Trailer lights! Ugh. Any electricians w a fix using heavy duty extension cord plug

[Bonefreak]

So....the never ending issue w faulty trailer lights reared it’s ugly head....literally....again yesterday on the way to the lake w my boys...

driving along in the slow lane an old lady riding shotgun w her friend motions to me and yells, “excuse me sir, your trailer lights are not working”!!

Welp...I said thanks for letting me know....& without provocation....my 7 yr old says, hey dad, that lady sounded like Roz from Monsters Inc...you’re guna have to file a report about your trailer lights....in a Roz-like voice!! 
 

He cracked the joke of the day as Roz referrals around our house are always a good joke to crack....like usually about the beagle for not finding any rabbits or the setter not finding any birds!!

Anyways, my plugs are loose and with a lil wiggle, the lights flicker on and off  

So, it reminded me of a guy who moved boats for a living and he told me he used heavy duty electrical cord plugs to connect his truck lights to the trailer lights. He may have even run the cord back to the lights as well. 
 

Anyone familiar with splicing wires like these and advice to utilize this method??  I been dealing w faulty trailer lights for 30 yrs!!  When I redid my bay boat I didn’t even bother running the wires thru the trailer...I just zip tied em to the frame figuring I will be fixing em in the near future!!

 

Edited April 21, 2021 by Bonefreak

[gregtpal]

They sell full harnesses so probably easier & cheaper to just buy & replace every x years.  You could overbuilding better but it would cost  & be a lot more hassle.  It's pretty easy to replace the whole harness.

[gregtpal]

Buy a jar of liquid electrical tape & seal every splice & connection

[hunt1940]

1 hour ago, gregtpal said:

They sell full harnesses so probably easier & cheaper to just buy & replace every x years.  You could overbuilding better but it would cost  & be a lot more hassle.  It's pretty easy to replace the whole harness.

100% agree , just buy the kit with new marker and led lights with the harness.. ...plus a little dielectric grease in the connection

[Bonefreak]

3 minutes ago, gregtpal said:

Buy a jar of liquid electrical tape & seal every splice & connection

It seems like the connection issue is its loose when the trailer plug is plugged into the truck plug

[gregtpal]

Check yr ground if all lights are not working. Very common issue.

[gregtpal]

Maybe got mangled.  Not sure what style plug but try bending & or cleaning or sanding contacts for tighter connection.  I glued sand paper on a tiny flat screw driver  & sanded the contacts on my truck & bent them in a little on a round female plug.  Fixed it & good for 2 years now.

[rgw]

Usually the ground

[BCsaw]

Just don't let it happen again!!
Lol

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[MRMCR]

If the plug / connection is loose then sometime a small piece of cardboard will keep it in place.......works for me.......

[hunterbob1]

Take a trip to West Marine.Just get some new male and female plugs. Slide some heat shrink tubing up the wire splice and solder the wires, slide tubing over splice and heat. Definitely use dialectic grease for the plugs.

[electric10162]

hunterbob has got it right. Marine grade is the way to fly if your constantly having issues. 

[10deer]

what i did last for ever  put the lights on a board clip them to the back of your boat run the hd extension cord wire over the boat into your truck no wires in the water or lights (hope you dont have electric brakes )

[Zipper]