Trailer wiring

[Pogo]

I set out to add wiring for a trailer on the weekend and got confused.

I pulled the rear inner guard and found wires for the indicators and brake and tail lights, but what I thought would be an earth had 12V on it:dontknow:

Looking at the wiring diagram didn't help because it is broken into pages on the CD and I couldn't see what went where.:gaah:

It occurred to me that the lights might work "upside down" from the usual way. Power is supplied continuously to each light, and a control unit supplies ground when the light is turned on. If this is the case then simply tapping into the wiring for the lights won't work. I would have to add a circuit to turn the light signals "right way up" for the trailer.

Can someone confirm my impression (or helpfully point out that I am wrong)?

Cheers;

Pogo.

 

[NancysToy]

I don't know for sure which part of the circuit you were on, or whether you tested at an opened connector or into a connected wire, but there is a trick to this. Black is ground (earth) on the Spyder unless you have one of the miswired ones. If the circuit has a load on it from a light or something, the ground will show 12 volts, though. It has to be disconnected from any load to read zero volts. Hope this helps. BTW, you can follow the lines on the CD better if you print out the circuit diagram pages.

I don't know if the nanny will react to the trailer lighting load. You may have to use a self powered isolating converter. If you are connecting to a trailer without separate turn signals, you will have to use a "3-to-2" converter to get correct light function. Someone who has hooked up a trailer to their Spyder should be able to assist you further.

 

[Big Arm]

I don't know if the nanny will react to the trailer lighting load. You may have to use a self powered isolating converter. If you are connecting to a trailer without separate turn signals, you will have to use a "3-to-2" converter to get correct light function. Someone who has hooked up a trailer to their Spyder should be able to assist you further.

Since I have a Bushtec trailer, I purchased the wiring harness from them. They do use an isolator in the circuit.
The way it works is the brake, each turn signal and running light are tapped into, and each pulls in a relay. One contact in each relay is feed hot at all times and is fused with a 15amp fuse. The other contact in each relay, goes to the corresponding light......break....left turn...etc.
They also fuse the ground wire at 15amp which supplies the netural for each of the relay coils, plus the netural for the trailer.
If you didn't use an isolator, I would think the nanny may notice :dontknow:
but why take the chance? The wiring to the Spyder's lights is not very large, so pulling in a relay is nothing compared to pulling in more trailer lights and added to the circuit's load.
Hope I didn't make this too complicated.

 

[sabunim5]

I have had my trailer hooked up just like I would with any other vehicle for over a year and one half. No converter etc. No problems from the Nanny. I did use a five wire plug instead of a 4 wire plug. My ground was not hot, although I have read of some units that were miswired. Good luck on your installation. :thumbup:

 

[flyjake]

I have had my trailer hooked up just like I would with any other vehicle for over a year and one half. No converter etc. No problems from the Nanny. I did use a five wire plug instead of a 4 wire plug. My ground was not hot, although I have read of some units that were miswired. Good luck on your installation. :thumbup:

Same way here. Just tied into the rear signal and brake wires. The only additional thing I did was to change out my trailer bulbs to LED's to reduce current draw on the system. Put over 1000 miles pulling the trailer with no problems at all.

 

[Neez]

I printed out the circuit drawings and taped them together on a 25 inch by 40 inch piece of hard cardboard, trimming the edges so that the wiring is continuous. I store it in the back of a closet and bring it out when I need to trace a circuit. Works good.