Wire Brushing My Ball and Other Trailer Maintenance

[SawyerTed]

If you are are like me, somethings get overlooked like rusty balls....um for hitches, for um pulling various trailers.  :D :D

The ball and coupler are what provides the ground for lights and brakes, of course.  A rusty ball causes a bad ground and squirrelly light and brake functions.  

Forty years ago, keeping the hitch ball clean was the last thing on my mind when getting the boat trailer of other trailer hitched to go somewhere.  Then the lights wouldn't work right and I knew they did when I parked the trailer.  A period of fussing and wiring diagnosis followed and the lights were still squirrelly acting. 

Then when I whacked my leg on a rusty ball hitch a BFO (blinding flash of the obvious) hit me!  Wire brush my balls...um for hitches for pulling trailers.  

A lot of lights get their ground from their mount. This is another place to look for light problems.  

I grease my ball (I know  :D) on the travel trailer hitch and keep a cover on it.  Do occasionally grease the couplers on other trailers but apparently not often enough to keep the balls from rusting.

Too many of us overlook simple stuff "and we are suffering and don't know it."  A Yellowhammerism.  

[btulloh]

Maybe I should be brushing my balls but never had the ground issue. Usually I just let normal usage clean my balls to an acceptable degree. I suppose I'm just lazy but so far so good. 

[YellowHammer]

I agree, ain't nothing like busting shins on rusty balls. :D :D :D

[doc henderson]

many electric couplers have a ground.  it is almost always the ground that causes the problem with 12v systems.  I assume the "part" is in the middle when you brush your balls.       8)

[btulloh]

Right on, Doc.  The center electrode is the key to successful coupling. 

[terrifictimbersllc]

Ball coupler instructions for my boat trailer specify a minimum ball diameter below which presumably a ball should be discarded. I don't know if anyone monitors this or obeys it.I'm sure you don't want your ball to fall out of where it is supposed to be.

[Magicman]

The ball and coupler are what provides the ground for lights and brakes, of course.

Actually the ball connection should not be the only grounding source.  All trailer wiring pigtails have a white ground wire which should be connected to both the tow vehicle and the towed trailer, etc.

[SawyerTed]

:D :D

Most 4 and 5 wire trailer light systems have a white ground wire attached to the trailer for ground.  I've never seen ground wires run to lights from the plugs.  That's been true on every trailer I've owned.  Light grounds are typically connected to the frame. 

If the ground on the vehicle and the ground in the trailer aren't common through the hitch, lights and brakes won't get full voltage from the tow vehicle. 

Six and 7 pin RV and heavier trailer light/brake systems do use the 1 pin in the plug to get the ground.  But the trailer frame and vehicle ground need to be at the same potential, connected through the hitch.  

[doc henderson]

true, they attach to the metal frames truck and trailer but span the hitch and ball.  but often the light do not work for the first mile or two.   ;)  most trailer lights use the mounting studs as their connection to the frame and common/ground.  if is really the neg. return to the battery for a circuit.

[SawyerTed]

Ok, I'm no too old and proud to admit I can learn something new!  I have now seen grounds run to the lights on a trailer!  On my new boat trailer!  

I took a stroll around the yard and looked at the six trailers here right now.  Five have a ground wire to the frame.  One, mentioned above, has ground wires run from the plug to the lights AND a ground to the trailer.  

Most light kits are like the one below. Short white ground wires with the instructions as pictured, a white ground to the frame. 


 My nes boat trailer with grounds to the lights.  



 

A friend of mine compares trailer lights to women "They are among the most exasperating wonders of the world!"

[doc henderson]

It looks aluminum.  I bet they are finding that the metals in the light studs, and aluminum end up with corrosion/electrolysis and have even more problems.  a few strands of copper wire might decrease some frustration, especially with metal immersed in water and even salt water, and set half the year.

[doc henderson]

ST sure... a "friend" of yours...???    ;) :D

[btulloh]

Just reiterating what MM said, the ball is definitely not a necessary or desirable part of the ground connection to the trailer frame. If it seems to be necessary to make your lights work, that would indicate a problem in the wiring or trailer connector. If, for instance, the ground wire connection between the harness and trailer frame is bad the trailer frame may pick up a ground from the ball and hitch, but that would be iffy at best.  There's too much paint, etc in the hitch ball//coupler/receiver etc to count on a ground connection through the hitch.  Ideally, a squirt of oil or a bit of grease should be applied to the ball occasionally. (Or just rely on the rust to reduce friction like I do. lol )

[scsmith42]

  Wire brush my balls...um for hitches for pulling trailers.  

 

You're tougher than I am....    :D
Every one of my trailers has a dedicated ground wire - both on the tow vehicle end as well as the trailer end.  On the trailer side, the ground wire from the connector is attached to the trailer frame.
I have no issues with flickering lights...

[K-Guy]

I think he just likes talking about balls!! Just sayin'   smiley_jester

[Southside]

There are specialty shops you can go to for this type of maintenance.  Not sure on pricing. 

[TroyC]

I wired a trailer recently with the white ground connected to the frame. White light housing wire connected to trailer frame at rear.  Plugged it up and lights were intermittent. Discovered that where the trailer rails bolted together there was enough corrosion in the joints to not pass a decent voltage. Ran a ground from white at front of trailer to rear ground and everything is good. Learn something new everyday!

[Jim_Rogers]

Speaking of trailers and such.
Yesterday, I was helping a family member move and had a flat on my bobcat trailer:


 
My stepson in law had a jack, which I didn't have with me. And we got it up and off.
Next, we had to use the on-board spare:


 
Beautiful spare been on the mounting bracket since I bought the trailer. Secured with a locking lug nut. 

Key won't open the lock. I guess I've got to use some blue creeper on it and see if I can get it to open up.

I had to take the flat to the tire store and buy a new tire because we couldn't get the spare free from the bracket.
Jim Rogers
No balls were hurt during this busting experience.

[Magicman]

Yes, the white wire should be connected to the trailer frame and most trailer lights have no actual ground wire so the light housing is grounded through the mounting bolts. 

The vehicle pigtail, etc. white wire has to be connected to the vehicle frame.

The trailer lights should work properly without the trailer being coupled to the vehicle ball.

[gspren]

  I agree with Magic, when I work on trailer lights I usually don't hook the trailer to the ball and I have some of the nicest balls there are.

[Tom King]

My first boat trailer was for an inboard ski boat.  You had to back it in the water to get the boat on and off.  I took it to college with me the last year, and used it in saltwater.  I didn't know much about mechanical, or electrical stuff back then (early 1970's).  Florida cops didn't think much back then of a trailer without working lights.

With all the trouble I had with the wiring on that trailer, every single trailer I've had since then gets rewired soon after I get it.  Every light has a wired ground, wiring is tin coated copper marine wire, all connections are soldered with rosin core solder,  covered with 3M 33+ electrical tape with silicone sealant over the tape (for the ones before I ever saw heat shrink tubing with sealant inside (what I've used since it came out).

I haven't had trailer light problems since that first one.  It had the common copper coated steel trailer wire using the ball as the ground.

[21incher]

Don't forget to torque your nuts often also. Last thing you want to do is loose a nut on the road. Also a good idea to protect your stud because when dipped in water your nuts can rust to your studs making their removal painful. A quick spray of cosmoline can keep those nuts moving freely later. Blue creeper can provide relief should your nuts get really gooed up with rust. Sometimes rusty balls are the least of your problems. ;D

[SawyerTed]

"Should" is an important word.  The white wire "should" provide ground but doesn't  
always.  

Today I ran the light test in my truck with the boat trailer.  I got intermittent results. The only change was wire brushing the hitch ball and cleaning the coupler.  The lights worked perfectly. 

A Goggle search will confirm that ground between the tow vehicle and trailer does occur through the hitch ball.  

[sawguy21]

I have never relied on the ball and coupler to provide a connection, I use the white wire on the connector to couple the trailer ground to the tow vehicle. For some reason one of my fifth wheel travel trailers needed the house battery hooked up for the trailer external lights to work, never figured that one out.

[Don P]

Shuttling stuff around the site a week or two ago, I was just walking toward the rear of the dump trailer to spot it backing in when I thought he hit the gas. Nope, the truck was still but the trailer was backing down the hill pretty fast. So, no chains on and I hate it when a ball slips out of the hitches. There's 42 bags on a pallet of quicrete, even when they are not on the pallet :.