How to Wire Trailer Breakaway Switch to Trailer
Updated 01/29/2018 | Published 01/27/2018
Products Featured in This Question
Question:
I have 2015 suburban with a seven prong plug in. I am hooking up a new brake away switch with a chargeable battery. The trailer only has five wires can I tap into the wire on the trailer for the running lights for power to the battery. Thanks
asked by: Hank
Expert Reply:
A trailer breakaway kit like # 20099 needs to be connected to the vehicle's 12V auxiliary power circuit so that it receives a maintenance charge at all times you are driving, not just when the lights are on.
The wiring and mounting requirements, as well as the procedure for testing your breakaway system, are covered in the two articles I linked for you.
Your best bet is to re-wire the trailer to match your Suburban's 7-way setup. This takes only a junction box like # HS381-9000 and some ring terminals like # 44-5310A and # DW05737-1 to make the connections inside the box. The junction box not only makes the connection process easier it also provide protection from bad weather for those connections. I also linked an overview article on trailer wiring.
