Can 5-Way with 6 Wires be Ran to 5-Way with 5 Wires

Updated 03/26/2026 | Published 09/27/2017

Question:

I am replacing a 5 pin connector on my boat trailer. Currently, the one on the boat has 6 wires coming from it and the new one only has 5. There are 2 brown wires on the old one but only one brown on the the new one. Can these be run off the same wire?

asked by: Paul A

Expert Reply:

Yes, you can run both of your trailer's brown wires to the single brown wire of your new 5-way. Typically this is how most 5-ways are wired. Your old one was a wishbone style connector which means it has the two wires already for that circuit.

expert reply by: Jameson C

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Chris S.

10/17/2025

Jameson, I have this plug on my Rolco boat trailer, but cant find anyone i can order a new one. Can you shed some light?

Jameson C.

10/21/2025

@ChrisS What you need is just a standard 5-way like the Hopkins part # HM47900. You will just wire your double wired circuits to the single wire of this 5-way and everything will work great. This is a very common situation and this is the solution for it that works the best/easiest.

Tommy A.

3/26/2026

I have a 5 flat plug with 6 wires. I can matchup all wires with the new 5 flat plug with 5 wires. However, I’m not certain which ones to stack. I have a green/brown wire and a yellow/brown wire that are the ones in question.