How to Wire Trailer Lights

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by 4DIYers 38
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How to Wire Trailer Lights Made…

Intro: How to Wire Trailer Lights

Video tutorial on how to wire trailer lights.

So here I have an older trailer which
needed some work, along with re-wiring the
lights. This is a fairly simple setup, no
license plate light, or clearance lights. Be
sure to check with your local laws in order
to determine what is required for a lights.
I’ve provide three different wiring diagrams
at the end of the video for a better
understanding. To make this tutorial easier
to understand, I will be flipping the trailer on
it’s side so everything is easily viewable.
This also makes it much easier to work on,
so if you have a smaller trailer and can do
this, I would definitely recommend it.

Tools/Supplies Needed:

4 wire trailer light harness

new lights
wire cutters
wire strippers
split loop poly casing
electrical tape
soldering iron
adhesive filled shrink tube
drill
center drill and drill bits
center punch
hammer
paint marker
retaining loops
cable ties

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STEP 1: How to Wire Trailer Lights

I have already removed what was left of the

old wiring and will be installing everything
new except lights. LED lights had been
installed on this trailer about a year ago. If
any paint work or welding is required, I
would recommend doing that first before
installing the new wiring.

To make this tutorial easier to understand, I

will be flipping the trailer on it’s side so
everything is easily viewable. This also
makes it much easier to work on, so if you
have a smaller trailer and can do this, I
would definitely recommend it.

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STEP 2:

Here is the brand new generic wiring

harness. This is just a standard 4 way
connector with a ground, parking, and
signal or brake lights. I believe there is
about 25ft of wiring which should be plenty
for a trailer of this size. They also provide
the vehicle side connector too which I don’t
need as the tow vehicle already has that
installed. As you can see on the back of the
package, they typically provide a guide so if
you need extra help, this is a great
reference guide.

Next I have 1/4” diameter, 25ft in length

poly split loom casing to protect the wiring.
This is a must considering the wiring will be
on the underside of the trailer and is
exposed to moisture, gravel, maybe salt
from winter, road grim, and anything else
that could damage the insulation on the
wiring.

In order to hold the wiring in place, cable

ties can be used but I’d rather have
something a little more durable and cleaner.

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STEP 3:

You’ll need to plan where to run the wiring,

considering this is a tilt trailer I’ll run it up
the center and then it’ll split at the back of
the trailer to each light. Try to keep it away
from the wheels as that’s where most of the
road debris will be thrown up.

At the tongue, I’ll run it on the top to keep it

away from any hazards and it’s centered
depending on which side the vehicle’s
trailer plug comes from. On top also helps
keep it away from the ground and
scrubbing on the road.

I measured out the hole, used a scriber just

to lightly mark the paint and not the steel.
Be careful when using a scriber as this can
create a spot for steel to crack, so it’s
normally not recommend on structural
components.

Use a center punch to prevent the drill bit

from wandering.

First starting out with a center drill and then

finish up with the correct sized drill bit.

Do the same for the other holes too. I’m

trying to keep the wire clips somewhat
closer together to prevent the wire from
being caught up on anything. It’ll sit inside
the channel too, so it helps add protection
too. If you have a tubing frame, you may
consider running the wire inside of that.
Being that this is a structural piece, small
holes won’t really affect the integrity too
much. When you start cutting big holes in a
components, that’s when the structure
becomes weaker.

After I can run the wiring along the side of

the tongue as the top of the tongue will be
against the bed. The wiring will also need to
clear the lock for the tilt.

Right now I am using a paint marker so it’s

a bit easier to see, once the wiring gets to
the end of the bed, it’ll be y’d off to each
side.

For screws I am using self drilling screws,

although I have found they don’t always
work well so that’s why I’m pre drilling the
holes to a close size.

While I’m drilling, I’ll also mark the holes for

the wiring which will run through the
channeling in the rear. Use a center drill as
a pilot hole and then select the correct size
for the split casing. Make sure to de-burr
these holes so you don’t risk damaging the
casing when pulling it through. Just use a
larger sized drill bit or step drill and turn it
by hand.

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STEP 4:

Now tape the trailer wiring together is about

16” spacing, this just helps keep everything
organized and makes it easier to insert in
the split casing. Do this for the full length
until it y’s off at the end of the bed.

Insert the wiring into the casing, for the

length of the tongue and bed. At the y’d
portion, this will continue to one light, trim
off the access, and the remaining section
will be using on the opposite side.

For the ground wire, I had to extend this.

The lights are connected to the bed, but the
tongue is a movable piece which may have
grounding issues at the pivot point. So the
ground wire needs to be attached to the
bed. If you do not have a tilt trailer, then
connect the ground wire to the tongue. I
soldered the extension, used adhesive filled
shrink tube to protect it from moisture and
matched the existing 18 ga. wire.

Seal up the split casing at the plug using

electrical tape. This will keep debris out of
the casing and prevent the wiring from
popping out.

Beyond that, also apply electrical tape

strips just like we did with the wiring around
portions of the split casing too. This
keeping the wiring inside and helps prevent
dirt from getting inside.

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STEP 5:

Moving onto installation, use those plastic

loop clips with screws and install the wiring
into place. For length, have the plug extend
a couple inches past the end of the hitch so
it has a bit of movement when turning, but
not tight where it can put strain on the
wiring, drag on the ground, or become
unplugged. This can be adjusted according
to the length of your vehicle’s harness
length too.

Careful when tightening up these screws,

they can twist the loop, so take your time
with power tools or use a screwdriver for
tightening.

These loops hold the wiring snug, so I was

able to leave access wire on the tilt lock so
there’s no interference. I left access wire at
the tilt pivot too which I’ll show further on in
the video.

Once at the end of the bed, insert the wire

in the casing, this will be ran to the driver’s
side. The green and brown wire goes to the
passenger or right side of the vehicle and
the yellow and brown goes to the driver or
left side of the vehicle.

Trim off the access wire and casing,

remove the wire from the casing and then
use the casing for the opposite side.

Feed the exposed wire into the casing, this

will go against the already installed casing
and taped up after holding everything
together.

Feed the wire into the drill holes, on the

outside skirt I drill a larger hole using the
step drill so it can accommodate a rubber
grommet. It looks cleaner and holds onto
the casing firmly. For this I will be soldering
the wires instead, you can use
weatherproof connectors too, your choice.
As mentioned before, this trailer has LED
lights installed.

If you are using existing lights and the wires

are dirty, they will need to be cleaned in
order to have a sufficient connection and
for the solder to stick. I used adhesive filled
shrink tube as well for a waterproof seal.
Again the wires are taped up with the
casing. Yellow is for the left turn signal and
brake light and green is for the right turn
signal and brake light. I’ll included a
diagram at the end and add if you want to
install clearance lights too. When installing
your lights, you may need to run a test and
refer to their diagram. Turn signals and
brake lights should be the brighter
illumination and parking or clearance lights
should be the dimmer illumination.

Now for the wire and casing, it has been cut

longer, especially the casing since there is
a few inches of wire coming from the lights.
So the casing will help protect the light
pigtails too. The reason for the longer wire
is that if anything were need to be adjusted,
we have an extra 6 inches easily for any
modifications. Perhaps you want to add
clearance lights, extended the plug length
at the tongues end, change out the lights or
whatever else may need more wires. Wrap
electrical tape segments around this split
loop casing too just like before.

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STEP 6:

Just to give you a peak before I flip over the

trailer. You can see the wire is fully cased in
poly split loop, have a sufficient amount of
loops to hold the wiring in place and
prevent it from hanging down. On the back
side, I have made it a few inches away from
the back skirt to reduce the chance from
being gather in mud build up or if a hook
from a strap is connected to the bed, it
won’t clip on the wire accidentally. There is
enough access wire at the tilt pivot too. I
still have the ground wire installation left.

To install the ground, this will go on the bed

directly to the frame member. Using a self
drill screw with a pre-drilled hole, ensure
there is enough wire if you are working with
a tilt trailer. Install an electrical contact loop
and the mounting surface may need to be
cleaned. You can even apply some liquid
tape to the fastened point and around the
wire to prevent any moisture penetration.

Now to flip the trailer on it’s wheels again, I

need to do the opposite side that was
sitting on the ground.

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STEP 7:

Drill the hole for the grommet using the step

drill.

Install the grommet and pull through the

wire.

Strip the wires, solder the connection and

add shrink tube.

Each light has it’s own ground shown by the

white wire that connects directly to the bed
on the light brackets. Again closing the split
loop end with electrical tape.

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STEP 8:

And finally we’re down to testing, ensuring

everything works as it should. Plug it into
your vehicle, ensure the brake lights, four
way flashers, parking lights, signal lights
are working correction. If you are having
issues, you may have a bad ground, check
the condition of the connector and wire at
the vehicle or you may have a bad power
wire connection.

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STEP 9:

As for the wiring diagrams, here is a couple

different versions to go with. I’ve based it off
this wiring setup where it runs up the center
and branches out at the end of the bed vs
running it on each side.

First is the setup I have done.

Next is wiring up a license plate light if you

chose that option. The license plate light
would run off the parking lights, known as
the brown wire so you can pull the power
supply from either side.

And the third diagram using clearance

lights. One clearance light on each side and
then one larger one at the back. These too
would run off the brown or parking light
wiring, same as the license plate light. If
you want to install a license plate light, then
just run another extension from the
clearance lights.

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5 Comments
oldjoe55 3 years ago
followed directions, double checked to
make sure, but blinkers don't blink when
trailer conected, without trailers work just
fine?

RushFan 6 years ago

Kudos on a quality job. I like your use of
grommets, soldering (instead of crimped
connections, yuck!), and adhesive lined
heat shrink tubing. On my boat I take it 1
step further and before I slip on the
tubing, I smear some dielectric grease
on the soldered joint, then shrink the
tube.

4DIYers 6 years ago

Thank you for the kind words and
sharing your tips as well :)

gm280 6 years ago

I applaud you in some respect and have
some issue with others. You did a good
tutorial about wiring trailer lights and
even did a pretty nice install. A couple
things I would like to suggest though.
First, you used a nice grommet at only
the side of the trailer for the cased wires
to run trough. But you didn't use a
grommet at other locations that are just
as prone to chaffing through he casing
and insulation and short. It won't happen
initially, but it will when you least want it
to. Been there, done that.
Second, the typical consensus on most
boating sights is to run the white
(ground) wire to every light and connect
for their ground. Grounding to the trailer
will certainly cause issue down the road.
The ground on the trailer will corrode in
time and the ground will be iffy then. And
that is because of dissimilar metal
corrosion. If you run individual white
ground wires to all the lights and tie
them together, you will never have a
ground issue. Again, been there and
done that.
Other then that, I like your video and
casing idea. I have wired lots of trailers
and I like using the split loom myself.
Thumbs Up!

4DIYers 6 years ago

Great to hear and thank you for the
input.

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