Trailer marker lights

As I write this, we are coming back from our East Coast fall colors trip, but that is for the next blog entry.

Before leaving, I knew that my umbilical connector was not making great contact. I would get notifications in the truck that the trailer was disconnected but would immediately reconnect. I figured I should look at the connector itself. Here it is:

Just a bit of corrosion there. I don’t know how many years it has been since I replaced it but now was the time to do so.

This connector controls all the electrical (12v) that feeds back to the trailer when traveling (lights, brakes, charging). However, it does not control the next item I needed to fix. The last time we were in Texas, we had to get the trailer inspected as it is part of the registration process. The inspector passed the marker lights on the trailer but said I needed to get them fixed. On our east coast trip, we expected to pass through Texas on the way home and I might get an inspection going there, so I wanted to be ready.

Here is what they looked like:

Still functional, but barely. I have replaced one in the past and learned from that one so I attacked 5 of them this time.

Let’s start with an old one:

Take a small screwdriver and pry up the front and back ends. There are two clips at each end that will separate the bezel from the base.

You can see the Vulkem that Airstream used to seal the hole. Two wires are connecting under the skin. We have to cut those but NOT lose them inside the trailer. We also need to use some butt connectors to connect the new wires from the new lights. Two screws to remove the base and gasket from the trailer.

Time to clean up the area and prep a new light and its components. Here are the parts, the light itself, a chromed base, and a gasket.

The gasket goes right on the trailer, the chrome base on top of that and the light (bezel) tops it all off. Remember that we have to use some butt connectors to attach the new wires to the existing ones. The butt connectors are not really flush and the gasket is pretty thick. We have to make space. I put some relief cuts on the gasket and removed material in the center to accommodate the space the butt connectors will take up.

Now we assemble the layers. Run the wires from the trailer, through the gasket and attach butt connectors

Run the new connectors through the chrome base and attach them to the new wires on the new light.

Secure the base with the screws.

Now we just snap the light onto the base at the front and back.

Now do 4 more! Here is how they look when new!

Let’s hope they pass inspection!