Wiring for extra reverse light

Noted! Thanks for the tip!

 

I'm new to these 7 pin hookups, wondering if the charging terminal can be used safely for a second battery in the bed etc., or do trailers with that hookup also include separate regulators in them?

 

I built a cargo trailer conversion and added a deep cycle to power all the 12v stuff. I wired the trailer with a 7-pin, put in an inline 30A fuse, grounded the accessory battery to the frame and the truck 7-pin kept the accessory battery topped off just fine. Keep in mind it's not meant to hot charge, only to keep it topped off between stops, so make sure its fully charged when you head out. I found this on Amazon and was thinking this is an easy way to charge the accessory- just wire up the battery charge (+) and ground wire to your accessory battery with inline fuses, route them, and voila! I only use my accessory for low amperage lighting and sometimes a 100w inverter and never had a prob with this setup.

$15 CURT 58140 Trailer-Side 7-Pin RV Blade Wiring Harness Connector

https://www.amazon.com/CURT-58140-7...pID=31gYhgDBQIL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

 

This is what I have done so far.. getting the rest of wiring and a temporary switch for it tomorrow.. will be nice for night time loading and unloading boat from fishing/hunting.. backing up should be nicer too

 

Maritimetaco2693
Yes, the third brake light from the topper

 

bump for answers

when people tap into their tow socket, what parts are used?
Aux backup lights typically come with thinner wires hanging off them. Like 16 AWG or something.
But the center (yellow?) wire at the tow connector (probably positive/power) is much thicker. Maybe even 10 AWG.
So if you tap into that wire for power, how do you step down the wiring size to the lights/what parts are used?

Crimp connectors are mostly a uniform barrel (such as 18 AWG) meant to join two wires of the same thin/thickness.
As well as quick-splices/scotchlok.

Less common are step-down splices, that have a different size on each end.
Unless you used a t-tap and then clip on connector that hopefully matches the smaller wire going to the lights

 

If you tap the always hot wire to power the lights you could use a tap on the reverse lights to trigger a relay without adding significant load to the stock reverse lights circuit. Whether you add a relay or not really depends on how much additional current the new lights draw. I swapped in Auxito bulbs instead and they provided all the illumination my backup camera needs for resolving the image so I stopped there and didn’t add the relay but I could see the need if additional pods were mounted that doubled or tripled the draw.

 

FWIW - I added weather pack connectors to the LED lamp wiring (red and black, power and ground. Light is polarity sensitive, so check your wires) In the event I had to replace the fixture, all I wanted to do is "unplug" it. So, one end of the connector is attached to the LED fixture, the other end has blunt cut wires, one for power and the other for ground.
I wouldn't recommend scotch locks in this location. I removed the factory wire harness plug from the seven way. Peeled back the wire loom to access the center pin wire. Using an adjustable wire stripping tool, I stripped back about 3/4" of insulation (does not cut wire). I then soldered the lamp power wire to the exposed center pin, back up wire. I used self bonding silicone tape to insulate the soldered connection (over 5 years ago). I attached the ground wire to one of the 1/4-20 bolts that I used to mount the LED light bracket. Then put it all back together using zip ties to secure the wires.
The location of the LED is somewhat protected by the hitch receiver, if you are dragging your hitch in the dirt, you're probably going the scrape off the light in my location.