Best Way to Ground Lights on Aluminum Trailer

Updated 04/02/2019 | Published 03/30/2019

Products Featured in This Question

16 Gauge, 4 Conductor Bonded Parallel Wire - Per Foot

(237)

$2.47

Trailer Wiring Junction Box

(823)

$34.83

Ring Terminal -16-14 Gauge - 1/4" Ring ID - Qty. 1

(72)

$1.21

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

(1126)

$16.82

Question:

What would be the best way to ground new rear trailer lights to aluminum trailer. thinking about putting all new wire from front to back. Just a small utility trailer with 4 way connection in front. Also would like to switch to led. Does switching to leds mean i have to switch running lights to led also? Thank you for your answer.

asked by: Perry E

Expert Reply:

The best way to handle the grounds for lights on an aluminum trailer is to mount a junction box like # 38656. You can then run ground jumpers from all lights back to the junction box and also connect the 4-pole such as # W787268.

The box provide both a handy connection point for all the wiring and it protects those connections. You'll use ring terminals like # DW05702-1 for all connections in the junction box and butt connectors like # DW05744-10 to make any needed splices to the lights' wiring. If you need any bulk 4-pole wire you can use # 16-4B-1 sold by the foot.

It is generally best to change all lights over to LEDs since using a combination of LED and incandescent lights will mean different levels of brightness since LEDs are super-efficient and need only a fraction of the power needed by standard bulbs.

You may care to refer to the linked article on trailer wiring.