Trailer light woes - lights keep coming unplugged

[JASinIL2006]

Last year I rehabbed by trailer and upgraded to LED lights. The new lights had the same connectors -- the two-pin jobs that all trailer lights seem to have -- so I reused the old wiring and just plugged the new lights into the existing wiring. Everything has been working very well, except the lights keep losing their plugs. It seems as though I have to go around the trailer and re-plug half the lights after every trip. (OK, that's an exaggeration, but they come unplugged a lot.)

I'm starting to wonder if there's something about plugging in these lights that I missed... using some kind of adhesive or something that helps the plugs remain plugged. Any ideas or do I just need to jam those things on harder?

Thanks!

 

[MTboatguy]

I would suggest putting a small dab of silicone on the plug housing, then plug in and allow to set, that way if you need to unplug in the future, you can still get it apart, it would only take a small dab to keep them together.

 

[gm280]

Not seeing your plugs, it is hard to say what is wrong. You could slightly crimp the plugs and then they would be harder to install therefore making it hard to unplug too... Just a thought without actually seeing the plugs.

 

[smokeonthewater]

make sure the pins fit tight and that you are pressing them all the way in....

 

[Frank Acampora]

If they are bayonet type plugs cover them with a bit of heat shrink tubing. If you want to get them apart in the future simply cut the tubing.

 

[JASinIL2006]

No Title

My connectors look something like this:

 

[JASinIL2006]

I would suggest putting a small dab of silicone on the plug housing, then plug in and allow to set, that way if you need to unplug in the future, you can still get it apart, it would only take a small dab to keep them together.

This seems like it should work... I'll give it a try!

 

[jayhanig]

You can always take small plastic cable ties and loop it around the center of the plug between the two wires, so that the tie loops between the two wires of the male plug to between the two wires of the female jack. Once the loop is snugged it will never back out and will have to be cut off if you want to disconnect the wires.

I had a plug on my motorcycle that used to shake loose until I did this to it; never again. Cheap and quick fix.
http://www.pinballnews.com/learn/pinvol/19.jpg

 

[smokeonthewater]

there is only one plug... it goes to a socket in the light itself... so no heat shrink or zip ties

I would not use RTV silicone in an electrical connection... it is an insulator... the only thing you should be putting on the connection is grease

the correct fix is to either make sure your existing plugs snap tightly into the lights OR replace them with new plugs

 

[Scott Danforth]

Frank nailed it. use a piece of 5:1 ratio heat shrink tubing. if you want a semi-pemenant waterproof connection, then use the epoxy lined heat shrink. you can still cut them apart, however it takes a while.

 

[smokeonthewater]

No Title

I believe this is what we're dealing with here guys.... No way to heat shrink it.

 

[MTboatguy]

Smoke, I Was not saying to put it in an area that the connection is made, A small dab on the black area of that plug will not interfere with the connection but it will keep the plug in the socket until it needs to be pulled apart, that is exactly how my plug in lights are done on my trailer and it was done from the factory. If he has the lights that you show in your post, it is still easy to use a dab of silicone to hold the plug on, put the plug in and run a small dab on the joint between the light and the plug like sealing around the edge of a bathtub, only on a much smaller scale.