Butt Connector Recommendation for Wiring up Brake Assemblies on Trailer

Published 09/12/2016

Products Featured in This Question

Electric Trailer Brake Assembly - Dacromet - 12" - Right Hand - 5,200 lbs to 7,000 lbs

(29)

$63.10

12-10 Gauge Butt Connector

(23)

$0.86

10 Gauge Wire - Blue Primary - Per Foot

(104)

$1.89

Question:

I bought 4 of these electric brakes and mounted them last weekend. I was planning to get these wired up but do not know what size connectors I should use. Can you please tell me the gauge wire on these brakes as my boat trailer is located quite a distance from my home. I need to purchase the waterproof connectors to make the final connection to the brakes and would like to take them out with next time I travel to where my boat trailer is stored.

asked by: Glen G

Expert Reply:

The wire gauge used in assemblies like the part # AKEBRK-7R-D is surprisingly thin at 16 gauge.

The heavier gauge the wire the better. We recommend 10 gauge wire like part # 10-1-1 (sold by the foot), for wiring up the brake output circuit. Since the wire is so long it's important to go with a thicker wire to reduce resistance even though the brake magnets use thinner wire. Especially since the wire gets teed off and ran to multiple brake assemblies.

If you went with 10 or 12 gauge wire to the assemblies you would want to use butt connectors like part # 05732-2. These are large enough for 10-12 gauge but can still be clamped tight enough for 16 gauge wire.

expert reply by: Jameson C