Wiring Harness

[fishinggeek]

Accidentally cut through the wiring on the trailer when installing the swing tongue. How can I fix it? Do I need a whole new wiring sytem, can I splice it, or is there a way to somehow open the adaptor, remove the cut wire, and re-install?

[BillM]

A pair of wire strippers, a bit of solder, some shrink tubing and you are good to go!

 

For a quick fix, splice the wires back together and wrap them tightly in electrical tape.

Edited April 22, 2009 by BillM

[Billy Bob]

What BillM said but when you do splice make sure you do it in a inline way not so the splice is sticking out like a "L" shape in the middle of the wire.

 

Strip off about 1" of insulation on each wire and then line the wires next to each other and TWIST them together real good and tight. As Bill said a little soldering would be best but if you twist them real good together and then heat shrink over the connection, THEN wrap real nice with electrical tape, then wrap again with electrical tape but this time with the other wires that there you will never have a problem.

 

Now get to work because it's fishing time, not fixing time of the year........

[wallyboss]

But you should also get yourself a can of liquid electrical tape, to put after soldering and then cover with the shrink tubing. But make sure that your wiring hasn't started to corrode already if so cut back until you can find clean wiring.

[Tybo]

Use a butt connector.

[danbouck]

Use a butt connector.

 

Agreed

[HTHM]

Use a butt connector.

There is a reason they are called BUTT connectors; they do a crappy join.

Edited April 22, 2009 by hometownhandyman

[BillM]

Nothing beats solder... If you want it to last, you gotta fix it properly.

[ohhenrygsr]

yea it's not a big deal to solder the wires together then shrink wrap it. Post closed

[irishfield]

Nothing beats solder... If you want it to last, you gotta fix it properly.

Yep..with the correct solder and done correctly. Some good quality (read not CTC) Butt connectors are the better option for many! lol

[Tybo]

I seen countless times where a solder join has worn through

and create a short wear the join is in metal tubing.

A shrink tube style of butt connector with liquid tape is a damn good

repair in this case.

[irishfield]

They break as well Paul... from vibration. 'tis why we use strand wire in most of our toys. Solid wire's for houses.

[Sinker]

Just twist them together.......and use LOTS of tape

 

Guaranteed your gonna have to replace it again. I usually go through one or two a season.

 

Sinker

Edited April 23, 2009 by Sinker

[Big Cliff]

The best way to do it: use wire strippers, cut back about 3/4" insulation off each side. DO NOT TWIST the wire, slide a piece of heat shrink over one of the wires and slide it down out of the way. Using ROSIN flux, dip each of the wires into the flux then heat them just enough to melt the flux. Now, holding both of the wires end to end, push them into each other (you might have to give them a slight twist as you are doing it) then reheat and apply ROSIN CORE solder. You shouldn't have any sharp edges or lumps, your joint should be neat, clean, and straight. Slide your heat shrink tube over the joint and heat it to seal the joint, you should never have a problem again.

[Billy Bob]

And if the wires are too short, cut them again.....

[tschirk]

Lots of debate but here is what is considered "best practice":

 

1) srtrip 1-2 inches of clean (un-oxidized) wire.

2) slide a piece of 3-4 inch heat shrink over one of the wires. Well back from joint so it doesn't shrink during soldering.

2) use western union splice for mechanical strength

3) heat joint with a small dab of solder applied to soldering iron tip

4) using rosin core solder applied to joint, NOT the tip of the soldering iron. The heated wire should do the melting of the solder which causes it to flow through joint towards soldering iron tip, ensure entire joint has coat of bright/shiny solder after cooling

5) coat with liquid tape

6) slide heat shrink so that it is centered over joint and heat to shrink tight

 

This is the most reliable long term method.

 

Cheers,

Ted

[douG]

Gadget is correct. Any soldered connection should be mechanically sound before you apply the solder, and also that the solder be melted by the wires, not the iron.

[Billy Bob]

Over 15 posts to splice a wire. Good thing he didn't have to replace a tail light.......

[fishinggeek]

Thanks for all the suggestions. What about the option of re-wiring the trailer altogether? How hard is that? I was at Canadian Tire and saw some pretty cheap Reese sets.

[Sinker]

No need to re-wire the trailer, unless you want to.

 

All you need is a new plug end. Its not a big deal. I broke one at the launch yesterday, came home and put a new one on in a matter of minutes. I seem to go through one a season. They don't last all that long if you use them a lot.

 

If your lights are giving you trouble, or the wires are corroded, then I would consider re-wiring the whole trailer.

 

They also have magnetic lights that work well.

 

Sinker

[Tybo]

I'm a 99.8% solder type of guy.But since I found shrinkable butt connectors and liquid tape.

A proffered repair for in-closed wiring has been this way.

Use alot of in-cast multi wire on the proxies systems.Just over a mile.

And on a .oo9 draw the butt takes .0003 of a amp.

If the wire is in a harness or suspended always solder.

 

Not a big fan of crushing twisting or too much heat on copper strand cable.

But done right it will work. No mader which way it goes.

Edited April 23, 2009 by Tybo

[fishinggeek]

Can a new plug end go into the wires that have been cut? How do I install it?

 

No need to re-wire the trailer, unless you want to.

 

All you need is a new plug end. Its not a big deal. I broke one at the launch yesterday, came home and put a new one on in a matter of minutes. I seem to go through one a season. They don't last all that long if you use them a lot.

 

If your lights are giving you trouble, or the wires are corroded, then I would consider re-wiring the whole trailer.

 

They also have magnetic lights that work well.

 

Sinker

[Sinker]

Can a new plug end go into the wires that have been cut? How do I install it?

 

 

Yeah, thats what I thought you were going to do.

 

Just cut the old one off, and re-attach a new one the way that has been described here.

 

Should take you about 15 mins. I always carry new ends in my boat kit. They fail after a while.

 

Sinker

[fishinggeek]

This board rocks! Thanks everyone!