LED trailer light maintenance

[Joatmon]

I did not see a LED trailer light maintenance tip so someone may find this helpful. I trailer my boat in salt water and I started having issues with the clearance lights not working. Even though I unplug the lights at the ramp corrosion will eventually disrupt the ground connection.

A little maintenance fixed the issue. Not all lights will be same but the principle is the same.

Remove (unbolt) the lamp from the trailer. No need to disconnect the wiring.

Since the trailer is painted the mounting bolt is the ground circuit path. It then goes though the metal lamp frame and then through the sealed lamp ground tab to the LED's.

Remove the metal lamp frame from the sealed lamp housing. Should be small screws. Do NOT attempt to disassemble the sealed lamp housing.

The mounting bolt should fall out of the frame. Scrape off the corrosion from the bolt especially from under the bolt head.

There will be a metal grounding tab in the back of the sealed lamp housing. Scrape off the corrosion. Slightly bend the ground tab outward so it makes a good connection with the frame.

Apply tune up Dielectric Grease (conductive) to the housing tab, under the bolt head and on bolt threads then reassemble the lamp. Slather the conductive grease around the bolt and nut.

I used Permatex dielectric grease from Advanced Auto but any auto parts store should have.

Worked like a champ.

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

Just an FYI, geophysicist here and studied electrical properties quite a bit. Dielectric grease is NOT conductive. In fact, it's the opposite, that's what dielectric means. This is a very, very common misconception since it's often used on electrical connections plus it has the word "electric" in it. It DOES protect connections and such, but it should not be applied on contacts. You should clean the contacts, establish a solid connection and THEN apply the dielectric grease on the surface to protect it from corrosion and other stuff. https://www.farmandfleet.com/blog/what-is-dielectric-grease/

With that being said, it still works because there is usually plenty of contact surface to get electrons across the grease. But you should apply after, not before. I see this over and over again... I wanted to set the record straight. But otherwise it's good info! lol Thanks for the tips!

 

[Joatmon]

I checked with my trusty Fluke meter and you are absolutely right. I thought I have checked when I purchased and read continuity but I must of been touching the tube or probes.

So far it is preventing corrosion and keeps the lights on.

Thanks for the correction. I want to learn something new each day. Now I know.

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

lol Yep, it's a super common misconception. I've seen it posted on the forum many times and I usually bite my tongue. lol But it will often not matter because of the shear surface area being used... somewhere a connection is established and it therefore works. I work with instruments that require extremely good contacts (in aircrafts) and dielectric grease is evil...

But with that being said, I apply it over top of every connection. So when I re-install the battery in the boat, after cleaning and tightening the nuts, I then slater dielectric grease over the connections on the exposed metal everywhere to prevent corrosion. It MAY also help in the event of a tool bridging the two contacts and creating a short circuit... MAY! lol I wouldn't rely on a bit of non-conductive grease to protect the battery from this situation. Rubber covers are best.

Anyways, I learn a lot from this forum on stuff I am definitely NOT aware of... so hopefully this "correction" doesn't deter anyone from posting possible tips and tricks. As long as everybody is open minded on learning things like you!

 

[Joatmon]

Same with silicon based grease in the food packaging industry. Prohibited from entering the building.

So the standard petroleum/clay based grease would be just as effective?

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

If it's conductive, it would work just fine yep! But not sure it's needed. In the case of a battery, I wold argue you would be better with the dielectric grease on top of the terminals to prevent potential shorts as mentioned earlier. Where the contacts are, nothing or something conductive would do the trick. But if slather dielectric stuff on top, then there's no need to add conductive grease at the contacts. That stuff only needs to be applied if you have flaky connections where the conductive grease can help.

In the end, avoiding air and water contact will maintain those connections longer. Between those two materials, doesn't really matter what's on top for that purpose... but to prevent shorts, dielectric grease is better. Inside, I would put nothing unless you're not planning on putting dielectric grease on top, then you'd probably be better to put something to keep the actual contact surfaces from oxidizing and maintain connection.

In the end, end None of this really matters... lol As long as things are tight reasonably clean, things will work just fine. You're just saving yourself the trouble of having to scrub with a wire brush various contacts once a year and reducing the likelihood of a connection failing mid-season.

 

[Liveto99]

FYI liquid electrical tape Conducts electricity until it is fully dried I learned that the hard way. I checked it with a meter after also.