Trailer connectors in North America

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A number of standards apply in North America, or parts thereof, to trailer connectors, electrical connectors between vehicles and trailers that they attract that provide control means for trailers.

Video Trailer connectors in North America

Introduction

In the North American market, it is very common for brake lights and converting signals to be combined.

In light cars and trucks (listed below as Light Vehicles) there is no formal standard, instead there are many contacts with more or less acceptable standards. However, you can not be entirely sure until you have measured the current connectors on vehicles and trailers that match each other.

The Heavy Vehicle is standardized via SAE J560 which is similar to ISO 1185.

Note that different color encodings can be used for certain functions, which means that you can not trust the colors mentioned here without measuring contacts and cables from one case to another. In some cases - such as on a 4-pin or 5-pin flat connector - be quite clear which color is connected to which pin.

If you have a vehicle that separates the lights of the left and right position to 58L and 58R - like many German cars - it is advisable to choose 58L to feed the taillights. Both of these circuits should not be combined because they can cause problems inside the towing vehicle. If you want more advanced you can make a simple connection with two diodes that provide balanced load of the circuit. Note that the diodes must be capable of handling high currents or that they should control the relays which in turn feed the trailer. If you have a trailer with lots of lights, diodes and wiring relays are preferred, but if you have a trailer with a simple lighting arrangement, it is usually enough to transfer to 58L.

In the market there are many special converters that solve the problem of connecting a car with a European cable to a trailer with North American cable. What most of these converters do is unite turn signals and stop light signals from a three-wire solution using 54, L and R into a two-wire solution using L54 and R54 according to DIN where brake lights and turning indicators use wire and bulb the same for each side. This converter typically does not handle the case of a separate position light circuit for left and right in towing vehicles.

Maps Trailer connectors in North America

Heavy duty vehicles - SAE J560

Physical design according to ISO 1185/SAE J560 standard.

The plug for SAE J560 is physically identical to the ISO 1185 connector. The difference is that the J560 indicates that the voltage should be 12V and that the wire area should be larger because higher currents are required when using 12V compared to 24V. Some pins on the connector also have slightly different functions.

The functional difference is small, but differences in voltage and current requirements make SAE J560 and ISO 1185 incompatible without the use of additional equipment in the form of voltage converters. You also need to pay special attention to pin 7.

Note that the SAE J560 connector does not control the brakes. SAE J560 is commonly used on heavy duty trucks and trailers with pneumatic brakes where only power to the ABS unit and braking indication with brake light signals is required. The brakes themselves are controlled using air pressure.

The SAE J560 was introduced in 1951, meaning that older heavy-duty vehicles (vintage) may have other connectors.

The following additional information is available for connectors:

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Light vehicle, general connector type

Light vehicles use multiple contacts, but among them are the two most common:

• 4-pin flat connector, often used for simpler snippets.
• 7-pin round knife connector, often used in caravans/RVs etc.

Because of this there is an integrated vehicle outlet in the market that combines the two into one module.

7-pin blade connector

This is common for RVs and other large trailers that have extra charge beyond the base for tail lights and brake/turn signals.

6-pin spin connector

This contact occurs on a moderate task trailer where you want a reverse lamp and an electric brake.

Flat 5-pin connector

This contact is uncommon, but compatible with a 4-pin connector in the way that a towing vehicle with this connector can be connected to a trailer with a 4-pin flat connector.

Extra connections are often used to block brake spikes when inverted with trailers.

4-pin flat connector

This contact is one of the most frequent contacts on trucks in North America. It contains the minimum signals required to address regulatory requirements in the United States.

src: electricalwiringdiagrams.us

Connector less common

This contact is less common, and this may be different from the one listed here, as well as the Application area. Contacts can be used for example for task lighting, etc. SAE J560-like, type 2

Although this has a physical similarity with SAE J560 is not electrically compatible, and should be avoided. The wiring must comply with the SAE J560 instead to avoid problems.

6-pin hexagon connector

Since this connector has pins in two lines, it is not compatible with 4-pin and 5-pin flat connectors.

5-pin rotary connector

This contact is less common, and may have cables that are completely different from what is shown here. The cable is the same as for a 6-pin round connector with a central pin (reversing light) excluded.

4-pin round connector

This connector is available in some cases, not a flat 4-pin connector.

src: www.b2networks.co

References

Symbol Guide

Source of the article : Wikipedia