Trailer wiring mods March 27, 2018, 01:15:16 pm Hi Larry. I said I would send you a picture of this at the Morro Bay get together. I bought a used 2001 Midbath for friends (they paid). When I got it home, the brake running lights flickered and only the two outer fixtures had bulbs. When I put in four bulbs, the lights were almost invisible. The wiring done by someone (post factory) was a 'Hack job'. The rear marker light wires and brake light wires were just wrapped around the crimped coupler, not soldered, no evidence of tape or anything else to secure it. At least the wires were clean. So I put in LED lights and a buffer.Handy to have a factory provided cubby hole to put everything into. The wood piece at the bottom of the picture is just a loose piece to check that nothing sticks out farther than the side pieces. Fiberglass padding was replaced before the access panel was put back on. The far left wireloom bundle goes through the floor to the seven pin 'Universal' RV connector I added just below the bumper, left of the receiver. Most of those wires come from the Modulite Ultra buffer. The 119192 is current limited, short circuit protected, etc. The wire bundle just next to that is Lazy Daze provided wiring coming in. Next from left is the #8 wiring power, and ground sourced from the chassis battery with a 40A self resetting Circuit Breaker. I included a wire to light up on the dash when the Auxiliary towed brake system activates the brakes. Incoming plus 12 vdc goes to two 20A self resetting breakers (with heat sinks). One provides power to the Modulite. The other provides power to the 'brake light' signal relay provided by A DrawTite 2 to 3 wire adaptor located under the spare tire cover (lots of room, no tire). That module provides power to the high mounted third brake light mounted on the 'tire' cover. The module gets its inputs from the LD provided wiring going to the now abandoned 4-wire trailer plug on the tire cover. That plug was removed, blanked off with a piece of aluminum, and painted over. The fourth bundle coming up from below the floor has the wires that used to go to the 4 pin connector. Now the 'used to be running lights wire' brings the brake signal back to a relay at the right. The up to 20A. current provided by the second circuit breaker, along with the relay allows an isolated brake signal to operate the towed's aux brake system. It also can supply power to the towed vehicle's battery to keep it charged up. I have a Toad Charge battery charger mounted next to the battery on my Tracker. Picture included. The motorhome we named 'Apple' (red and white like a McIntosh fruit) had lots of wiring challenges. Eventually all outside lights including the patio light were converted to LED. Most inside lights were converted also. The Peterson marker lights suffered from poor design. I repaired all ten and put in LED bulbs. I bought new lenses at the LD factory. Todd told me he bought the last remaining fixtures and caps because PM had discontinued them. I bought 100 caps online, and when I tried to buy more later, they had run out of stock, and couldn't restock them. I guess I emptied that seller out. Hopefully this Tekonsha part will be durable. My friends spent the winter touring the south east part of the country. They are unsure if they are going to keep 'Apple', or sell her when they return to their boat, presently in a heated warehouse in Wisconsin. They plan to continue their 'Great Circle' tour out to the eastern seaboard this summer. RonB
Re: Trailer wiring mods Reply #1 – March 27, 2018, 01:41:27 pm RonNice job. Thanks for the photos.For those who don't understand why he did this, the older, pre-2004 LDs had undersize wires running to the rear of the coach, for use with towing lights. The small wires produced too much voltage drop and the toad or trailer light can be very dim and next to useless. Most modern toad brake systems use the toad's battery to power the brake unit, draining the toad's battery.Installing a Toad-Charge allows the LD's alternator to power and charge the toad's battery safely.When the alternator isn't producing 13+ volts, it disconnected the connection to the toad, preventing discharging the LD's starting battery. It's very useful on toads with small batteries, such as Honda Fits and CRVs.Larry
Topic: Trailer wiring mods (Read 154 times)
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Topic: Trailer wiring mods (Read 154 times)
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