Repositioning lights on trailer lighting board - wiring advice?

[user 26575]

Remember to remove light board before launching!! Sounds daft, I know, but I guess it's been done!

Apparently you can get fully water tight ones for that very reason!

 

[stuart little]

Check the speed of indicators flashing in case you have a super ancient flasher relay that relies on a bimetal strip and not one using electronics.
Those used to blink faster when you connected extra light bulbs in parallel with the ones in the vehicle.

Shows you how long it is since I wired a trailer socket

Same here. I was so familiar with the 5 & 7 core cable in their day, but then the 'Euro regs' came in for towbars & trailer electrics. I then walked away saying;"no more messing with trailers etc."
My last tow-bar fitting was to my '96 Saab 900 (GM), when I changed to a '01 Saab 93, I thought I could re-use the bar, but NO, because it had to meet Euro regs, a new compliant one would be required, to force this, Saab welded a transport tie down bracket where the 900 bar would fit. Couldn't remove it as it would violate warranty. Being auto, I didn't want to tow anything anymore, so endeth the lesson!

 

[Lons]

There is a standard UK trailer wiring standard. This below is based on 7 pin but your car is probably 13 pin and you will have an adaprer. The number plate light is normally linked to the offside tail light.

I have an Ifor Williams trailer and I often used a light board as I towed with different vehicles so I threw a wire from the plug to the rear and terminated in a standard 7 pin socket then from the rear of that to the original trailer lights. The light board then just plugged into the extra socket when needed, both sets of lights worked in unison and I stuck a cover over the original number plate. Works a treat.

 

[Dabop]

Those little 'blighters' caused a few headaches for me during my motor trade years.

Basically- don't use scotchlocs... EVER!!!!

They always end up causing issues....

One thing thats been available for a few years now are those 'low temp self sealing heatshrink solder joiners'- you can use a ciggy lighter to melt them, they have sealing compound in them to totally seal the joint from water, and all inside a translucent heatshrink...

I've even used them on my own boat trailer (which the lights and those joiners get submerged at every launch)

The silver bit is the solder, the clear is the heatshrink, and the coloured rings are the sealant- and all you need in an emergency is a knife or cutters and a lighter...

(I have on one occasion used my teeth to strip the wire back lol- so all I needed was a heat source- I used the electric ciggy lighter from the car!!!)
The inventor of 'scotchlocs' deserves a special place in hell....

 

[Fergie 307]

If you have any black paint you can use that to paint over the front part of the lenses on the number plate lamps so they don't show a light to the rear.

 

[user 26575]

All working nicely, tho I think it needs more attention if we're ever to head out in the rain. And I now seem to have run out of excuses for not actually putting the dinghy in the water for its first test run. I'll update in due course

 

[Dabop]

Cute halfcab
(although I am not a fan of those little trailer tyres, seen far too many 'spin off' a bearing- keep the bearings well greased and your speeds down!!!)
Many of those little tyres are only rated to 75 or 80kmh- I was overtaken at 110km by a guy with a dog trailer with them on, and those little wheels were howling (as were the dogs)- about 50km later, the trailer was on the side of the freeway, lying on its side with only one wheel visible- the other had obviously seized the bearings and spun them off- letting the wheel, still firmly bolted to the hub, fly off...

Luckily the pups all seemed ok