EN
Trailer connectors
in North America
Connected to: !"#$%&'()'*)%$+
,*'-./*$01((/0&+ ,*'-./*$01((/0&+
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article contains instructions, advice, or how-to c…
A number of standards prevail in North
America, or parts of it, for trailer connectors,
the electrical connectors between vehicles and
the trailers they tow that provide a means of
control for the trailers.
Introduction
In North American, but most commonly the
USA market, it is very common for brake lights
and turn signals to be combined.
On cars and light trucks (listed below as Light
Vehicles) there is no formal standard, instead
there is an accepted standard. However, you
can not be entirely sure until you have
measured the current connector on the vehicle
and trailer that they fit each other.
Heavy Vehicles are standardized through SAE
J560 which is similar to ISO 1185.
Note that different color coding can be used for
certain functions, which means that you can
not trust the colors mentioned here without
measuring the contact and wiring from case to
case. In some cases - as in the flat 4-pin or 5-
pin connector - it is fairly obvious which color
that is connected to which pin.
In case you have a vehicle that separates the left
and right side position lights into 58L and 58R -
like many German cars - it is advisable to
choose 58L to feed the taillights. These two
circuits shall not be merged because it can
create problems in the towing vehicle. If you
want to be more advanced you can make a
simple connection with two diodes that provide
balanced load of the circuits. Note that the
diodes have to be able to handle high currents
or that they are used to control a relay which in
turn feeds the trailer. If you have a trailer with a
lot of lights the diode and relay wiring is
preferred, but if you have a trailer with a simple
light arrangement it is usually sufficient to wire
to 58L.
In market there are many special converters[1][2][3]
that solves the problem of connecting a car
with European wiring to a trailer with North
American wiring. What most of these
converters do is to bring together the turn
signals and stop lamp signal from a three-wire
solution using 54, L and R into a two-wire
solution using L54 and R54 according to DIN
where brake light and turn indicator uses the
same wire and bulb for each side. These
converters usually don't handle the case of
separate position light circuits for left and right
side in the towing vehicle.
Heavy duty vehicles -
SAE J560
7-pin trailer connector according to ISO 1185/SAE J560
(Towing vehicle side)
Physical design according to standard ISO 1185[4]
/ SAE J560.[5][6]
The plug for SAE J560 is physically identical to
the connector ISO 1185. The difference is that
J560 indicates that the voltage must be 12V and
that wire areas shall be larger due to the higher
currents needed when using 12V compared to
24V. Some of the pins in the connector have also
a slightly different function.
The functional differences are small, but the
difference in voltage and current requirements
makes the SAE J560 and ISO 1185 incompatible
without the use of additional equipment in the
form of voltage converters. It is also necessary
to pay particular attention to pin 7.
Note that the SAE J560 connector is not
controlling the brakes. SAE J560 is typically
used on heavy duty trucks and trailers with
pneumatic brakes where only the power to the
ABS unit and indication of braking by brake light
signal is required. The brakes themselves are
controlled using air pressure.
SAE J560 was introduced in 1951, which means
that older heavy duty vehicles (vintage) may
have other connectors.
Rec. cross-
# DIN Signal Color section
mm² AWG
1 31 Ground (-) White 10 8
Clearance
lamps/Outline
marker lamps,
58 or
2 Side marker Black 4 12
58L
lamps,
identification
lamps
Left Turn
3 L Yellow 4 12
Signal
4 54 Stop lamps Red 6 10
Right Turn
5 R Green 4 12
Signal
Tail lamps,
58 or
6 registration Brown 4 12
58R
plate lamp
Power to ABS
brakes,
7 Blue 6 10
auxiliary
equipment
The following supplementary information exists
for the connector:
1. ^ Area for pin 7 shall be at least 10 AWG
according to DOT till 10 AWG.[7]
Light vehicles,
common connector
types
Light vehicles use a plethora of contacts,[8][9][10]
but among these are two that are most
common:
4-pin flat connector, often used for simpler
trailers.
7-pin round blade connector, often used in
caravans/RVs etc.
Due to this there are unified vehicle outlets on
the market that combine these two into a single
module.
7-pin round blade connector
(SAE J2863)
7-pin blade connector (Towing vehicle side)
This is common for RVs and other large trailers
which have additional loads beyond the basic
for tail lights and brake/turn signals. The
standard is defined by SAE J2863, Automotive
Trailer Tow Connector.
Rec. cross-
# DIN Signal Color section
mm² AWG
Ground
31 connected to White 4 12
chassis
Left Turn
L54 Signal, Stop Yellow 1.5 16
lamps
Tail lamps,
clearance
lamps/outline
58 marker lamps Brown 1.5 16
and
registration
plate lamp
+12V via
15 Black 4 12
ignition lock
Right Turn
R54 Signal, Stop Green 1.5 16
lamps
Electric brake
Blue 4 12
control
Reversing
lamps,
control
current to Purple 1.5 16
block surge
brakes when
reversing.
6-pin round connector
6-pin round connector (Towing vehicle side)
This contact occurs on medium duty trailers
that have both reverse lights and electric
brakes.
Rec. cross-
# DIN Signal Color section
mm² AWG
31 Ground White 4 12
Left Turn
L54 Signal, Stop Yellow 1.5 16
lamps
Reversing
lamps,
control
current to Purple 1.5 16
block surge
brakes when
reversing.
Right Turn
R54 Signal, Stop Green 1.5 16
lamps
Electric brake
Blue 4 12
control
Tail lamps,
clearance
lamps/outline
58 marker lamps Brown 1.5 16
and
registration
plate lamp
Flat 5-pin connector
Flat 5-pin connector (Towing vehicle side)
This contact is not as common, but is
compatible with the 4-pin connector in the way
that a towing vehicle with this connector can be
connected to a trailer with the 4-pin flat plug.
The extra connection is often used to block the
surge brakes when reversing with the trailer.
Rec. cross-
# DIN Signal Color section
mm² AWG
Ground
31 connected to White 1.5 16
chassis
Tail lamps,
clearance
lamps/outline
58 marker lamps Brown 1.0 18
and
registration
plate lamp
Left Turn
L54 Signal, Stop Yellow 1.0 18
lamps
Right Turn
R54 Signal, Stop Green 1.0 18
lamps
Reversing
lamps,
control
current to Purple 1.0 18
block surge
brakes when
reversing.
Flat 4-pin connector
Flat 4-pin connector (Towing vehicle side)
This contact is one of the most frequent
contacts on the trucks in North America. It
contains the minimum necessary signals for
complying with regulatory requirements in the
United States.
Rec. cross-
# DIN Signal Color section
mm² AWG
Ground
31 connected to White 1.5 16
chassis
Tail lamps,
clearance
lamps/outline
58 marker lamps Brown 1.0 18
and
registration
plate lamp
Left Turn
L54 Signal, Stop Yellow 1.0 18
lamps
Right Turn
R54 Signal, Stop Green 1.0 18
lamps
Less common
connectors
These contacts are less common, and the wiring
of these may differ from what is listed here, as
well as Application area. The contacts can be for
example be used for task lighting, etc.
SAE J560-like, type 1
7-pin SAE J560-like, type 1 (Towing vehicle side)
Although this has physical similarities to SAE
J560, it is not electrically compatible and should
be avoided. Wiring should be made in
accordance with SAE J560 instead to avoid
problems.
Rec. cross-
# DIN Signal Color section
mm² AWG
Ground
1 31 connected to White 10 8
chassis
+12V via
2 15 Black 10 8
ignition lock
Left Turn
3 L54 Signal, Stop Yellow 4 12
lamps
Reversing
lamps,
control
Red or
4 current to 6 10
Purple
block surge
brakes when
reversing.
Right Turn
5 R54 Signal, Stop Green 4 12
lamps
Tail lamps,
clearance
lamps/outline
6 58 marker lamps Brown 4 12
and
registration
plate lamp
Electric brake
7 Blue 6 10
control
SAE J560-like, type 2
7-pin SAE J560-like, type 2 (Towing vehicle side)
Although this has physical similarities to SAE
J560 is not electrically compatible, and shall be
avoided. Wiring shall be in accordance with SAE
J560 instead to avoid problems.
Rec. cross-
# DIN Signal Color section
mm² AWG
Ground
1 31 connected to White 10 8
chassis
Reversing
lamps,
control
Red or
2 current to 6 10
Purple
block surge
brakes when
reversing.
Left Turn
3 L54 Signal, Stop Yellow 4 12
lamps
+12V via
4 15 Black 10 8
ignition lock
Right Turn
5 R54 Signal, Stop Green 4 12
lamps
Tail lamps,
clearance
lamps/outline
6 58 marker lamps Brown 4 12
and
registration
plate lamp
Electric brake
7 Blue 6 10
control
6-pin rectangular connector
6-pin rectangular connector (Towing vehicle side)
Because this connector has pins in two rows, it
is not backwards compatible with the 4-pin and
5-pin flat connectors.
Rec. cross-
# DIN Signal Color section
mm² AWG
Ground
31 connected to White 4 12
chassis
Electric brake
Blue 4 12
control
+12V via
15 Red 4 12
ignition lock
Right Turn
R54 Signal, Stop Green 1.5 16
lamps
Tail lamps,
clearance
lamps/outline
58 marker lamps Brown 1.5 16
and
registration
plate lamp
Left Turn
L54 Signal, Stop Yellow 1.5 16
lamps
5-pin round connector
5-pin round connector (Towing vehicle side)
This contact is less common, and may have
completely different wiring than that shown
here. The wiring is same as for the 6-pin round
connector with center pin (Reversing lamps)
excluded.
Rec. cross-
# DIN Signal Color section
mm² AWG
Ground
31 connected to White 4 12
chassis
Left Turn
L54 Signal, Stop Yellow 1.5 16
lamps
Right Turn
R54 Signal, Stop Green 1.5 16
lamps
Electric brake
Blue 4 12
control
Tail lamps,
clearance
lamps/outline
58 marker lamps Brown 1.5 16
and
registration
plate lamp
4-pin round connector
4-pin round connector (Towing vehicle side)
This connector is available in some cases
instead of the flat 4-pin connector. It is less
common on the U.S.-built vehicles, than 4-pin
flat connector, but is still used in the older truck
and SUV setups. A distinctive feature of the
trailers that require this type of connector is
the fact that they do not have their own braking
system and stop along with the towing vehicle.
[11]
Rec. cross-
# DIN Signal Color section
mm² AWG
Ground
31 connected to White 1.5 16
chassis
Left Turn
L54 Signal, Stop Yellow 1.0 18
lamps
Right Turn
R54 Signal, Stop Green 1.0 18
lamps
Tail lamps,
clearance
lamps/outline
58 marker lamps Brown 1.0 18
and
registration
plate lamp
3-pin round connector –
DIN9680
Introduced by John Deere for agricultural
hardware,[12] then used for other purposes, like
yachts and general electric cables.
Rec. cross-
# DIN Signal Color section Not
mm² AWG
15/30 +12V Red 2.5 ?
Ground
31 connected Black 2.5 ?
to chassis
+12V wire
82 after relay Red ? ?
(lock in)
See also
References
Categories
!"#$%&'()%#$%*'$)+%,-%'%?#@#&)+#'%'./#01)%2.#//)-%*3%0,-/.#*:/,.$
4.)'+5)+#/67
!)8/%#$%'9'#1'*1)%:-+).%/")%AA%BCDEF%G7H%1#0)-$);%'++#/#,-'1%/).<$
<'3%'&&137
=<'()$>%9#+),$%'-+%':+#,%'.)%'9'#1'*1)%:-+).%/")#.%.)$&)0/#9)
1#0)-$)$7
!"#$ ! %&"'()*+ ! ,-$++ ! ./($)012
3$-#+)45).$-6/7$ ! ,-/6178),"9/78
