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OT weatherproof automotive electrical recepticle

hey, could i ask a off topic question? maybe someone could point me in the right direction. putting a cap on my truck, it seems the way they usually wire up the third brake light is to fish the wire through an already existing hole in the bed stake holes and leave a 2 foot long wire (with plug on end) dangling and flopping around in the bed. i'm afraid that wire is going to get poked and yanked when i haul horse manure, gravel, sand, etc. (when the cap is removed) what i'd think would be ideal would be a flush mount weathertight snap shut receptacle style connection. i had no idea where to look for such a thing but just happened to get lucky and come across these...

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that's the general idea but they're way too heavy and clunky. i don't need an 200 amp connection (what would it be, 15 amp? maybe?). this is just a lightweight two conductor wire.

anyone know of a lightweight snap shut weathertight electrical connector?

or... instead of a snap shut closure, i wondered if i could use a "cigarette lighter" style connector with a rubber "stopper" (like the "powerpoint" connector inside the cab of the truck) but i didn't like the idea of the male end having that big clunky hard plastic (breakable) connector. it seems it would be better if it was small and soft rubbery plastic.

b.w.

Reply to
William Wixon
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Unless the cap is coming off almost every day, I would simply hard wire it (solder and shink tubing) and eliminate the connector completely.

When I need to remove the cap, I cut the wires and re-solder when it goes back on. No connector = nothing to go wrong with a connector.

Jim

Reply to
jim rozen

William Wixon wrote in article ...

weathertight

You can buy a small, four-conductor trailer light connector at an auto parts store such as NAPA.

Some of these connectors also have available - as an option - a cover to protect the connection when it is not connected. The counterman will have to look in his paper Belden catalog to find these.....

I used to sell these to the State to protect the trailer connectors on the trucks that spread the liquid calcium in the winter......nasty stuff!!|

Reply to
*

Reply to
RoyJ

Military lingo calls the snap-shut cover a "toilet seat", e.g.

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Tim.

Reply to
Tim Shoppa

Use a weaterproof outdoor power receptacle and put a standard electrical plug on the cap. Do NOT plug the cap into a regular extention cord.

Reply to
nospam.clare.nce

According to William Wixon :

Hmm ... how many pins do you need? I figure four at a minimum, common ground (should be heavier than the others), Left turn signal, Right turn signal, and brake lights.

You might look into adapting the XLR style of microphone connectors (most are 3-pin, but 4-pin and even 5-pin exist), and make your own "toilet seat" filled with soft rubber to cover it when it is empty.

The XLR connectors have solid metal shells. and you can get either gender in panel mount or cable mount. I would suggest female panel mount and male cable mount for obvious reasons.

Enjoy, DoN.

Reply to
DoN. Nichols

On 22 Sep 2005 05:23:59 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, snipped-for-privacy@d-and-d.com (DoN. Nichols) quickly quoth:

You misspelled that last one, Don. ;) "Tail" lights, 2 turns, and a ground are the minimum.

I prefer the dangling 4-prong rubberized connectors which end behind the bumper. They never drag, never get hurt. Add a longer pigtail to the trailer side and you're set.

It has been my experience that covers on trailer connectors tend to increase corrosion and that the cheap flat connectors are the best value.

William, go here for diagrams:

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bucks, but don't use the wire taps. Strip and solder in the wires, then cover them with black electrical tape.

Alternatively, buy the connector style from

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for about $16. "Hoppy trailer wire harness." It just plugs into the rear harness without splicing.

Vehicles with separate turn/stop lights require a converter.

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Reply to
Larry Jaques

thanks to everyone for their help and suggestions.

i received a private email that so far is the closest thing to what i'm looking for... (wish it was smaller, lighter, plastic, less expensive though)

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thanks Jim. i'd like to take the cap off every now and then (hence the mention of horse manure, gravel, sand, etc.)

thanks "*", those four conductor covers are shown at one of the links i posted. i don't want to use the four conductor wire but a covered receptacle drilled and screwed into the side of the inside of the truck bed.

royj, thanks, there are similar receptacles in the links i posted.

tim, that was funny, "toilet seat". i can imagine the guy behind the counter of an electrical supply place when i go in and ask for a toilet seat. lol.

nospam clare. thanks. i'd like to get something smaller and more lightweight. (as was pointed out to me by the person who sent me the private email, it would not be good to use a trailer receptacle (or a common two prong plug) in case someone borrows the truck and tries plugging stuff in it. better a plug that would be difficult for some unknowing person to plug something into.)

DoN and larry , somehow my original question got sidetracked, i didn't ask about tail lights, brake lights, turn signals. my question was about the "third light" (brake light) in a truck cap. all those connectors were in the links i posted, thanks anyhow.

b.w.

-snip-

Reply to
William Wixon

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