light question...

[tws]

i'm in the dark here... less than one year old 1000# Ezloader galvanized trailer. my trailer lights worked perfectly when new but now the left side comes on but doesn't have a brake light or turn signal... right side works perfectly - brake and signal.

i took the lid off when i tested my lights and noticed that all three lights came on... but did nothing when applying brakes or turn signal...

my question... do some of these lights have dual filaments? and can therefore be bad but still come on? i'm trying to figure out how to get the bracket thingy (mounting the three lights) out of the red lens box to find out...

any help would be appreciated or link to some explanation or schematic etc...

thank you for a great forum.

tws

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

You probably need a new bulb #1157.

 

[tws]

i hope that is so... what is #1157?

i'll take the bulb bracket out and see if any are burned out.

 

[Grub54891]

1157 is the bulb number for the brake/blinker/ taillight bulb. Throw all the lights on the trailer away, install led lights all the way around, along with a new wire harness. Bulb issues solved.

 

[Silvertip]

Brake and turn signal use the same filament in a dual filament bulb like the #1157. The second filament (the dimmer one) is the running or tail light. Yes -- the running filament can work and the other may not. It may be due to a bad bulb or the wire for the brake/turn signal is disconnected. The obvious check is to remove the bulb and test it. Just curious, why do you feel you have to disassemble anything. Push in and turn the bulb counter clockwise. And just so you know, the two little nubs that protrude from the shell of the bulb and not on the same plane. The bulb only goes in one way but since the sockets are made so poorly you can, with enough determination, get the bulb incorrectly installed.

 

[tws]

wow... this is great news... mine is the little dinky #1000 trailer for 12to 14' skiffs.. anyway 1157 looks like the big bulb and i'll pull and test it...

i've never used trailers before and did not disconnect the cable before backing into the water... several times... so i probably burnt out the bulb.. (wont happen again) thanks all for your help. can i swap out the incandescent bulbs for led or do i have to get a new light fixture/wire thingy?

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

You can buy led replacements for the 1157 but what you want is the complete led trailer light package with new wiring harness.

 

[tws]

yes i think i vaguely understand led's require correct positive and negative polarity of the circuit. i wouldn't know where to began to look for the led trailer light package... is it just a remove and replace lens for each side? if it fits in the existing red boxes that would be better...

i pulled the bulb it says 2057 TAIWAN... also it appears to be fine, both filaments intact.

btw it's a STRAIN to fiddle that bulb out! and it's the biggest of three...

nightmare for me is if it isn't the bulb... i'm clueless with circuitry

can a bulb be tested at an auto parts store etc?

thanks

 

[bruceb58]

A 2057 and 1157 are kinda interchangeable. The 1157 is brighter,

Test the bulb with some test leads off of a battery to see if it lights up

 

[Cat nip]

Check your tow vehicle fuses. Some have separate fuses for trailer lights. Most likely in the under hood fuse block.

 

[tws]

light is ok... fuses also... still no blinker or brake light left side... there is a slightly chaffed wire in the truck side wire extension... next step to replace the 4 flat extension?

somehow i've got to get thru this...

bummed out

 

[tws]

No Title

 

[bruceb58]

Awww...those do go out often. Taillight convertor for vehicles with separate turn/Brake lights.

 

[tws]

well i just had the flat wire plug from my truck tested by the people that installed it several years ago... all system go... it works fine... so the problem is definitely the ez loader trailer light left side...

the trailer was built in spokane and i am trying to contact them about this problem...

i can't have this kind of thing happening every other time i launch the boat... unsafe

hope they help me solve this.

thanks for all the help you've provided.

tws

 

[Grub54891]

Don't get to upset....It's just a light. As I said before, you would benefit from getting rid of the standard lights, and installing led lights. Even myself, who can identify an issue with them, and fix it quickly, went to led lights, no more problems.

 

[tws]

you probably have the best idea grub...

i mean i'm really stymied... i can not isolate the problem with this left light

so how do you wire up new leds?

know of a good place to order them online?

 

[Silvertip]

Don't be in such a rush to install new lights. Standard lighting works just fine and I would venture a guess that once you install new LEDs the left side still won't work. Why? Because there is a wiring problem -- not a light problem. So lets use a logical approach at troubleshooting.
​1) Did you not say earlier that you had the same problem with another trailer? If yes -- then the problem is with the tow vehicle, not the trailer.
2) You now say you had an "expert" test the tow vehicle and all is good. So which is correct?
3) Do you own a battery charger? If Yes, go to step 4. If No a battery can do the same job but you need to use a bit of creativity to fashion some test leads.
4) Connect the battery charger NEGATIVE clip to the trailer frame (a non-rusty, non-painted area) so you get a good ground.
5) Put a nail in the POSITIVE clip and then plug in the charger.
6) Touch the nail to the LEFT TURN pin on the trailer connector. Does the lamp light? YES or NO.
7) If the answer to #6 is YES -- you have a tow vehicle issue. If NO you have a trailer issue.
8) If the answer to #7 was NO, follow the wire from the connector to the lamp to ensure it is not chaffed or broken.
Lastly, although you said the bulb was good, but how did you verify it? Looking at it is not a valid test. Use the battery charger to see if it lights. If you don't know how to do that, then replace the bulb -- they are not budget busters.

 

[tws]

thanks silvertip...

i like logical. this is a 10 month old ez loader #1000 and i've only ever had it behind my 95 nissan pickup... i took the pickup to the mechanic who installed the trailer plug a couple of years ago and he checked the plug and it was ok... everything works to the trailer.

moreover, when i hook up the trailer to the truck i get both trailer lights on! right side brake/signal lights work. left side ONLY light no brake or signal. replaced 1157 bulb and still no go...

SO... as i understand it the yellow line on the left side is blinker and brakes? so i need to get one of those light testers things and see if i'm getting a blinker?signal when the lights are on and hooked up to the truck?

btw i took the bulb to napa this morning and they tested it was good... also bought another and put it in... still no signal or brake light just steady on light.

i am not circuit savvy so an explanation of how to use a tester to determine why the yellow line will not blink is in order.

 

[tws]

PS... I was so discouraged about something that shouldn't be this cheaply made for use around water AND having read a bunch of negative stuff about incandescant bulbs and ezloader lights and submersion that i weakened... and welcome a better solution maybe leds ARE the way to go.

i know one thing i will not put up with lights going out every dang trip.

 

[MH Hawker]

No Title

this may help