Restoration Wednesday, Trailer Wiring – Keep it Simple Stupid

posted in: Restoration Wednesday | 4

Remember a few weeks ago I set out to install the trailer hitch on our VW? Well I also installed the wiring kit for it. I never tested anything because I figured if something was wrong, I’d figure it out later. Well, later was Monday morning. Over the weekend, I pulled the trailer out of storage and towed it for the first time down the freeway at 85mph. Pulled as smooth as a silk sheet if you had a hot date with a babe… I lost my train of thought. Yeah, it pulled smooth. And it turned to the right really good. That’s because the left turn signal lit up the right trailer light and so did the right signal. Don’t you worry though, I manage to make it home taking only right hand turns so as not to confuse anybody. As if. I didn’t use my turn signals. Please. Like I’m going to embarrass myself on the road in front of strangers I’ll never see again in my life. As if.

Upon further inspection of the wiring and FINALLY finding the eTrailer video after about an hour of searching, I was able to run the wiring properly. Since the left and right turn signal wire on the VW also carried the brake signal, I simply had to ground the red wire of the trailer harness and blammo. Everything works as it should. Why do I have the picture of the eTrailer site above? See that little line that reads “See all (18) videos”? I didn’t.

 

[kad_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/bP9uBWBnrsk” ]

 

 

4 Responses

  1. Mike

    ha.. this just came up with a conversation with my neighbor. He had spend part of his life as a trailer dealer and said that most of the trailers grounded themselves using the ball of the hitch… which, as you can imagine, works for second until the ball is dirty or rusty. So he always rewired the ground directly to the car battery, obviously with a connector by the hitch… cause, well, the otherway…I lost my train of thought… 😉

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