Bought First Boat, Few Questions (Of Course)

[BridgerM]

Got a 14ft Starcraft semi v with trailer and minn kota 35lb trolling motor. And have a 93 ranger as tow vehicle.

 

1. the wiring connector on the trailer is larger than the ranger one, which is corroded and needs to be replaced. I didn't make note of the amount of pins. I am new to this, but it seemed the most logical way to fix this is to replace the corroded one on the ranger with the same type as the trailer connector. Is my logic correct so far? Is the connector something I can pick up at autozone or somewhere?

 

2. The guy we bought it from said he had the trailer wired to be able to charge the trolling battery while its connected to the truck. He wasn't really able to provide more info than that. So, can anyone tell me how this works? Pros and cons? I think i read on here something about trickle charging not being the best way to charge, don't know if that applies here.

 

Thank you

 

Im sure ill have more

[Nitrofreak]

I would not think you need the charge set up for your application,  you could just install a simple 4 wire connector,  which you can get from your local Autozone.

 

Is that the only thing you tow?

[J Francho]

Quote

The guy we bought it from said he had the trailer wired to be able to charge the trolling battery while its connected to the truck. He wasn't really able to provide more info than that. So, can anyone tell me how this works? Pros and cons? I think i read on here something about trickle charging not being the best way to charge, don't know if that applies here.

 

This sounds sketchy.  I hope that's charge line is FUSED.  Sounds like you have a 5-wire harness.  Here's a basic 4-wire trailer diagram.  The white is the ground.  That's what I'd go with for this application.  A trickle charger will work fine with your battery.

 

 

[BassinB]

My father has his musky rig set up so that the truck's alternator will charge the trolling batteries.  It's a pretty slick setup, doesn't take too much complicated wiring from what I understand. Usually requires a 7 pin connector though.

[BridgerM]

On 3/12/2013 at 12:39 PM, Nitrofreak said:

I would not think you need the charge set up for your application,  you could just install a simple 4 wire connector,  which you can get from your local Autozone.

 

Is that the only thing you tow?

 

Yes, currently we are only using the ranger to tow the 14 aluminum boat.

 

plug on the trailer is a 7 pin i believe, i have a pic, link below.This is the trailer connector. It looks like its in good shape, don't want to replace this unless i have to.

 

The receptacle on the ranger is a smaller 4 pin connection, I believe. which is corroded and needs replacement. I would like to replace the corroded ranger 4 pin with a 7 pin receptacle to match what is currently on the trailer. If I can maintain the setup to charge the battery I'd like to do that. So long as it isn't dangerous or cause more problems later on.

 

Good plan or not?

 

 

[Jig Man]

With the lack of info that you seem to have about this setup, I think you'd be wise to contact someone at a shop and have them do the wiring on your truck to keep the charging system or contact the guy from whom you bought the boat and get more info.

[Dogman65]

Yes, currently we are only using the ranger to tow the 14 aluminum boat.

 

plug on the trailer is a 7 pin i believe, i have a pic, link below.This is the trailer connector. It looks like its in good shape, don't want to replace this unless i have to.

 

The receptacle on the ranger is a smaller 4 pin connection, I believe. which is corroded and needs replacement. I would like to replace the corroded ranger 4 pin with a 7 pin receptacle to match what is currently on the trailer. If I can maintain the setup to charge the battery I'd like to do that. So long as it isn't dangerous or cause more problems later on.

 

Good plan or not?

That connector in your picture is a 7pin rv connector.  That is actually becoming the most popular connector for most trailers, although many boat trailers come with a flat (4 or 5) pin if it doesn't have trailer brakes.  You can buy the 7 pin for your truck at auto parts stores, wal marts, lowes....many different places.   To install one on the truck you need to buy one that comes with a metal mount or bracket.  They are generally sold as a unit, you mount the bracket near the hitch and wire the plug and done.  Many of the 7 pins also come as a combination unit that includes the 7 pin, a flat and metal mount.  That way you can connect either to the truck.  You can also buy an adapter to connect a flat plug to your 7 pin.

 

The most complicated issue for you will be tracing the wires on your truck so that you have the individual pins connected to the correct wires.  Get a 12v current tester (one that has a clip for ground then a probe that lights up when it shows current is the most simple, a multi-meter works also) and just test all the wires on your current truck-side plug while using turn signals, brakes, lights etc.  Mark them with tape and you can transfer that to the new plug.  The 7 pins have connectors for trailer brakes (hot and ground) that may be the power source for charging the batteries, I have no idea on that one.

 

One thing I would do is to wire the truck in the standard fashion, most of the pin connectors you buy have the connections marked on them.  So they will be labeled L turn, R turn, Brake lights, Grnd, etc.  This is usually the standard wiring configuration.  On the combo units all you need to do is make the connection to the 7 pin side and it's internally prewired between the 7 pin and flat connector.  If you do this then most any non-modified trailer you tow and hook into your truck plug will then be connected correctly.  Once you do that you need to check the trailer wiring configuration and change it as necessary to comply with the trucks wiring.  All this is pretty simple with the 7 pin connectors.  They come apart and are easy to wire, no splicing required.   

[J Francho]

7-pin?  Does the trailer have brakes?  I'll bet that you only are using 5 of the wires, Left (green), right (yellow), running (brown), ground (white), and it sounds like you are chargng, so another for that (red).  You can get an adapter for that.  My truck is 7 pin, and I have both a 7 to 5 and 7 to 4 pin adapters, since I have two boats, one with brakes.  The adapters I bought are both labeled and have a little light indicator to verify what light is firing.  The big thing will be fishing out that red charge connection to the truck.  I'd probably abandon it, and get a separate charger.