To remove any jacket (not just the shrink on) just use a thread cutter/seam ripper for when you're using a sewing machine. Cheap as cheap gets, very sharp, and with the safe end on it (a small glass bead) you can slide it inside wires without damaging things. Buy like 10 of them and throw them everywhere you can reach in the shop. You'll thank yourself later. :))
Good call on drag week, a few things I found very handy on my trailers was the narva stick on led strip lights mounted on the underside of the doors when open, put out a heap of light and pretty low draw. Also to save rewiring trailers regularly because of the lead to the car getting pulled accidentally is to wire it like hire trailers with a seperate fly lead between car and trailer, or terminate it in a box on the draw bar then have a seperate section to the car.
Good job wing. One additional set of clear lights inside trailer with separate switch inside trailer to turn off lights in interior wired to top runners . Comes in very handy to find stuff inside trailer on side of road at night . If you put set on inside of side doors would light up side of trailer when changing flat tire if needed. Plan ahead and won't need
This is why your channel is so great, you just do the job once and do it right so you can have peace of mind down the road knowing you're not relying on someone else's sketchy work.
From experience, I'd have put some silicone sealant or Sikaflex behind those clearance lamps even if they have a gasket included. At 100kph in inclement you can get a bucketloads of the moist stuff into your trailer cabin. Gaskets move in the extremes of Aussie weather a squirt of poo is simple insurance for keeping your toys dry.
I worked in trailer manufacturing about 15 years ago, it was my job first thing everyday to get yesterdays freshly painted trailers all wired up, we'd build between 6 and 10 everyday and i had only 8 minutes per trailer to get it all done, i wish we had the time to bo it to this level but we did it better than most. We sore some shocking stuff doing repairs on other makes.
I realise this is an older video, Its good to see that you are using the correct tool for crimping the connectors. There are too many videos out there that encourage the use of pliers or side cutters, cos its good enough..
Since you're using 7 core and only need 5, a handy way you can remove the outer sheathing is to just pull one of the wires you don't need down and outside the length of the cable. It'll cut it and come off pretty easy
I was taught never to tin wires before inserting them into screw terminals. With vibration, they WILL become loose. It is better to use pin crimps on the wire ends or at least just tin the last 1-2mm to stop the strands from unravelling.
Benny, for stripping cable outer, look at a JOKARI swivel blade cable stripper ( there are cheaper versions available) they are used by electricians on round cables and are adjustable. btw a heat gun works better on heat shrink.
Nice job! I'd normally recommend putting some dielectric grease in those connectors underneath the trailer, but that might not be necessary in your climate.
Just as a note if you're tying the cable into a knot, if that wire is a signal wire then ensure it is shielded. If it is un-shielded and you tie it into a knot, you could get cross-talk which can mean the lights not working properly.
Totally understandable about the Drag week situation. Absolutely the right choice though given the circumstances. I live in New Jersey and we're still locked down for the most part. Things are starting to open up but it's likely going to be months before things can go back to normal. But, it would be awesome if you could eventually make it to race the Mustang. At least you have an option available. But safety first and there's always next year. Just gives you more time to plan and iron things out to come kick ass in the Cresta.
A small battery box with like a motorcycle battery tied to some led adjustable lights for work light could be useful. Make it charge through the car when it’s connected to the trailer plug.
Put some marker lights on the front of your fenders. It makes it a lot easier to back up at night. I also like to put some dielectric silicone in the connectors to help reduce corrosion.
Wire stripping knife is the best for stripping cable. The ones with the plate on the end so you can run it along the length without damaging the internal wires
I've also used one that looks a bit like a cigar cutter with a rubber band around it. They're absolutely brilliant because it's only the rubber band tension on the blade, so it cuts the sheath but not the internal wiring. Not sure where you'd get them in Aus but uk.rs-online.com/mobile/p/wire-strippers/0181373/
www.totaltools.com.au/27255-jokari-swivel-blade-16mm-cable-stripper-10160?gclid=CjwKCAjw5cL2BRASEiwAENqAPo8sj1Y9qwvvUbYZwSek76fZJdaqmqDZggGpzwKWHHOBIcNPFwVyWxoCsaYQAvD_BwE I've used these before. Must get the knife set right, or you'll cut the cores as well as the outer.
That's a bummer, after meeting you Al and Woody last year I attempted and succeeded in getting a ticket for this year to compete. I was hoping to see you guys again and hopefully that still happens with the Mustang, but I can completely understand your hesitance to come with the current situation here. And if it does get canceled/postponed to 2021 I hope all those who painstakingly got a ticket this year will be honored next year. :)
Here in Finland we electricians use for cable sheating a "Jokari tool" which I believe is universally called a cable knife, most known manufacturer is Jokari, so that is where that professional slang term comes from.
i agree its good to see someone else actually care if they work. Mines just as good if not better. i use medium duty conduit and waterproof boxes from bunnings and terminate all connections there and use waterproof connectors for the electric brakes
Benny, contrary to some rumors, you do not obsess over the details; you step up and smash them to flinders! Couldn't improve the job, short of spending more money for "absolute, 100%, guaranteed top shelf" parts. Sad to hear about US Drag Week, but rather expect able- and very informative about how many of our internationally "co operative" partners, like insurers, are not doing business as usual. Good on Ya', your lot are worth waiting for- I'm sure if you can support Benny and his Mustang, he would be thrilled. Let it be what it can be! KOKO
If you want to cut those cable sleeves quickly, you can use a tool painter's use for cutting drop sheets, on ebay you can find them as "poly sheet slitters" just avoid the no-name ones, I've found they always have dull blades. Soon as you see a photo of one you'll understand why they're so good for cable sleeves
Why the need to "work" with them on a trailer? He wired LED lights: They shouldn't need service before the body needs paint. Wasted time and money. Yes terminals are great, but why!?
Try to find an IDEAL 45-128 sheath stripping tool. Also multi-core cables often have a rip cord, so strip a short length, find the ripcord and pull it back to strip what you need. Regards Brian.
The Earth cable needs to be able to handle all the combined current of the other cables. When using multi-core cable, make sure the White wire is thicker than the others,especially on a trailer with dual axle electric brakes.
That's a real bummer about Drag Week.. before all this Corona stuff I was hoping if you came through Charleston again this time around you might do a meetup. Totally understand though, and will hope it works out next year. Stay safe everyone
To keep the number plate light separate from the left tail light you could have used a six pin connector instead of a four and bridged the park wire to the extra two pins for the number plate.
Black can be Auxiliary or Reverse, depending which packet you look at. I wire black as 12v+, and use it to power switched interior lights in the trailer from the car battery. Although the same thing can be done from the park light circuit, just needs parkers switched on too. Either way, far easier when you want something out of the trailer at night than using a torch. A few strips of cheap camping LED's glued to the roof gives plenty of light and won't drain your car battery real fast if you accidentally leave them on. If you want to see something weird, check out how the US trailers are wired through a four pin plug. Left brake and indicator, right brake and indicator are one wire each as they all have red indicators. Then just tail and earth wires.
If the other option is to put the wires bare, and we've been doing that for eons with no issues (they still do it in aviation, so that's the biggest hurdle of honor as it were) then putting tin on, isn't going to hurt anything. Especially in a screw terminal situation where the tin will keep the strands packed tight for the screw to bite in. Just because someone says something (including myself now) doesn't mean you have to follow it blindly. Use your head and draw your own conclusions, good or bad. In this case, he's a professional, so he knows what he's doing.
In this situation with the low current leds there is probably never going to be an issue. my original comment was in jest. However it is not good practice to apply solder and then apply a force to the solder. The soft solder cracks under pressure and what feels like a solid connection is lose a week later. It ends up making a hot joint and then the solder melts and the wire falls out. Look into how a lot of 3D printer fires start.
when I wire a trailer I always leave an extra 1/2 meter of wire under trailer to allow for the plug end to be replaced as the plug and the cable will get damaged
Add led lighting inside the trailer as well as a cigarette lighter you never know when you will need the 12 volt but you’ll be thankful when you have it
Although great ideas, those aren't part of the standard trailer wiring. Fuse isn't really rated for any meaningful 12V you'd want to run. Lighting is strict. As a result, probably wouldn't pass inspection in AU.
UK viewers at very least can ignore most of this video, not being critical of the way this was done, i just know trailer wiring & this wouldn't last a winter in the UK due to salt. Also our car & van trailer wiring is very different. We have 6 Circuits using 7 wires, side lights left, side lights right, indicators left, indicators right, brake lights, fog lights, Ground. Larger trailers & caravans use a second supplementary plug for reverse lights, fridge power, battery charging, etc.
Smart people make hard decisions. No one has a crystal ball, and everyone has a budget. Sad, but great choice. Really just wishing I had a hoist to do my trailer lights :)
We’ll be doing a separate 12v setup that internal lighting can operate without the trailer being connected to the car , basically a camp trailer setup with a deep cycle battery.
@@BennysCustomWorks My brother and I were chasing a fault with his caravan's lights. As we tracked the wiring we found they had used the aux wire as a trickle charge for the on board battery - now that you have cut that wire out of the loom.
How awesome would it be to have the crestsa parked in my driveway for 3 months let me know Benny I will do it no problem i got space if you do decide to do drag week .
Not all Australian trailer plugs are wired to AS-2513. Some unscrupulous manufacturers use the Reverse signal for Auxiliary power, even though the wiring is not suitable. 1.5mm^2 wire is not enough to safely power a fridge. Even more dangerous, when a vehicle is modified to function with non-standard wiring, and a standard-compliant trailer is connected, the Reverse Lamps will illegally operate when the vehicle is turned on.
Always good stuff Ben 🙂🙂. No reverse lights ? Surprised you don’t put them on or just use both indicators always useful when revering at night (don’t you have to have them to pass inspection?) Cheers
wiring codes are obviously different in Australia than the UK. here you dont have a wire for reversing lights on standard trailer wiring, park and sidelights are one and the same, brake lights are operated from the vehicle, sidelights are wired seperately from 1 side to the other etc., and the colour codes are slightly different it seems. blue here is Foglights, for example
Good on you, Benny. We love to have you here, but... stay away. It's... not good here. :( Hopefully next year or the year after. We're well known for being the country that always does the right thing... after all else fails. :) Also, tip for removing wire sheathing, get a short length of lab tubing or other hose big enough to slip over what you're working with, embed a scraper blade in it just far enough for the depth you need, peel down using your trigger finger to hold blade in place and pull. :) (You still have to feel your way but it's better than slashing a couple hundred times.) (And when you do come back, you could loosen up a bit about the strategy. You guys have a tendency to run before the Hot Rod channel even starts streaming. :) )
Would have been nice to cover that single insulation. Instead of stripping all the insulation from where you joined on for the right tail light, you could have only stripped what you needed for the tee off.
That would make them both common to each other and both will flash when indicating either direction as well as back feeding the reverse lights on the car making them flash.
7 pin flat. Never seen that before. North America it's generally either a four pole flat or a 6/7 pin Bargman end. No wonder your colour code sounded off to me. lol
