trailer wiring

[Charlie from Illinois]

I am changing the rear tire and while I have things off I am going to wire in for the trailer. What is the best way to tap into the wiring under the trunk? I have cut away the insulation before on stuff and then soldered on an extra wire. I didn't know if this was the best way for wiring in the trailer plug or not?

[Chris near Kansas City]

You got it! Solder, then tape or heat shrink the connection. I put in a connector so that I could disconnect the wiring if needed.

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

If using shrink tubing, remember to put a piece on the wire before you twist them together!
I suggest fanning out the wires and intertwining them rather than just a simple twist. They can corrode and give intermittent connection if not cleaned properly. I have more than once split a connection to strip it back and redo it because someone else just casually gave a half hearted twist and wrapped with tape. Moisture and corrosion will drive you crazy , so give it one more minute of time when doing it so you don't need to invest hours troubleshoting a year down the road!

[MTN99]

Charlie,

Did the same as Chris, soldered & used another connection so if I needed to disconnect the wiring to remove the rear fender for whatever reason I could.

Used a Hoppy 5-4 kit. it came with a long length of 4color wiring & plug. Got mine at our local NAPA dealer, P/N 48845.
VERY important..... Make sure you secure the wiring out of the way of any moving objects... (Like a tire) Tape or zip-tye it so it stays put.
Itza little embarassing after you spend 1/2 hour or so cleaning connections, checking bulbs, fuses and ??? just to find out the wiring got just a little too close to the tire.

Not that anything like that ever happened to me........