Trailer Lights

[lmmoore]

I only have one tail light working on my boat trailer and need to get it relit. I have a magic tilt trailer with the old submersible lights which have worked well for 11 years. I hear a lot about LEDs and would like advice on purchasing quality. I would appreciate any input on the subject from good folks who have purchased lately.

[mitchelltally]

I bought an inexpensive set of LEDs from Walmart last summer that included the wiring set. So far so good all are still working great. I think replacing the lights and wires will give you better results than just the lights.

[charlie tuna]

I had a trailer light problem a few years back, and would work one trip and not the next. As I started working on it, it would start working!!! I decided to change over to LED fixtures. There wasn't too much to select from at the time. These were sealed units. After wiring them up -- they didn't work!!! And I am an electrician??? As it turned out, the ground had two intermittent opens in it. Since I didn't want ANY more problems, I wired the ground to each light on the trailer, then sealed all the connections with a waterproof sealant. No problems since then. Lamps are supposed to outlast the trailer. I just replaced my flagpole light in my yard, old quartz fixture burnt 75 watts of power all night long, lamp life of 780 hours. New LED fixture puts out MORE lumens, burns 17 watts of power, and the lamp life is over 22,900 hours. Power savings alone will pay for the fixture in two years...

[SS-342]

Good information shared - thanks!

[lmmoore]

Thanks for the great information. Since I know nothing about wiring or electricity should I get a professional to handle or try it myself?

[silverking]

Coastal Trailer & Hitch, Medart (across from the school on Hwy 98)
984-0728

[reelbad]

If in Tallahassee, Lee Trailer Sales, 3922 Crawfordville Rd, 878-0788.

[Gulf Coast]

If in Tallahassee, Lee Trailer Sales, 3922 Crawfordville Rd, 878-0788.

[fishinfool]

Wire it yourself. Easy to do, just follow the diagrams. I bought a set of LED lights last year to replace some that got water in them. I took the lenses off, and sealed each fixture with 5200. I caulked any place where water could possibly get in. No problems to date. Be sure to get a good ground! The biggest problems with trailer lights not working is usually ground related.

[spotremover]

Whatever you do, DO NOT TAKE IT TO SOUTHERN BELL TRAILER SALES. I took a trailer to them to fix one bad brake light - it was a ground problem and I knew it, but didn't have time to fix it. Terry Bell (the owner) told me he had to take the walls off the trailer (it's an enclosed food trailer) to re-wire it. That was a COMPLETE LIE! All he did was splice in some new wire at the front and re-connect the ground wire to the trailer. HE CHARGED ME $375 to splice in 3 feet of wire. I will NEVER do business here again and I urge you not to either unless you just like throwing money away.


Spot Remover

[charlie tuna]

Thanks for the warning...

[reelhandy]

Don't forget that the trailer lights have to have a good ground connection all the way to the battery of the vehicle doing the towing. You can have good ground connections between the lights and the trailer frame and then lose it at the plug or where the plug wire connects to the tow vehicle. Trailer lights that blink as the trailer is being towed is a sign that possibly the tow vehicle ground isn't getting it done. The trailer in that condition is grounding through the tow ball and the blinking comes when the connection is lost as the trailer bounces along on the ball as it moves down the road.

[Steve Stinson]

11 years !! Sheesh mine don't all stay lit for 11 weekends. I've tried everything from the cheapest ones to the most expensive submersibles and not found any that hold up to the saltwater well. I just sort of consider it a constant maintenance issue and fix them as they go out. Heat shrinking any connections that are going to be in the water and unplugging the lights before you back in helps, but nothing keeps them all working.

Reminds me of a quote from Louis Grizzard - "Shortly after man invented the wheel, he invented the trailer. Ever since he's been trying to figure out how to hook up the lights!"

[woopty]

Had pretty good luck with the cheap leds.
Shrink wrapped the connections, got a solid ground.
Had them for three years now and am amazed they are still going strong.

[charlie tuna]

Using the trailer frame for the ground, means a "problem connection" at each light. That connection is usually a hole drilled into the trailer frame thru the "galvanized coating". The first time this connection see's salt water, the corrosion starts between the steel trailer frame and the galvanized coating, and also between the galvanized coating and the wire connection -- all dissimilar metals and soft. The best solution is run a "COMMON" ground wire and tap off of it to each light. That cuts out the corrosion problem caused by dissimilar metals.