Trailer Lighting

[FerrisBueller]

Hey guys, I'm looking for some help regarding trailer lighting. My Escape didn't come with a factory installed trailer light harness so I had to have an after-market kit installed. The nearest place was Uhaul so I brought it there and had them wire it up.

After 2 launches at a local lake the lights stopped working correctly, only to find out online that the converter boxes are very touchy and can be blown easily. I disconnect the wiring before I launch, but do you suppose that even after pulling the boat out and connecting the lights it could still fry the box if there is any water shorting out one of the marker lights?

My other question: If I replace all of the trailer lights with submersible LED lights will that better protect the box? I feel like somewhere I have heard that LED's are way better for trailer applications and have less chance of shorting.

 

[Kismet]

Keeping in mind that I am dumb, convertor box should not be exposed; mine's in the trunk, with connection wire harness leading out to plug. Check the installation. As far as I know, LEDs are just brighter, not going to affect the problem you are having.

Best wishes.

 

[FerrisBueller]

After the box going bad 2 times, I finally told them I would re-install it myself, and I took the time to run all of the wiring inside along with the box, so nothing is exposed now. The problem is that if there is ever a short in any of the lights, that short comes up through the wiring and ruins the box. I was wondering if maybe the LED's are less prone to shorting out more than anything.

Maybe I really need to make sure the lights are waterproofed so that water cant get in there and short out my wiring.

 

[Kismet]

Dumb guy here again:

Burnt bulb shouldn't kill the box. Even a shorted-out wire should just fuse the filament, not fry the box.

I think. :?

 

[Colbyt]

FerrisBueller » Yesterday, 14:08[/url]"]After the box going bad 2 times, I finally told them I would re-install it myself, and I took the time to run all of the wiring inside along with the box, so nothing is exposed now. The problem is that if there is ever a short in any of the lights, that short comes up through the wiring and ruins the box. I was wondering if maybe the LED's are less prone to shorting out more than anything.

Maybe I really need to make sure the lights are waterproofed so that water cant get in there and short out my wiring.

I am in the process of learning about this for the same reasons you are.

What I've learned to date is that at least some LED submersible trailer lights are fully encased in epoxy and come with three wire pigtails of varying lengths. I am of the opinion that one would still need to unplug because chances are near 99% that you are never going to get a water tight seal where the pigtail connects to the trailer wiring.

Best price I have found is Ebay at $34.99 with shipping. That set only has mounting studs on the back, no option for mounting to the side.

If and when I learn more I will post it.

 

[FerrisBueller]

Oh the Joys, glad im not the only one. Well I just picked up some LED Submersibles as I need to replace the current ones anyhow, and I am hoping like you said they are more resilient to water and the damages. I always unplug the lights, but I think water got into one of them and even when I reconnected the wiring there was still water inside that caused the short.

I plan on also trying to add some silicone to the fixtures to help keep the water out. I still need to go pick up a new box though.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

If your planning on adding loading guides you can mount your lights on them up high out of the water.

 

[FerrisBueller]

Never thought of that. In the future I would like to add loading guides, and if I end up having any more issues that is what I will do to keep the lights out of the water. Thanks for the idea

 

[chevyrulz]

if the tow vehicle is wired correctly, there should be fuses that blow to stop the box from being damaged by a short.

if the trailer is wired correctly, you should be able to leave the lights plugged in underwater without issues

i suspect that your trailer wiring is the culprit

are there any splices in the wiring that goes under water on the trailer? if so, i'd redo all of them using waterproof heat shrink butt connectors from wal-mart, west marine, harbor freight, etc..

if you get the trailer wet, and there's any place that water can get to the raw wire (like a crimp connector, or non-waterproof butt connector), it will short when you plug the trailer into the tow vehicle. if that occurs, it should blow a fuse though, not ruin the box on your tow vehicle

i'd be wanting a refund from whoever installed your tow vehicle wiring kit

my truck has a factory tow package, and whenever there's a short on a trailer it blows a fuse either under my dash or under my hood. i chase the wire that corresponds to the fuse looking for any damage to the wire or suspect looking splices, repair the issue, then replace the fuse. that's always worked for me.


as previously mentioned, the guide post is a great place to mount trailer lights to keep them from getting wet. ideally, you want just one splice on each wire above the waterline. it's pretty inexpensive & simple, although time consuming, to completely replace the trailer's wiring harness. unless i find an obvious problem, i typically just replace the entire harness because it takes the same time or less to do that as it does to try & chase down an electrical gremlin

 

[FerrisBueller]

Oh believe me, they have had to re-do it a couple times because of their lack of quality. The problem is that there are no fuses to blow, the plug goes straight to the converter box and then to the vehicle lights/battery.

Is there a way to somehow splice each individual wire in the harness and add an in-line fuse? Would that protect the converter box?

 

[chevyrulz]

FerrisBueller » 9 minutes ago[/url]"]

Is there a way to somehow splice each individual wire in the harness and add an in-line fuse?

Yes

FerrisBueller » 9 minutes ago[/url]"]Would that protect the converter box?

Yes

there's only 3 power wires on a 4 pin trailer plug, so you can easily install 3 inline fuses between the lights & the box,

i'd consider putting them under the truck near the hitch using a waterproof style, which you can get for like $5 each, probably use a 10 or 15 amp mini blade fuse.

you could also put them on the trailer, near the tongue, but they'd only protect the box when you tow that trailer, that's why i'd mount them on the truck so it'd protect the box no matter which trailer you plug in.

you could start by fusing the trailer, then see which fuse is blowing, & chase down the gremlin on that circuit. the brown is your running lights, the yellow & green are your momentary signals.



the type of fuse i'm talking about is like this, but you can get it local @ wal-mart or an auto parts store:

https://www.amazon.com/Attwood-In-Line-Holder-ATO-ATC-Gauge/dp/B003EEX5XS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1373478324&sr=8-2&keywords=waterproof+inline+fuse

 

[FerrisBueller]

After it went bad the 2nd time I decided to install it myself so I re-ran all of the wiring inside of the truck so that its better protected. I think I will do like you suggested and install a few in-line fuses using the blade style.

What size of fuse do you think I should install for each line? I want to make sure the fuse blows before the box does, and who knows how sensitive the box itself is.

 

[chevyrulz]

FerrisBueller » 33 minutes ago[/url]"]

What size of fuse do you think I should install for each line?

10 amp or if they don't have that, 15 amp

the box should have load rating on it though. so if it's rated for 20 amps, then you can use a 20 amp fuse

 

[JMichael]

I would go with the smallest fuse needed to power the lights so the box gets maximum protection. Replacing a fuse is a lot cheaper than replacing the box and going with a bigger fuse only allows more power to be drawn before it blows the fuse. A 5 amp fuse in each holder should be more than enough for your needs.

 

[chevyrulz]

Agreed

 

[FerrisBueller]

Picked up a new box the other day and I also picked up a few in-line fuse holders from Wal-Mart. I will try it out with some 5 amp fuses and hopefully if there ever is a short on the trailer in the future *laughing* because there probably will possibly it will protect the box.

 

[New River Rat]

I have never figured out how a tow vehicle, with a brazillion moving parts can be pretty dependable to do what you want it to do, but add four wires and some bulbs on a trailer, you've (figuratively speaking) have a disaster that keeps you awake nights. And FWIW, don't think submersible means water tight. I swear water can get in places that air can't even go. Good luck!