[Jesus_man]

I have a car-hauler trailer and I would like to add an LED pod to each rear corner for backing up at night. My trailer is setup with a 4-flat at the rear and it was my initial thought to wire the pods to that and plug in when needed. But then I worry about corrosion when not plugged in and protected. So perhaps I wire in a waterproof switch as well and leave it plugged in?

Or should I forget the 4-flat and just wire it to the running lights and hide a waterproof switch somewhere?

Anyone have any luck with certain waterproof switches?
Something like this?
[ame]https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Waterproof-Motorcycle-Handlebar-Adjustable/dp/B07KLZWBTZ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=Waterproof+Switch+12V&qid=1552001345&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1[/ame]

 

[Steve83]

Why wouldn't you connect them to the trailer reverse lights circuit, and let the truck switch them on & off as needed? You said it has a 4-flat at the rear, but surely it has a 7-round at the front, right?



I like these because they're rugged, bright, inexpensive, & compact:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/392253182123

 

[klhansen]

You can't get power thru a 4-pin other than the running light or brake/turn-signal. There will be a blunt cut wire for reverse lights just forward of the rear bumper. You could wire a waterproof connector to that or like Steve suggested convert to a 7-pin. I would just go the 7-pin route. Some Ford trucks have a trailer connector with both 40pin and 7-pin receptacles. It should plug in where your 4-pin does. You can find those at a wrecking yard for a few bucks, or even visit your dealer and buy a new one.

 

[Jesus_man]

On another forum, I just found out that there is a reverse light circuit in a 7-round! So that is indeed the way to go! That will be a fun little project sometime when the weather warms a bit.

 

[Steve83]

You could have found that by clicking the diagram I posted above.

 

[Jesus_man]

Agreed Steve, I just happened to get that same information on the other site a day before you posted here.

 

[jimmy]

I added a SPDT switch into that circuit on some of my trailers. The lamps at back of trailer are connected to the reverse light feed from truck or flip the switch and they are connected to the battery charge/power supply feed so I can use them as load lights for getting ramps out or down on the various trailers.

 

[panhead george]

Why wouldn't you connect them to the trailer reverse lights circuit, and let the truck switch them on & off as needed? You said it has a 4-flat at the rear, but surely it has a 7-round at the front, right?



I like these because they're rugged, bright, inexpensive, & compact:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/392253182123

Apologies if I seem to be hijacking this thread....

How are these for fog lamps up front?

 

[Steve83]

How are these for fog lamps up front?

Pretty good.


(phone app link)


(phone app link)


(phone app link)

I'm also putting a set on my golf cart that I use around the house. And I put some on a friend's duck boat, and the back of the duallie in my avatar.


(phone app link)

 

[Jesus_man]

They say they are a spot light, but they seem to spread out the light pretty well.

 

[Jesus_man]

Success!! So being colorblind and doing wiring can be daunting, but with the help of my son, I was able to get the trailer project completed this weekend!

1st order of business was to replace the uber-cheap connector that was just 5 wires wrapped in electrical tape with a cheap plug at the end. After labeling everything, I bought a new pigtail and changed out this:

to this:

My son helped run a new wire for the reverse lights thru the existing conduit. Then we soldered and heat-shrunk all the connections and we then wrapped up the new junctions in electrical tape and then fastened them to the trailer. After drilling some mounting holes and zip tying wire up, we ended up here:

Hoping they throw enough light to make a difference, but if they don't it will be easy to swap to something that does. And also hoping this location is protected enough not to get torn off.

I was fairly shocked when i plugged it into the truck and everything worked the first time! Thanks for the help!

 

[Steve83]

For your next trailer:
4-foot with terminal box [ame]https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EO17I14[/ame]
8-foot with terminal box [ame]https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F1C2S1T[/ame]

BTW
You can tap that same circuit on the truck to add reverse lights to it, as shown on my duallie in a previous post.

 

[Jesus_man]

Ahh snap! That would have been a good way to do it! But I am confident what I installed will last a long time as well!

I think I am ok with lighting on the truck with the light and cam in the tailgate, but that is a good idea.