Today we are going to do a review of the 7 pole connector from Pollak, part number PK12707. The outside of this plug is constructed of black plastic, and the interior has a noncorroding, shock resistant design. The plug features some terminal reinforcement dams that help eliminate shorting. The lid is spring loaded with a stainless steel spring, and also features a safety latch to ensure yo are fully connected to your trailer. Now lets take a look inside this connector and show you how to wire in the plug. :28
To wire our 7 way plug we want to first remove the two screws that are holding the inner section inside the connector. Just open up the lid and pop the center section out. Next we can go ahead and our wire in the back of the connector. You will see that there is a set screw here that allows us to adjust the tightness of the wire at the back of the connector. This connector will accept up to a 7 wire bonded cable. :54
I am going to loosen that up a little bit and our wires. And then we just want to wire in our wires to the coinciding pins here on the inside of the connector. You will notice that the pins are labeled with colors and numbers as well. That is going to help us decide what position we want to put each coinciding wire with. On a factory set up 7 pole, the brown pin is going to be for the right turn, right brake. The blue is for electric brakes. White will be our ground. Red will be you left turn, left brake. Green will be your running lights. Black will be your 12 volt hot lead. The center pin is typically the reverse lead. 1:36
To wire the wires into the connector we want to take phillips head screw driver and release the screw. We can even wire the corresponding wire directly by striping back the jacketing. We can either connect the wire to the plug by simply stripping off the jacketing and sliding it into position and tightening it down. Or we can use a spade connector, which will help clean up the wires inside here and keep them from accidental shorts. We want to repeat that process for all seven wires if used. Then we can just go ahead and re the middle section back into the 7 pole. You will notice that there is a little notch here at the bottom it, that is going to align with a little indentation on the inside of the connector, that will help us line it up so we know we are doing it correctly. There you have it for the 7 pole connector truck end, part number PK12707 from Pollak.
Questions and Comments about this Video
I have a trailer harness that plugs into the TWO connectors at the rear of the truck. What is the wiring colors on the truck to which pin of the 7 pin connector?1989 F350 4x4 Crew with 7.5l motorLarge conn size 4 wireswhite 12 gared 16 gablue-blk stripe 12 gayel 12 gaSmaller conn w 4 wiresblk-red stripe 18 gagrn-org stripe 18 gared-grn stripe 18 gawht-red stripr 16 ga
comment by: Garry g - 11/1/2012
Vehicle wiring colors can vary based on plant location, or even the day of the week. The best thing to do, is check them with a circuit tester and determine what wire serves what function. I have added a link to our wiring FAQ page that has a diagram break-down of what functions need to be at what pin locations. The color pattern is fairly standard for trailer wiring, but vehicle wiring colors are all different. Just make sure the functions line up.
Patrick B - 11/12/2012This Old Trailer: Repairing a Trailer Light Wiring Problem
Today on This Old Trailer, we are going to fix some lighting problems. Now what is happening on this trailer is that one side of the taillights is not working at all and the passenger side sometimes works and sometimes does not. So the first thing we need to do is go ahead and check to make sure we have power going all of the way back. That means we will start from the front and check our way on to the back. The first thing we need to do is go ahead and apply power. We are going to start checking our power from the plug on back. What we are going to do is actually take out the screw that holds the connector together. We are going to push it inside then we are going to pull it apart. Then we can see the contacts on the inside. We are going to turn on the running lights and we are going to hit the brakes for the taillights themselves. So, we should have three wires hot. We will go ahead and check that. It looks like we have power for a second here and it went away. We will try the other two. It looks like the same thing. So it looks like we are dealing with some multiple shorts. So we know it is something definitely on the trailer at this point. So we will go ahead and go back to the taillight and start doing a visual inspection. 0:57
This Old Trailer : Replacing a 7-Pole Connector
Today on This Old Trailer we are going to diagnose some wiring problems. The problem with this trailer is that when you plug the trailer into the vehicle none of the lights work. It could be a variety of problems but the first thing we are going to do is start from the front and work our way back. Just to make sure there is nothing wrong with the towing vehicle use an independent power source to power up the trailer just to make sure. Then we will turn on the lights and check in the back. We have got our power supply on and it looks like there is nothing working in the back and also it looks like the running lights were not working either. Lets go back up to the front and check the connector. 00:33
This Old Trailer: Replacing a 6-Pole Connector
Today on This Old Gooseneck Trailer we are going to install part number PK11604 from Pollak. This is their 6-pole connector and we are going to replace the one that is originally on this trailer right now. Now, what has happened to this one is it has been basically pulled apart a few times and basically the insides are getting worn out and some of the screws a striped out. So, we are just going to go through it and replace it. The first thing we want to do is go ahead and take out this screw and this screw here. This little screw right here, this is kind of a clamp that holds the cable in place. Then this little set screw holds the inside in place and in alignment. OK, let us push that on out. Now, when you go ahead and take these wires apart, note which wires go to what. On the inside of the connector they are all labeled left turn, right turn, TM for trailer marker lights, S is for stop which will be for brakes typically and you have the A in the middle for auxiliary for whatever you want to use and then you have GD for ground. 0:55
Testing for a Correct Ground Connection Demonstration
Today we are going to show you a little bit on wiring. Basically, a wiring 101 or what to look for when you hardwire into a vehicle. Hardwire means actually getting to the wires and splicing into them and making a connection. The first thing you want to do when you hardwire a vehicle is you want to make sure you are grounded and get a test. Make sure your tester is working fine. On some cars you will see this on one of the wires. Being the same color like these black wires. You will see a lot of them ran to a screw inside the body here. Chances are that is going to be your ground. You can actually use that ground for your light tester. What we mean by a light tester is a device like this right here. Basically, this connects to the ground and what this device does is this hooks around the wire you want to test and you push it together and it precises the wire and touches the copper wire inside, creates a circuit and lights up when you have power in that wire.
Circuit Testing for Vehicle Wiring
Today we are going to show you a little bit of wiring. Basically, like a wiring 101 and what to look for when you are going to hardwire into a vehicle. And what hardwire means is actually getting to the wires and splicing into them making a connection. We will go ahead and do our test and ground it. Instead of piercing the wires, if you have a junction that is easy to get to go ahead and pull it apart. And instead of piercing the wire, go ahead and test on the inside here. Just check each individual contact here until you hit something. Then make sure you actually have your running lights on and then go ahead and turn them back off. It also proves to us that our ground is good and it is working with our electrical system here.
5 Wire vs 4 Wire System Demonstration
To tell if your vehicle has a 4 or 5 wire system what you want to do is have a friend go ahead and step on the brakes. And note which lights come on. Now what you want to do then is go ahead and turn on the turn signal while holding the brake down and turn on the right turn signal. As you an see you have your brake lights on and you see the amber turn signal going on to let you know you have a 5 wire system. Now on this vehicle here we have a 4 wire system. The way to double check that is go ahead and turn on one of the turn signals like the right one here. Note which bulb is burning and which filament on the inside and turn that off. Then go ahead and hit your brakes. And you notice here, it is one in the same. So that means your turn signal and your brake lights are one in the same and you just use a regular 4 wire system you do not need a converter.
Trailer Wiring Diagrams
