7 Pin Electrolosis

[ctshort09 0]

This afternoon my wife said....

"I noticed the

tail lights of the trailer on this morning.

 It's not hooked to the truck.  Are they supposed to be on?"

When I went out to look and sure enough the rear tail lights were on.

 

I went immediately to look first at the "emergency brake" switch and then at the front 7 pin connector...which has a "rubber cover" on it to keep water out.

 

We had 2" of rain in the past day and that rubber 7pin cover did a much better job of keeping the water in.

I drained the connector, blew it out and dried it with air.  Then cleaned it and lubricated it with electrical silicone grease.

 

The lights are no longer on.

 

I'm assuming this was a draw from the house batteries through that connector.

 

Passing along if of any use to folks in the future.

 

If there's a similar post somewhere I didn't find it in a quick search.

 

 

 

 

[Overland 0]

It’s been talked about before, but it’s good to have it brought up again for people who haven’t experienced it. It is odd to go out and see your trailer lights mysteriously glowing.

 

If it’s any consolation, Airstream owners consider this a ‘feature’ and they’ll even purposefully short out the plug to keep their exterior lights on.

[John E Davies 0]

You can clean and dry the inside of the connector and the wire attach points with alcohol and a soft brush (or use spray contact cleaner). Then seal up the cables where they enter the back of the cover with silicone sealer. If you keep the plug dangling down when not in use, it will stay relatively dry inside.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[ctshort09 0]

John,

 

Thanks for the tips...I'll clean and seal it later today.

I'll also be using a couple zip ties to make a simple holder on the tongue under the "basket" so I can stow the plug our of the rain.

[Overland 0]

Another owner recommended this holder for the plug and I can second the recommendation.  It's sturdy, holds the plug securely and seems to do a great job of keeping it dry.  Especially if you combine it with a jack cover like this, you shouldn't have any problems.

[Trainman 0]

For the last 50 years I have just let my trailer plugs hang down, I also try to store it somewhere under the trailer tongue where it is somewhat protected from rain, etc. I give it a shot of electronic grease every year or so, always works for me. I was thinking of purchasing a plug cover, but then thought why, 50 years and no problems.

 

 

 

trainman

[Mainiac 0]

A word of caution. A jumper wire can turn on the lights. But, as was done at the Rally, the bright LED lights of the Ollie can be offensive to other campers. So maybe should only be done at an Airstream Rally to outshine them?

[ctshort09 0]

I've done a modification to add an Optronics 7-Way trailer harness plug protector.

 

Here's the link to the part I used from e-trailer.(Including shipping and tax < $10

 

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Plug-Covers/Optronics/ACP7B.html

 

 

And here's where I mounted it...on the back of my Tongue Box.

I used stainless #10 bolts to mount the unit.

It could be mounted with zip ties to the bottom of the tongue as well if you don't want to drill holes.

 

 

The cover is a semi rigid type of rubber material but with enough flex to make it easy to insert or remove with one hand.

 

In any case, I switched to this after my original "rubber cover" leaked.

 

 

[Trainman 0]

I like it, will order one, trainman