Trailers longer than 15 feet and heavier than 1,500 lbs must have a brake system – that means another circuit for hydraulic brakes. If you run individual white ground wires to all the lights and tie them together, you will never have a ground issue. Before you tow any trailer, you should make sure it has functional trailer lights. You’ll need to plan where to run the wiring, considering this is a tilt trailer I’ll run it up the center and then it’ll split at the back of the trailer to each light. Turn signals and brake lights should be the brighter illumination and parking or clearance lights should be the dimmer illumination. Using a self drill screw with a pre-drilled hole, ensure there is enough wire if you are working with a tilt trailer. Again closing the split loop end with electrical tape. Start by cutting the white wire and attaching it to the trailer frame. SUZCO 25 Foot 4 Wire 4-Flat Trailer Light Wiring Harness Extension Kit, 4-Way Plug 4 Pin Male & Female Extension Connector & Wishbone-Style with 18 Gauge White Ground Wire with SAE J1128. If your late model car, truck, or SUV does not have a trailer package from the factory, you may go with a T-connector made specifically for your make and model. Matt Wright. All brand names, trademarks and logos are the property of their respective owners!Sitemap | Privacy Policy | FAQ, 4-way connector: Trailer wiring color code explanation, 5-way connector: Trailer wiring color code explanation, 6-way connector: Trailer wiring color code explanation, 7-way connector: Trailer wiring color code explanation, Truck Trailer Light Wiring: Options & Packages. This is a fairly simple setup, no license plate light, or clearance lights. … Just got back to taking trailer and car to sparky tomorrow. Being SAE certified mechanic, Andrew knows how your vehicle works and how to make it run even smoother. If you are using existing lights and the wires are dirty, they will need to be cleaned in order to have a sufficient connection and for the solder to stick. Even if your vehicle is not equipped with a connector, it may have a wiring plug located in the rear. Slide the heat shrink over the join and apply heat to seal. I opened up the new connector and it’s wired backwards. Second, the typical consensus on most boating sights is to run the white (ground) wire to every light and connect for their ground. Being that this is a structural piece, small holes won’t really affect the integrity too much. Andrew Demaree is Bully’s resident technical writer and automotive expert. This organization (United States Council for Automotive Research) united three major American automakers (Chrysler, Ford, and GM) in their intention to advance automotive technologies. The wiring will also need to clear the lock for the tilt. As a rule, you can find these connectors on the older trailers and older vehicles built in the U.S. At the moment, neiter tow vehicles nor trailers are equipped with round 4-pin connectors from the factory. For the ground wire, I had to extend this. Get it as soon as Thu, Jan 7. … Be sure to check with your local laws … I’ve based it off this wiring setup where it runs up the center and branches out at the end of the bed vs running it on each side. CM Trailer Equipment are a leading distributor of high quality trailer parts and components to the light trailer building industry in New Zealand. At the y’d portion, this will continue to one light, trim off the access, and the remaining section will be using on the opposite side. This also makes it much easier to work on, so if you have a smaller trailer and can do this, I would definitely recommend it. The ground on the trailer will corrode in time and the ground will be iffy then. Next I have 1/4” diameter, 25ft in length poly split loom casing to protect the wiring. To connect the electric system of your trailer to the vehicle, you will be using special connector. This is accomplished by tapping into the tow vehicle's electrical harness to transfer power to the trailer wiring system. Keep your trailer light wiring in tiptop condition. Thumbs Up! The green and brown wire goes to the passenger or right side of the vehicle and the yellow and brown goes to the driver or left side of the vehicle. If you have a good repair manual, and you should, you can use the wiring diagrams inside to find the correct wire for your trailer wiring. The second diagram shows two brake lights, two indicators, two side lights and a fog light. A 7-way plug connects your trailer and tow vehicle and provides the required lights, turn signals, brake power, battery hot lead, reverse lights, and ground. It’ll sit inside the channel too, so it helps add protection too. Now that you know the types of connectors, you have to determine what you have on your vehicle to make the connection to a trailer. The reason for the longer wire is that if anything were need to be adjusted, we have an extra 6 inches easily for any modifications. 4 pin trailer light wiring diagram : 4-Pin Connectors. 4-Way trailer connectors are typically used on small trailers such as boat, snowmobile, utility and other trailers that that do not use brakes. Now for the wire and casing, it has been cut longer, especially the casing since there is a few inches of wire coming from the lights. Drill the hole for the grommet using the step drill. Insert the wiring into the casing, for the length of the tongue and bed. This connector is commonly found on most light-duty trailers. If your utility trailer is starting to show its age, you no doubt have had problems with your lights. As mentioned before, this trailer has LED lights installed. I have wired lots of trailers and I like using the split loom myself. You can even apply some liquid tape to the fastened point and around the wire to prevent any moisture penetration. Did you make this project? Reliable and relatively easy to install, these kits contain everything necessary to make the connection in an hour or so. These too would run off the brown or parking light wiring, same as the license plate light. Reply Thanks for the clear explanation of the trailer wiring schemes. Apart from providing basic functions, this connector has 2 more ports for electric brake control (blue) and 12V power supply (black or red). Stay up to date with my latest tutorials, don't forget to FOLLOW my profile and be sure to check out my YOUTUBE page as well for all your DIY needs. TRAILER LIGHTS, WIRING, PLUGS & ADAPTERS. Use a center punch to prevent the drill bit from wandering. Feed the exposed wire into the casing, this will go against the already installed casing and taped up after holding everything together. This will keep debris out of the casing and prevent the wiring from popping out. Here are two wiring diagrams for the 7 pin ‘N’ type trailer electrical plug. You guys helped me a lot. It has three poles for basic functions (running lights, turn signals, and brake lights) and one pin for the ground. Do this for the full length until it y’s off at the end of the bed. Though trailer lighting systems are available in an array of configurations, the most popular is the 4-way system. Let’s see what types of connectors the trailer light wiring industry uses today. Install an electrical contact loop and the mounting surface may need to be cleaned. Went camping and came back and the trailer wiring is totally meted. Do the same for the other holes too. For this I will be soldering the wires instead, you can use weatherproof connectors too, your choice. 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