Malfunctioning Boat Trailer Lights with a Re-Wire
Question:
I have a 2000 chevy silverado. The tail/running lights are not coming on. I am not getting power down to the truck side connector. This probably will not be hard to figure out. The real problem is that after rewiring my boat trailer, the brake lights are not working and both turn signals flash when either is activated.The diagrams shown here indicate grounding the lead coming out of the connector at the head of the trailer. They show nothing about grounding the individual lights. My tail light assemblies have a ground wire coming out and I did not want to ground these onto the trailer where they will be submerged so I connected them to the white ground wire on the harness and grounded both sides to the trailer near the ball. I also grounded in the running lights this was. Is this a problem? I am using a 4 wire harness and just leaving the unused turn signal wire on each side empty and stuck inside the shrink wrap. I used some homedepot quick splice type connectors also and added some plumbers goop to enhance the seal. Is this a problem? All connections were heat shrinked and taped. Help please before I have to unwrap everything. thanks
asked by: Mike
Expert Reply:
Two red flags go up right away. The first is the grounds, and the second is the unused wire you have.
Improper grounds can wreak havoc with trailer lights. You do not have to run the ground wires to the trailer frame, but they do need to be run to the white ground wire on the trailer connector. If I understand correctly, you ran them to the white trailer connector wire and then also to the trailer frame. If you do not want to use the trailer frame to host the ground, there is no need to connect any wires to to the frame. If some of your lights are stud grounded, they ground via the studs used to attach them to the trailer, then the trailer will be used as a ground and it would be easier to ground all the lights to the trailer frame and connect the white wire from the connector to the frame to complete the ground circuit.
I also have reservations about the plumber goop. If it is not a compound designed to be used on electrical connections, I would not use it as it may insulate the connection and you will have a spotty circuit.
The second flag is the unused wires. You should not have any unused wires on your tail light assemblies. I imagine the tail lights have 3-4 wires on each. 1-2 of the wires are for ground, the other is for tail/running lights, and the other is for brake and turn.
If you can let me know what light kit you are using, I can help with more specific wiring instructions.
We generally recommend disconnecting the trailer connectors when loading or un-loading the boat at the ramp. It helps to prevent any electrical problems and some lights, though they are marked as submersible, over time have problems. It is always easier to disconnect the trailer at the ramp before backing into the water.
