What is Needed to Install Interior LED Lights in an Enclosed Trailer

Question:

I want to add three of the RVILL34 LED interior lights to my enclosed trailer. I want to wire them directly to a 12V battery that will be stored in the trailer. I will not be connecting this battery to the tow vehicle at all. In addition to the 3 LED lights, what will I need to complete this installation? What kind of wire should I use, and what types of connectors at the battery? Do I need an inline fuse of any kind? And do you have a wiring diagram that shows how I would wire these three lights from the battery? Thank you for your help.

asked by: Chris L

Expert Reply:

Installing the Optronics LED RV Interior Light, # RVILL34, should be a fairly easy project.

The two wires on the light are 12 gauge. The white wires can be grounded to the trailer body, the black wires are your power wires. Using # 12-1-1 you can connect to the black wires and run this wiring to where you are going to install your battery.

Using a 12 gauge wire nut, found at any hardware store, connect all the light wires and the power wire from the battery together or you could use us a junction box like # 38656 and ring terminals # 44-5310A to connect your lighting wiring and power wire from the battery.

These LED lights draw less amps than your standard incandescent lights. You should not need a circuit breaker of in line fuse. These lights draws only 0.6 amps.

However, you can install an inline fuse if you feel that you need one. The 12-Gauge Mini Fuse Holder, # SWC9545, will can wire inline on the power wire from that battery. Use # DW05745-5 Butt Connecters to install this fuse holder inline. Holder uses mini fuse you can find a an auto parts store. I recommend a 5 amp fuse at the most for this fuse holder.

For you battery connections, I recommend using # DW05311-1 and # DW05310-1 battery terminals on the 12-volt battery. You will be able to connect your ground wire and the power wire at the wing nut pole. Using a battery box, like # DW03188, is also a good idea for mounting and storing your battery in the back of your trailer.