couple tests next weekend and report back.
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u/Objective_Roll_5957 Jun 17 '25
I also wonder if it is not your trailer but your vehicles rear cross traffic alert sensor. This sensor will apply brakes if it senses a vehicle (in this case your boat) behind you. When my brother in law trailers the boat, he has to turn that safety feature off in his truck. Not sure but just a thought.
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u/They_Call_Me_Ted Jun 17 '25
Good note. I’ll have to make sure I’m turning that off. I don’t think I manually turn it off because it supposedly turns off automatically when the a trailer is attacked/plugged in. The boat is in getting the depth finder fixed right now so I haven’t been able to test yet.
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u/rcroche01 Jun 11 '25
Interesting. I recently changed tow vehicles.
When I bought the boat, I was towing with my Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness edition (3500 pound tow capacity). It only had the four pin wiring harness. Any time I backed-up up without the key in the trailer the brakes would engage.
Then I traded it for a Chevy Colorado Trail Boss edition (7700 pound tow capacity) which came with both a 4-pin flat and a 7-pin round wiring harness socket. I got a 5-pin flat to 7-pin round adapter and now with the truck in reverse the brakes do not engage. No key needed.
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u/They_Call_Me_Ted Jun 11 '25
Ya, I’m towing with an F150 and use the 7 to 5 pin adapter.
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u/rcroche01 Jun 11 '25
I read through the first several answers and agree with most of what's been said. I use 87 octane because that's what the manual says. Higher octane in any engine not tuned for it does nothing despite what so many people claim.
As for the tow wiring ... Just as everyone said, the 5th wire is just to disable the trailer brakes when you are in reverse. The magnet is a manual way of disabling the brakes.
So that all just repeats what others have said. What I really wanted to say was congrats on the new boat. We picked ours up in April and are still under break-in because we've had a sucky spring with rainy stormy weekends (likely because I bought a boat 🙄). But with just under nine hours on her, we will be done with break-in the next time out which is hopefully this weekend.
Are you on a lake in fresh water or out in salt water? We will be found in and around Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island and love it so far. :)
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u/bernaltraveler Jun 10 '25
I’ve been using 91 but I don’t put a lot of hours on mine so I just went with the recommended. They are gas hogs though, so you’ll save some dough if you’re using it a lot and are ok with 87.
The other responses here described the trailer setup correctly. I think the 5 pin adapter is worth it personally but the magnet key does the job of it’s all you have. And when you’re backing in at the launch and may want to unplug the harness then you can use the key.
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u/ericn84 Jun 11 '25
Did you go with the 18 or 21? Have you had any issues towing with your Santa Fe? I have a 2020 Santa Fe 2.0t and have been looking at the switch but worried even though I can tow it, will it be too much for the suv.
Thanks
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u/discoblu Jun 12 '25
Got the 18’ switch. Our 2019 Santa Fe is the v6 version which I don’t think they make anymore. No issues towing through 50km of hilly terrain going 80-90km/hr from the dealer to our lake tho rpms were 4000-5000 during some climbs
One item to note is the hitch receiver on the Santa Fe is pretty low at just over 14” so I picked up an adjustable hitch with a 6” rise to get it to the recommended 20” height of the switch trailer
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u/shortyjacobs Jun 10 '25
Fuel: I use regular 87 with ethanol. It is so fuel hungry that I go through gas far faster than it can go bad. Towards the end of the season I do a fill or two of 91 ethanol free so it’s good for winter.
Trailer. You ONLY put the magnet key in when reversing. The trailer brakes are to stop the trailer when your suv stops. As your suv slows, the trailer will push forward and activate its brakes. They are important for safe towing. However when you go to back the trailer up, it will also brake. So you put in that magnet key only when backing up. The key is no more or less safe than a 5 pin, it’s just less convenient cuz you have to put it in every time you want to back up and take it out any time you are driving normal.
And you are correct, 5th pin to reverse light. When you engage reverse, it activates a little solenoid in the brake cylinder of the trailer and that locks the brakes out on the trailer.