trailer wiring

[harper1]

I have wired my trailer and everything works except when I turn my truck lights on. then know brake light?

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: trailer wiring

Welcome to Iboats!

Here are some helpful wiring diagrams.
Double check everything is connected the right way.

http://www.etrailer.com/faq-wiring.aspx

 

[harper1]

Re: trailer wiring

Welcome to Iboats!

Here are some helpful wiring diagrams.
Double check everything is connected the right way.

http://www.etrailer.com/faq-wiring.aspx

Ok, everything wired just like diagram, but I do have a really rusty trailer frame?

 

[Bondo]

Re: trailer wiring

Ayuh,... You have a Bad Ground...

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: trailer wiring

Use some real coarse sand paper and cut through the rust to bare metal

Welcome to iboats!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: trailer wiring

If you have any bolted joints in this trailer such as a tilting mechanism then that joint needs to have a ground strap that electrically ties together the two sides of the joint. If the trailer is extremely rusty you might be better off running a separate ground wire to each lamp assembly.

 

[jmfrost]

Re: trailer wiring

Had similar issues with my last trailer. Finally discovered that it was depending on the ball on the hitch as a ground. Created my own ground by crimping an, "eye," on the ground wire, drilling a hole in the trailer in a hidden spot, sand it down to bare metal, and ran a ground to each light from there. Don't forget something like dilectric grease to keep corrosion from accumulating.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: trailer wiring

Had similar issues with my last trailer. Finally discovered that it was depending on the ball on the hitch as a ground. Created my own ground by crimping an, "eye," on the ground wire, drilling a hole in the trailer in a hidden spot, sand it down to bare metal, and ran a ground to each light from there. Don't forget something like dilectric grease to keep corrosion from accumulating.

If the trailer was relying on the ground through the ball then what you did by running separate grounds to each light did not solve the grounding through the ball problem. You have to run the ground through the trailer to vehicle connector and make sure both the trailer and vehicle side have good grounds.

Not necessary at all to run separate grounds to each light. The problem with doing that is that you have doubled the number of wire connections that you now need to worry about. If you start with good bare grounds at every light, you will never have a ground problem at a light assuming you have a trailer whose frame isn't a bunch om metal bolted together.

 

[marlboro180]

Re: trailer wiring

You have to run the ground through the trailer to vehicle connector and make sure both the trailer and vehicle side have good grounds.

Not necessary at all to run separate grounds to each light. The problem with doing that is that you have doubled the number of wire connections that you now need to worry about. If you start with good bare grounds at every light, you will never have a ground problem at a light assuming you have a trailer whose frame isn't a bunch om metal bolted together.

Good point Bruce, but if one solders the spliced connections and welds the frame up and brazes on ground eyes near the lights then it is pretty valid to run separate grounds to each light.