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Sparking ground wire

Projectus

Contributing Member
Today I hooked up the boat to the truck for the first time this year.
The trailer lights didn't turn on.
The ground wire had been glued to the trailer tongue when I bought it, and it always worked so I left it.
I wiggled the ground wire and it came loose. I touched it to a few different spots on the tongue until the lights came on. But, the ground wire sparked each time it touched the trailer, and then would stop sparking and the lights would work.
I'm not great with electrical stuff.
Anyone ever had a sparking ground wire?
 
When you are touching the ground wire to the frame you are just completing the circuit. Drill and tap a hole in the frame, install a round connector to the ground wire, and bolt it to the frame. Make sure that you sand away any paint around the hole so that the newly installed connector makes really good contact.

If you really want to do it right, run separate (white) ground wires from each light on the trailer all the way up to the tongue of the trailer and wire in a waterproof disconnect. That way, you do not need to depend on the frame to supply ground to the lights which will save you hours of troubleshooting non-working lights.
 
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