Installing New LED Lights on 2011 Karavan Boat Trailer

Updated 05/02/2018 | Published 04/30/2018

Products Featured in This Question

LED Combination Trailer Tail Light - 7 Function - Submersible - 23 Diodes - Red Lens - Driver Side

(3172)

$46.75

16 Gauge, 4 Conductor Bonded Parallel Wire - Per Foot

(237)

$2.97

Trailer Wiring Junction Box

(817)

$27.55

Ring Terminal - 12-10 Gauge Wire - 3/16" Ring ID

(68)

$1.43

35 Ft 4-Way Trailer Wiring Harness - Wishbone Style - 42" Ground

(839)

$22.88

Deka Heat Shrink Butt Connector - 16-14 Gauge - Nylon Insulation - Blue - Qty 10

(1085)

$15.17

LED Trailer Tail Light - 6 Function - Submersible - 18 Diodes - Rectangle - Red Lens - Passenger

(2002)

$34.01

Question:

I am trying to install new LED trailer lights on my 2011 Karavan boat trailer. I disconnected the existing tail light driver side and was about to strip the wires to hook up the new ones. When I gave a gentle tug on the white wire it came right out of the channel with what appears to be half of an in-line fuse holder. So my first question is, why would the ground have an in-line fuse? My second question is since I cant get to the other end of the wire its inside the enclosed channel could I just take the white off the new LED tail light and ground it to the frame. My final question is why didnt I buy the whole tLED trailer light kit from you that includes all new wires? Thats a story for another time. :-

asked by: Don B

Expert Reply:

It is true that a trailer ground wire will usually be white but there is never a guarantee that every trailer's wiring follows that convention. It is also indeed unusual for a ground wire to be fused; normally that fuse would be on the hot side of the circuit; but in fact having fuses in trailer wiring at all is rather unusual so it may be that the item you found (and thanks for the photo) is simply a connector used to extend the original wiring.

If the original trailer lights were the type that establish ground through their mounting hardware rather than with a separate ground wire, then that white wire could indeed be the positive half of the circuit. The lights you purchased, parts # STL56RB and # STL57RB, do use a separate white ground wire that normally ground to the trailer frame.

If you want to bypass the existing wiring you could mount a wiring junction box like # 38656 on the trailer, wire in a new trailer side connector like 4-pole # A35W42B and then make the light connections in the box. You will need ring terminals like # 44-5310A, butt connectors like DW05744-10, and maybe extra bonded 4-pole wire # 16-4B-1.