What is it and why should every truck have one?

CutHighnLetFly said:
Has to do with shitty wiring on a trailer not blowing fuses or something on your truck?
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Bingo.

It isolates the truck from the trailer. The trailer will get its power from the dedicated circuit. The individual fuses isolate a fault to an individual switch leg. I have 15 amp fuses in each now.

If the trailer is shorting while driving you will at least have half of the lights and all the truck lights.

One relay is for the running lights, one is for stop/left turn and the other is for stop/right turn. The space is for reverse lights or something else.

This could incorporate a converter relay to convert between 6 way heavy duty DOT and 7 way RV wiring. It could also combine separate stop and turn signals. I just needed the three relays.
 
TallTreeClimber said:
So I tow my boat with my car, are you telling me that when I dip the boat off into the water, the water could possibly short my boat lights and simultaneously my car lights?

I'd never given it much thought before.
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it is possible. I recommend unplugging the trailer lights before giving the boat a dip. That is what I do. Even with an isolator, it is good practice to unplug the lights.
 
TallTreeClimber said:
So I tow my boat with my car, are you telling me that when I dip the boat off into the water, the water could possibly short my boat lights and simultaneously my car lights?

I'd never given it much thought before.
Click to expand...

Pure water is not a conductor, Fresh water is a poor conductor, salt water is a so so conductor......so when it comes to 12 volts the conductance of even salt water is usually only enough to present itself as an additional load of approx. 2.4 amps per saturated bulb socket.

That said over time water can form a conductive deposit that will present itself as a short.
 
Dielectric grease became a tool in my trailer light rewiring toolbox. It’s for electrical connections that might need to come apart like bulbs and plugs

It’s cousin dielectric silicone sits next to it. Use it for connections that aren’t coming apart. Butt crimped connections are filled before stripped ends go in for crimping. Soldering then a cover of silicone before heat shrink has almost eliminated rewiring headaches

Using exterior extension cords is so much better than the four wire stuff. No need for slit-flex tubing

Keep your eye peeled on trash day for old extension cords
 
Tom Dunlap said:
Dielectric grease became a tool in my trailer light rewiring toolbox. It’s for electrical connections that might need to come apart like bulbs and plugs

It’s cousin dielectric silicone sits next to it. Use it for connections that aren’t coming apart. Butt crimped connections are filled before stripped ends go in for crimping. Soldering then a cover of silicone before heat shrink has almost eliminated rewiring headaches

Using exterior extension cords is so much better than the four wire stuff. No need for slit-flex tubing

Keep your eye peeled on trash day for old extension cords
Click to expand...

I would recommend trailer cable.
https://www.waytekwire.com/item/WT702/RV-Trailer-Cable-7-Conductor/

I have run it all over my truck. It is great for running circuits from under the hood to the back bumper.

I also recommend heat shrink on all connections. I prefer the heat shrink crimp on connectors with sealant in the connector.
 
New2trees said:
Pure water is not a conductor, Fresh water is a poor conductor, salt water is a so so conductor......so when it comes to 12 volts the conductance of even salt water is usually only enough to present itself as an additional load of approx. 2.4 amps per saturated bulb socket.

That said over time water can form a conductive deposit that will present itself as a short.
Click to expand...

It is not the water that shorts out the trailer, it is like you said. The water left behind can cause problems. I unplug my lights just as an extra precaution. What if a wire gets nicked by something under water or a light gets knocked off by a rock or the dock? Not likely but possible.

I tend to overbuild things in order to prevent modes of failure I have witnessed on other peoples rigs. Or I overbuild to prevent failures I have experienced on my own equipment. In this case I have seen a boat launch where a light got knocked off during the launch. The running light wire shorted to the frame and did not blow the fuse. It melted that lighting circuit going to the 7 way connector. They drove home with no trailer lights. If they had unplugged the lights the vehicle wiring would have been fine and they would have had one brake light for the drive home.
 
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