stupid question - trailer lights

M

Mc Tool

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redneck joe said:
i had to look it up

Why the Difference Exists

    • Tow Vehicle (3-Wire System): Many cars, trucks, and RVs—especially imports or vehicles with amber turn signals—have distinct circuits for the left turn signal, right turn signal, and the brakes.
    • Standard Trailer (2-Wire System): Standard flat 4-way trailer wiring combines the stop and turn functions onto a single yellow wire (left) and a single green wire (right). [1]

Why You Need a Converter

    • If you plug a 3-wire vehicle directly into a 2-wire trailer without a converter, your turn signals and brake lights will not function correctly.
    • Stepping on the brake might override your flashing turn signal, or turning on your blinker might cause your brake lights to flash.
    • A 3-to-2 Wire Taillight Converter safely merges the separate brake and turn signals from your vehicle into the combined circuits required by the trailer. [1]
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Oh yeah ,I forgot you guys wire up your lights all wrong😁 , coz we separate the brake , tail and turn lights . Gotta say tho that I see quite a few US import cars and some big trucks now have the flashing brake light set up too 🙂
 
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airshot

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Mc Tool said:
Oh yeah ,I forgot you guys wire up your lights all wrong😁 , coz we separate the brake , tail and turn lights . Gotta say tho that I see quite a few US import cars and some big trucks now have the flashing brake light set up too 🙂
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Just recently noticed the flashing brake lights on some vehicles. Probably a good idea as to many are not paying attention or on their phones. Something is needed to wake people up !
 
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Mc Tool

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airshot said:
Just recently noticed the flashing brake lights on some vehicles. Probably a good idea as to many are not paying attention or on their phones. Something is needed to wake people up !
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I meant that ....in NZ we have yellow turn signal indicators , the US imports ( Dodge Challenger for instance ) dont , they flash the brake light at the rear and the side light ( we call them park lights ) at the front . Different but still obvious what the intention is .🙂
 
redneck joe

redneck joe

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This is for my new to me utility trailer and on the new tail lights of course there are three wires and the directions do not tell of what to do with them. Had this been the early 80s when i was doing my first ones i would have been clueless and prob blown fuses and bulbs.


ok, off to deal with the old rusted carriage bolts on whats left o the old ones.

and i knocked over my (fake) beer.
 
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airshot

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Mc Tool said:
That thing could be an interface for trailer lights . If your vehicle has led lights it wont like having high drain incandescent bulbs on a trailer hooked up so they have this box that powers the trailer lights .....like a bunch of relays ....gets a power feed from battery 😁
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If anyone's trailer still has incandescent lights....time to upgrade ! Not that expensive to do, or at least upgrade to led bulbs! You won't be sorry. Switched all my trailers over about 10-12 years back...no regrets and not on problem since the change over. Before I did this, I was replacing bulbs every few years and having other socket issues. Now, I always know my lights will work.....
 
alldodge

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You pic shows a 5 wire plug which is made for surge disc brakes and would use solenoid so the trailer could be backed up.

You want a 4 wire plug
 
redneck joe

redneck joe

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well, i'm an idiot.

When i tested power source at the batter all good at the fuse before, at and after. Yellow wire with fuse holder built in.

so naturally I went to the back and tested the yellow wire. Has power so unit must be bad.

Order $80 new one, comes in quickly.

Installing this morning - still dark and wife sleeping and i'm bored so put on my trusty headlamp.

Get all swapped out and went to test on trailer and NOTHING.

Threw out the remaining half cup of coffee to grab one of my fake beers because working on cars boats and things require it even at 0400 on a Thursday.

Blah, blah blah - turns out the yellow at the battery is spliced to a black to continue to the unit at the rear of the vehicle. Go test the incoming black wire at the unit, nothing so apparently the forward splice is bad somewhere that i need to get under the car to see....

Could have happened when replacing clutch or during engine swap.

So now my boys have more crap to find and throw away when i'm dead.
 
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tphoyt

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Changing colors never ends well for the next guy working on it. Can’t say I haven’t done it but I always have colored tape around to mark the end so I don’t have to remember what I did and to try and make it clear to the next guy.
 
redneck joe

redneck joe

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Captain Caveman said:
Well now you've learned your lesson. Never swap engines! 🙃
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gee wish i had thought of that...

last year or so i've got about $10k into a car worth prob $4, but similar to the 'new' house - not much else to go wrong and it is done the way god intended. A natural diesel will last forever.
 
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Pmt133

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redneck joe said:
gee wish i had thought of that...

last year or so i've got about $10k into a car worth prob $4, but similar to the 'new' house - not much else to go wrong and it is done the way god intended. A natural diesel will last forever.
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Famous last words there.
 
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airshot

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redneck joe said:
gee wish i had thought of that...

last year or so i've got about $10k into a car worth prob $4, but similar to the 'new' house - not much else to go wrong and it is done the way god intended. A natural diesel will last forever.
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Until it doesn't....
 
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Jeff J

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airshot said:
If anyone's trailer still has incandescent lights....time to upgrade ! Not that expensive to do, or at least upgrade to led bulbs! You won't be sorry. Switched all my trailers over about 10-12 years back...no regrets and not on problem since the change over. Before I did this, I was replacing bulbs every few years and having other socket issues. Now, I always know my lights will work.....
Click to expand...
Not bad advice. I swap them out as they fail {if ain’t broke don’t fix it}. The fixtures usually seem to be bad enough swapping the bulb is a waste of time. I have even encountered a couple on boat trailers that refused to let go of the old bulb.

Some moron at the factory wired my new enclosed trailer so a 2 foot run of cable was supported with a loose screw and using the ground wire for a clamp. The screw appeared to have stripped before it bottomed out. The wire snapped at the ring terminal. Some of the individual wires were pushed back over the insulation. I was in a hurry and couldn’t find a proper loop clamp so I used a single leg conduit clamp and a TE aviation type ring terminal at the clamp screw to fix.
 
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airshot

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Jeff J said:
Not bad advice. I swap them out as they fail {if ain’t broke don’t fix it}. The fixtures usually seem to be bad enough swapping the bulb is a waste of time. I have even encountered a couple on boat trailers that refused to let go of the old bulb.

Some moron at the factory wired my new enclosed trailer so a 2 foot run of cable was supported with a loose screw and using the ground wire for a clamp. The screw appeared to have stripped before it bottomed out. The wire snapped at the ring terminal. Some of the individual wires were pushed back over the insulation. I was in a hurry and couldn’t find a proper loop clamp so I used a single leg conduit clamp and a TE aviation type ring terminal at the clamp screw to fix.
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Ha....had a similar situation with my enclosed trailer. When the factory attached the rear trailer light, they put the mounting screw right thru the power wire that feeds the light ! It lasted long enough to get it home when the connection was severed. Everyone said to take it back, but why, so they could screw it up again ??
 
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