Wiring for trailer

Davew

Davew

Senior Member
I’m going to wire my model A to power trailer lights. I’m not a wiring expert so is there anything I need to be aware of? Thanks, Dave
 
Most likely best if you fuse the trailer lights separately from the rest of the wiring.


May want to consider LEDs to keep current draw down.
 
If I were doing it on a Model A for a trailer with no brakes I would get a 4 wire kit from local auto parts. The kit will have a flat 4 prong plug. Three wires will be insulated and one will be open. Make sure the car side has the ground hooked to the open/uninsulated prong. Hook a tail light wire on the car to the brown wire. If you dont have turn indicators hook the brake light up to the yellow wire and green wire. Hook the white wire to a good ground using a star washer. Use a star washer on both the car and trailer side of the white ground wire. If you have turn indicators on the car you will hook the yellow wire to the left turn and the green wire to the right turn. Same thing on the trailer and you will have a system that can hook onto most trailers. All the wires for the trailer hook up can be done at the rear of the car unless you add trailer brakes. If I were going to add trailer brakes I would use a 6 way plug. If I wanted to have a plug that was permanently bolted into the body or an adapter I would use a Cole Hersey 4 way plug and would use the same color wires. There are some who will argue over the color of the ground as it is proper to use black, not white for ground on a DC application. As a side note for those who think a Model A cant haul a trailer: My best friend in high school built a single axle horse trailer and pulled it behind his model A all over southern California back in the mid fifties.
 
I forgot to mention. Don't go cheap and use those worthless blue clips. Either strip the wires and do a proper splice or get a good wiring device. Marine grade fixtures with adhesive and/or solder work the best.

I usually use marine grade tinned wire and solder. Then I cover the joint with liquid tape and finally cover the splice with heat shrink or a proper tape wrap. Doesn't hurt to add some more liquid tape over the wrap.
 
Thanks for the reply’s. I have a small blue sea fuse box I could use for this and was thinking of LED’s but wasn’t sure I could. I’m going to look at that Hersey plug and the marine grade wire. I want it to be as weather proof as possible. Thanks again. Dave
 
Untinned wire is ok if you solder all connections and seal them from the weather. LED bulbs are available to fit just about any lamp socket. 100 lumens is plenty for markers, 350 or more for brakes.
 
Davew said:
Thanks for the reply’s. I have a small blue sea fuse box I could use for this and was thinking of LED’s but wasn’t sure I could. I’m going to look at that Hersey plug and the marine grade wire. I want it to be as weather proof as possible. Thanks again. Dave
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LEDs - just a suggestion, may want to contact the LED manf, think I remember everything on the same circuit needs to be LED, can not mix other types on the same circuit. If you are paralleling off the current wiring, everything has to be LED. Again I am not 100% sure, check it out before deciding.
 
I have LED tail lights on my truck, incondesent bulbs on my trailer. They seem to work together just fine.
 
30 Closed Cab PU said:
LEDs - just a suggestion, may want to contact the LED manf, think I remember everything on the same circuit needs to be LED, can not mix other types on the same circuit. If you are paralleling off the current wiring, everything has to be LED. Again I am not 100% sure, check it out before deciding.
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Looks like I misunderstood originally, and the creaky grey matter was was not up to snuff. Took awhile found the info on this link. Has to do with miss wiring towards the bottom of this link


And this site has a lot info if you are bored.


http://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.com/tips-and-hints-when-fitting-leds.php
 
Interesting link. I’m going to try a dedicated ground to each housing. I have an extra ground from frame to starter bolt but have read can’t have enough. Now for some warmer weather. Thanks for all the information.
 
What kind of trailer are you pulling ?

How far are you towing it and how fast ?

Any type of trailer you pull should have electric or surge brakes
even if it small and light - if you have to stop in a hurry things
could get messy .....


Jim
 
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