How to Wire an Australian Boat Trailer

Were talking about one of these right?

What kind of car are you wiring this too?

I'm assuming the trailer itself is already pre-wired, what connector is on it? Or are you trying to wire the trailer itself?

I've done a bunch of these so I'd be happy to help you out.

Do you have a test light?

Gidday stilljester.

Yes i'm talking about one of them, but yours is a bit more fancy than mine.

it was given to me through a will from an uncle of my wife's. Home made.Good Bloke.

I'm wiring to a 1996 Pajero NJ 3500lt. 7 pin connector on tow bar.

Yes i want to completly re-wire the Trailer, and would like to rip out the old wiring.

Most of the wiring on the trailer was very dodgy. The old lights were bolted on to the wheel mudguards. A seven wire lead to the RH side and an old extension cord spliced into to it around the winch area, for the LH side. The licence plate light was on a bar that crossed the beam of the boat and held everything down by bolts. No Straps.

Everything was corroded.

Cheers.

Great so your truck's already wired - You're 1/2 way there :-)

Yes it definitely sounds like re-wiring the entire trailer is the best thing to do. I've also pickup a new set of lights if your going to submerging the trailer odds are there not water tight anymore...

Do you have you light kit for the trailer yet? You'll need something like this Trailer Light Kit.

Notice this includes the mate to your 7 pin connector already on your truck.

The next step is to verify the pin-out on your truck - Take your test light and a diagram like this:

Apply to brakes and record which pin has +12V

Left Turn signal and record Which pin has +12V

Repeat, Repeat

Now when you wire the plug on the trailer end match the connections to make sure the right bulbs are getting power.

Ok, what are your next questions?????

$75 WOW, too costly, IMHO you shoild get the LED kit for that price.

This in Canada is far less and it should be similar down under.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672511&bmUID=1166188828944&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443249440&assortment=primary&fromSearch=true

It was for reference purposes - but $75 ($58 USD / $67 CND ) isn't a bad price IMO, I'm sure if you looked around you could find one slightly lower in price. I'll be honest I'm not as familiar with the LED kits. Cheaper kits can be had (like the one linked to) but most don't include a complete harness with a 7 pin connector and separate bulbs for turn, brake and plate and running lights. The kit you linked to ($43CND) won't fit his current trucks harness and is powered be the 12V adaptor. So if I'm reading the packaging right, no turn signals or brake lights - just running lights. Also no amber colored signal lens in your kit. I'd also guess his truck is a manual not an automatic, which the kit won't work for. Not all wiring kits are equal and cheaper isn't always better.

Interested in your reply to wiring boat trailer but I am not getting the pictures or diagrams the box just shows a small x in top left hand corner.

Is it possible for you to send me all your reply including pictures and diagrams.

Regards Doug

I think the info you need is in the back of the Dick Smith catalog, or maybe Jaycar catalog. Go to the store and ask to have a look. Basically it should give the pin number versus lamp function.

The bulb wattages should be the same as the ones for the car - Stop lamps 25 watt, blinkers - 21 watt, tail lamps - 6 watts, number plate light? Check those wattages by looking at the ones in your car. The side lights if you have any should be the same as the tail lamps. No problem with reversing lights that I am aware of.

Multi-core wire, rated for 5 amps should do all you need except any earth return wiring - say ten amps.

Greg

Go with 7 core wire 1.5mm Sq to be able to wire for reverse. Best thing ever found is new LED lights for trailers no more blown globes or poor globe contacts in the fitting. Solder all your joints and use heatshrink insulation, works a treat and lasts for decades. Use a test light to Identify the wiring on your Pajero and then copy wire colour codes to the trailer plug. The Pajero owners manual should have a diagram of the wiring order to the plug. Good luck an safe boating. Oh check out the BASSmasters website on safe trailering and boating.

Do the following:-

Do use proper coloured multicore cable that you would buy from a car parts supplier, not single core, it will rupture in time due to vibration. Make sure all cable runs are away from possible damage areas and are securely held and do not "flap" about. Plastic tubes can make this easier, but seal both ends of the tubes with bathroom Silicone sealer when everything works as planned to stop moisture. Silicone sealer still pretty easy to remove if needed.

Add (inline are easy) colour coded fuses inside the towing vehicle for all circuits and do not make them heavier than needed, so that you protect the cars wiring fully, even if they are already fused in the car circuity. Mark everything very clearly and include these markings on your "new" trailer electrical documentation that you will make!, in a years time you will have forgotten it all....

Run all earth wires as in the diagrams, do not stint on this or you may end up with flashing brake lights or similar if something does go wrong!! Any faults will be that much harder to fix if you only use one (chassis) earth.

Spray connectors with WD40 or similar to stop corrosion, at least once a year. Seal the back of the trailer plug also with silicone sealer to stop water running down the cable and into the back of the plug and causing unseen corrosion. if possible place plug in a plastic bag when not in use where no moisture can reach it....

I expect it rains in Perth occasionally so be carefull!

Stay "7 pin Standard" in all respects. Then you can either lend your trailer, or pull someone elses if needed! But do not be surprised when other trailers are not standard, which is the reason for the fuses.....

look at an exisiting boat trailer. The wires are in channels and you can probably find the answers easily.

In addition, people that sell/rent trailers also sell connection kits that have wiring data.

auto supply retailers sell this stuff.

I always run a ground wire because the chassis connection on a boat trailer corrode over time and the lights stop working.

Make sure you use the newer LED lights. They are permamanent.

No reason why you cannot link the backup lights to a couple of white lamps

I've wired many trailers. I don't know color schemes down under, But being a novice to this you would probably be best off simply buying a kit. It comes with almost all of the conections made already. You simply mount the lights and route the wires. Buying pieces seperately will usually cost the same or more in some cases.

http://www.princessauto.com

I shivver when I think of using sections of extension cord for wiring your trailer. Yes, it can be used, but... The wires to the 7 pin socket are color coded. Use wire with the same colors on your trailer. This will save you much grief 5 years from now when you will have to guess which wire is which.

I almost forgot, you are wiring a boat trailer, if is one that you push in the water to get the boat off it, just don't do that.....

I have never seen a boat trailer used in this manner that didn't need a lot of maintenance every year on the bearings and brakes. You need to sray the non braking surfaces regularly with WD40 or similar and to do that you have to remove the brake drum.....sometimes a difficult procedure depending on who designed the brake system!

Washing out with fresh water from a power hose, done properly, THE SECOND IT COMES OUT OF SALT WATER helps, but only just.....

You would think that such trailers would have important parts like this made out of stainless steel or similar. (Stainless steel though as a disk brake works not as well as rustable conventional steel - as certain motorcycle manufacturers can tell you!)

Best is a launching dolly that will sit between the boat and the trailer and only it goes in the water. Simple mechanics and replaceable, non ball bearing wheels and if its wheels sieze up, it will not cause a crash!!! - but I do not know how heavy your boat is.....!

Better still is use a crane every time! The money and time saved on trailer maintenance (not forgetting the costs of a crash caused by a siezed brake or bearings!) and the peace of mind (difficult to put into $$$) will easily pay for the crane several times a year!

Happy sailing.

Most of these trailers have no brakes. A few of the heavier one have brakes, usually mechanically activated by weight transfer, a few are electric/hydraulic.

Every year I pass a dozen of these trailers, with their boats and a siezed wheel by the side of the road. A large number of people do not remove the wheel and bearing and repack it with grease.

I am glad for their contribution to the economy, by saving $1 in grease used they enrich generations of tow truck drivers.

In europe (and I anticipate that Australia is a bit European in this area...)I think that you will find that 99.99% of boat trailers have some sort of mechanical or electrical braking system. Its the law. Only a very tiny boat and trailer might get under the "unbraked trailer" load of a car here. Certainly I have never seen one.

With regard to the $1 of grease, you are right, but its really the $20 of time and complete lack of knowledge about trailer mechanics that actually cause the problems.....

Remember:- what you don`t know can kill you!!

They need brakes above a certain weight, unloaded. Here in Ontario Canada it is 1360 KG.

So most small boat trailers here have no brakes. A number do have surge brakes installed by smart people.

...That heavier than some cars in europe!!! You could never bring it to a stop in a reasonable distance.

I would suspect that Australia is more like europe and that proper brakes are needed. i have a relatively heavy car for euope, nearly 2 tons weight unladen, correctly I am allowed to only pull 700Kg without brakes, but 2 metric tons with brakes!!!

Experience has shown me that i would not even risk 700Kg without brakes, 400 shoves like hell in an emergency situation.....

I quite agree. It is bad law, expecially since that is the unloaded trailer weight. Add a 1700 kilo boat and you weigh more than most cars = not wise.

A lot of insurance companies require trailer brakes or no coverage. This makes a fair number of people add inertia brakes or electric brakes. Hydraulics or air brakes are rare on small boat trailers.

I would certainly have them on any boat trailer of mine.

No.1, Check with the RTA in your state on the net, NSW, Qld. etc , usually the wiring code is the same for the round or horizontal plugs in all states, it seems the horizontal type 7 pin are the most popular, the 7 pin types have one of the pins as an earth connection so it doesn't rely on a good connection between the tow ball & coupling between car & trailer

If you are trying to find which wires are which, use a sewing needle & push it into the wire you are testing & put the probes from your test meter from earth to the wire under test & it is fairly easy to track the wire down you are looking for, eg RH blinker, the last 2 cars I did had different colour codes to the colours shown in the wiring diagram supplied with the car in the service booklet !!! so don't rely on them.

I usually carefully strip about 20mm of the insulation off the selected wire, wrap the stripped end of the wire to the trailer tightly around the stripped section of the selected wire & solder it up with an electric iron & resin cored solder wire & then tape it up with electricians tape, tuck it back into the sub frame sections or use cable ties to do a neat job.

I always silicon seal all entry & exit points & around the plug cover boots, especially if the trailer is for a boat & is going to be run back into salt water, occasionally spray WD40 into the contacts of both plug terminals to stop corrosion.

Doing the job properly in the first place even if it takes an extra hour or so will save a lot of hassles later on out on the road.

7 core flex is available from most auto electricians or in K-Marts auto section as a trailer kit & the 7 pin plug, if you purchase one, has the wiring code clearly marked on the packaging, I also always solder the ends of the wires that go into the plug screw terminals.

Boat trailers are notorious for having dud lights due to the corrosive effects of the salt water, get a cartridge of marine grade silicon sealant & seal EVERYTHING !!!! that could possibly leak.

Brien.

pin & push it into the wire you are testing

Yall are big babies 1700 kilos is not heavy. I pull 4100 pounds around all day long with no brakes and have never had a problem. As for doing your trailer lights, if you have to ask questions about something as simple as wiring a trailer, do you really think you should be doing it.

Quote;

Yall are big babies 1700 kilos is not heavy. I pull 4100 pounds around all day long with no brakes and have never had a problem.

___________________________________

Wait till a child runs out in front of you one day, with his mother watching horrified as you run over him because you can only stop well if you plan ahead...

Big babies indeed!

You've never had a problem, yet?

The world needs more folks like you to watch out for...

Sad...

Hi, if you go to your local auto shop, or boat place, you can ask them to sell you 7 core trailer wire, 7 pin plug. There is a standard wiring diagram on the back of the new plug. Just follow the colour code

Cheers