Trailer Light Issue

[amateurfishing]

So I have my new used boat/trailer that I got last fall. I knew I had to replace the lights which I have already done. My problem is everything works great except the right rear light, I found exposed wires and cutoff wires after troubleshooting going to this light. I assume previous lighting was original cause all wiring went thru trailer frame. So am I better off spending $15 on all new wiring and pig tailing all connections or keep the 2 new lights as back up (cause I aleady threw out packaging) and buy whole new setup with everything already connected for $30 and just zip tie (or whatever) new wiring around outside of trailer frame? thx.

[Jim Almquist]

Spend the money for a new set of wires. When it comes time to pull out the old wire make sure to tape some string on the end of the wire so you can use the string to pull your new wire back into the frame. If you have side lights you should use a separate string. If there is any old wire make sure to get it nice and shiny with some steel wool before you make your splice or if you plan to solder the wires. You might have to pull out the rubber grommets out of the frame in order to get the wires out but they are easy to get back in when the new wire is feed in.

[EBass]

And if you do a stupid move like I did which was to pull all the wires off then thought how in the heck am I going to feed the wire through the frame, don't fret. 25' measuring tape will do the trick. Tape the wire to the, er tape and feed it through.

If you can find/buy those shrinking connector tubes with glue in them, those hold up well.

A light testing plug-in works wonders. Finally bought one

[amateurfishing]

Thx guys, is there a better/safer way to make all the wire connections other than the home electrical wire nut pig tailing job I have been doing?

[marine_man]

Thx guys, is there a better/safer way to make all the wire connections other than the home electrical wire nut pig tailing job I have been doing?

You're only asking for trouble by using home wiring nuts.

The best connection is soldered and shrink tubed.

The next best is crimped connectors with shrink tube

marine_man

[amateurfishing]

K, ive researched that, looks like a PITA with necessary tools needed & tryining to do it under the trailer, am I wrong?

[SkunkedAgain]

They do make marine crimp connectors that are supposed to seal out water, but I would still put shrink tube over the top. Those cost $1 and only require your wife/girlfriends/boths hair dryer or a heat gun.

In my opinion, corrosion and faulty grounding are the two main causes of trailer light failures. The more that you can do upfront to mitigate those two failures will keep your trailer lights going longer.

As for the new light conundrum, I'd use the old wire and lights as long as possible. They will fail and need replacement. You'll be happy in one or two years when you've got that never-been-used set of lights ready to go.

[amateurfishing]

can u tell me where to buy this stuff? FF, C's, Orielly,? would it be marine specialty? TT supply? thx

[TruthWalleyes]

Amateur.

Again this spring i hook up to the boat, and only one tail light works... Well, before i go and replace with another LED, i decided i should just re-wire the trailer . Been thinking about doing that since i bought it.

As it turns out, the re-wire didn't take me more than 2hrs to do a really good job. I did have one bad light, but now when i have trailer light problems i can narrow it down pretty easily...as i know the trailer wiring is good so i must have hit a dock and broke another light

I'm going to be a happy man next spring when i hook up to the boat again, and the lights actually work!!

Head to your local suppply store and get to wiring man.

[marine_man]

K, ive researched that, looks like a PITA with necessary tools needed & tryining to do it under the trailer, am I wrong?

As others have said.. do it now, while you have time, or do it the night before you go a fishing trip when you don't have time.

Fleet Farm, Hardware store, Automotive Parts store, etc should have what you're after. Walmart won't.

marine_man

[ozzie]

I redid my trailer wiring and lights 2 years or so ago and I am not very mechanically handy but it was a pretty easy job.....the only thing that I didn't account for was the amount of wire in the wiring kit that I bought.....like mentioned run it through the trailer and just tape the new wires on the old wires and pull them through the trailer...took me a about 1-2 hours to complete the job....Good Luck

[drippinwet]

Just rewire the entire thing. Farm and Fleet or a tractor supply (something similar) will have a set of underwater lights and wires for 20-25 bucks. Pick up heat shrink tubes for a few dollars. Run the wires and use the heat shrink tubes to make the connections water proof. VERY simple to do and ensures they work properly. Make sure you read the directions and put the left light on the left side ...Id hate to see you have to redo it. Leave enough slack at the hitch end to plug into your truck. The light kit has the bolts you need and the wire and the pigtail to plug into your truck.

[amateurfishing]

Yes, this am was going to just get new wires & assoc. items @ FF, BUT THEN found out FF has LED KITS on sale for $35 this week. Thought I could not go worng with that so will just keep other lights for backup and rewire whole trailer with LED kit!!

[amateurfishing]

rrrrrr, i really wanna get these lights goin today but new light kit has NO directions, I am cool with connecting colors on tail lights but how do I connect the side amber light? do I have to splice off the brown? If so do I need a special connector for that or a blue connector that I already bought? Do I need to cut brown wire coming from vehicle and splice that to side lights and tail lights? rrrrr

[Eelpout08]

You will need to splice in the side marker light wire to the tail light wire (brown) if the blue connectors you are talking about are the scotchlocks i would not reccomend using them or you will be rewiring the trailer next year. best is to solder and shrink tube, if you are not up on your soldering next best would be crimp connectors with shrink tube over it. also i like to run a ground wire to each light instead of using the trailer frame for ground. not neccesary but the connection to the trailer frame always seems to be the first thing to corrode and cause hard to find problems.

you can also search the interlink for 'basic trailer wiring diagrams' if you need some visual aids

[Eric Wettschreck]

Replaced my lights yesterday. Less than an hour. As stated, don't use home wire nuts. Shrink wrap butt connectors or soldered and shrink wrapped connections are the way to go.

[amateurfishing]

I do have the blue t-splice things & crimp connectors, so can I do a splice on the crimp connectors? vehicle line in 1 end and tail light/side light splice together out other end? Spent 2 hours yesterday googling, all say use brown wire but none state how to splice it!! I do not have any soldering stuff.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I'm not a fan of the blue splice thingies. The reason being they have a tendency to cut the wire over time, and are far from waterproof. If you're re-wiring the whole shebang to eliminate problems, why create a new one?

You can get 3 wire butt connectors at Radio Shack or many hardware stores. Or, on some butt connectors you can stick 2 wires into one end, and one wire into the other.

[amateurfishing]

So I can splice with crimp connectors? vehicle line in 1 side & sidelight/tail light together out the other?

[Hookmaster]

When you guys are soldering these connections what kind of a soldering iron are you using? Maybe my old one doesn't heat hot enough quickly enough because it takes a long time to heat the wires before the solder melts.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Yes. If the connectors are large enough on the one side to accompany 2 wires.

Make sure you shrink wrap/heat shrink all of your connections.

[Eric Wettschreck]

When you guys are soldering these connections what kind of a soldering iron are you using? Maybe my old one doesn't heat hot enough quickly enough because it takes a long time to heat the wires before the solder melts.

I use my old soldering gun that may just be older than I am, but it works well. Dumb question for ya......Are you using solder for wire or solder for pipe? I ask cuz I've seen a lot of crazy things. If the solder isn't melting well it may be the wrong type, or too thick.

[amateurfishing]

i have no intentions of soldering, that means more stuff to buy for 1 time use (hopefully), just going with crimp connectors and hope to bleep it works. Then the shrink tubing. I have all the materials, just want to make sure I had the exact right method b4 start pulling wires and putting new ones in. Wanted a very good/clear game plan b4 start pulling wires so do it right (hopefully) the first time. Rather take extra day or 2 for Q & A then buying lots more wiring.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I'm thinking you'll surprise yourself once you get going. It's easier than it looks.

Here's a tip. Put the shrink tubing over the wire before you crimp the butt connector. Once you've made your splice, slide the tubing over the connectors, heat up, and watch it shrink.

I mention this as I've made the mistake, more than once, of forgetting to slide the shrink tubing on first.

[Eelpout08]

When you guys are soldering these connections what kind of a soldering iron are you using? Maybe my old one doesn't heat hot enough quickly enough because it takes a long time to heat the wires before the solder melts.

There are two styles of soldering irons- the gun style that heats when you pull the trigger and a pencil style that heats whenever it is plugged in. i am partial to the pencil style but it is just personal preference. if the soldering iron doesnt seem to be heating very fast take the tip out and clean the end that sticks into the soldering iron, after some use the connection gets corroded/dirty and it wont heat up very well. most times just loosening and retightening the set screw or nuts that hold the tip in will be enough to fix it. generally on 12 to 16 gauge wire you should only have to touch the iron to the wires for 5-10 seconds, if that even. It also helps to melt just a little solder onto the tip first to help with heat transfer.

Also if your tip is pitted you can file it back to shape. just be sure to re-tinn it with solder so the tip is coated with solder before using it again.

When your done soldering its a good idea to take a wire brush to the tip to clean it off while it is still hot.

Hope that helps!