Synful
30-08-2008, 03:12 PM
G'day all,
Well with all the bloody gales here in Cairns lately, it's been a good time to do some boat / trailer / gear maintenance
I really didn't get the choice in the matter as my trailer brake and right hand indicator weren't working so bottom line was that I wasn't going fishing until I got them fixed - period.
After going down to SuperCheap, I got some replacement bulbs incase they were the culprits and let's face it; it's always good to have some spares if they weren't the cause anyway. So a few dollars later I had my set of replacement bulbs and heading home.
On checking the bulbs, one of them needed replacing so i was glad I put in the effort to get them anyway. The others seemed to be fine, so they weren't the cause of the trailer indicator / brake light not working.
A quick look at my connector showed that the terminals were corroded so I headed off it the hardware shop to get some fine grade sandpaper. After cleaning the terminals up; the trailer was ready for another test. Nope! No good, so the problem looked like a possible wiring issue.
All the cabling at the rear of the trailer looked ok so I doubted that that was the case; I then went back tot he trailer connector again and this time had a look inside it.
The internals of the connector were all rusted and the screws in the terminals were not able to be turned they were rusted so badly. Hardly surprising that the indicators or the brake lights weren't working!
So last weekend, I headed off back to SuperCheap again and picked up a trailer connector for about $7.00; today I decided that I was going to replace the unit hell west or crooked.
Now it probably isn't a major thing and in the end it wasn't; but I am not the most confident person when it comes to auto electrics, so my confidence is probably justified.
In the end, the job took around 15 to 25 minutes to replace and test.
Now, here's my advice to anyone buying a new or second hand boat:
"Before you put the boat into the water, take apart your trailer connector and spray it with corrosion inhibitor".
My boat was new and it looks like Quintrex didn't bother to use inhibitor on the trailer connector, which is a bit disappointing. Now it's fair to say that I shouldn't have had the connector close to the water to begin with, which I wasn't aware of anyway.
But then again I don't usually cater for some idiot causing a bow wash near the ramp but it does happen regrettably. The new connector has been given a good coating of corrosion inhibitor - once bitten, twice shy! ;D
The attached photos show the mess the original was in, the new connector (major difference) and Matt supervising the whole operation 8-)
Well with all the bloody gales here in Cairns lately, it's been a good time to do some boat / trailer / gear maintenance
I really didn't get the choice in the matter as my trailer brake and right hand indicator weren't working so bottom line was that I wasn't going fishing until I got them fixed - period.
After going down to SuperCheap, I got some replacement bulbs incase they were the culprits and let's face it; it's always good to have some spares if they weren't the cause anyway. So a few dollars later I had my set of replacement bulbs and heading home.
On checking the bulbs, one of them needed replacing so i was glad I put in the effort to get them anyway. The others seemed to be fine, so they weren't the cause of the trailer indicator / brake light not working.
A quick look at my connector showed that the terminals were corroded so I headed off it the hardware shop to get some fine grade sandpaper. After cleaning the terminals up; the trailer was ready for another test. Nope! No good, so the problem looked like a possible wiring issue.
All the cabling at the rear of the trailer looked ok so I doubted that that was the case; I then went back tot he trailer connector again and this time had a look inside it.
The internals of the connector were all rusted and the screws in the terminals were not able to be turned they were rusted so badly. Hardly surprising that the indicators or the brake lights weren't working!
So last weekend, I headed off back to SuperCheap again and picked up a trailer connector for about $7.00; today I decided that I was going to replace the unit hell west or crooked.
Now it probably isn't a major thing and in the end it wasn't; but I am not the most confident person when it comes to auto electrics, so my confidence is probably justified.
In the end, the job took around 15 to 25 minutes to replace and test.
Now, here's my advice to anyone buying a new or second hand boat:
"Before you put the boat into the water, take apart your trailer connector and spray it with corrosion inhibitor".
My boat was new and it looks like Quintrex didn't bother to use inhibitor on the trailer connector, which is a bit disappointing. Now it's fair to say that I shouldn't have had the connector close to the water to begin with, which I wasn't aware of anyway.
But then again I don't usually cater for some idiot causing a bow wash near the ramp but it does happen regrettably. The new connector has been given a good coating of corrosion inhibitor - once bitten, twice shy! ;D
The attached photos show the mess the original was in, the new connector (major difference) and Matt supervising the whole operation 8-)