trailer light problem

[drake1271]

when i hit my brakes my left light goes out?all others work fine.. all new wires and lights.any ideas?

 

[mthieme]

Re: trailer light problem

Sounds like you have something wired wrong.
Been there done that.

 

[drake1271]

Re: trailer light problem

ya.more than likely. yellow and brown to left and green and brown to right white to ground. that is what the light kit said??

 

[ebauman]

Re: trailer light problem

If the left signal also doesn't work then the double filiment bulb is burned out. Try replacing the bulb. Eric

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: trailer light problem

sounds more like you have a ground problem on that light.

 

[mthieme]

Re: trailer light problem

Yellow to left
Brown to right
Green to both - running lights
White - ground

 

[Silvertip]

Re: trailer light problem

And be sure to check the bulb orientation in the socket. Dual filament bulbs have the little buttons offset from each other supposedly to keep from inserting the bulb wrong. However, sockets are cheaply made so many people simply jam the bulb in and turn it which creates some weird light behavior when the bulb is 180 degrees from where it should be.

 

[drake1271]

Re: trailer light problem

ok, thanks i will check it out.

 

[Splat]

Re: trailer light problem

It's a bad ground. Check your grounds both on the truck end and where the housings screw into the trailer frame.

Bill

 

[drake1271]

Re: trailer light problem

that makes sense. that side has the plastic lic plate mount. and the nut is on the plastic. are you saying each light has to be grounded by the bolt on studs?

 

[mthieme]

Re: trailer light problem

And be sure to check the bulb orientation in the socket. Dual filament bulbs have the little buttons offset from each other supposedly to keep from inserting the bulb wrong. However, sockets are cheaply made so many people simply jam the bulb in and turn it which creates some weird light behavior when the bulb is 180 degrees from where it should be.

Good call. I had one that was 45 degrees off - only one filament lit. Found out the hard way after tracing.

You should have a white ground wire coming out of the housing. Obviously you need to hit metal with that somewhere if not tie into the main white wire going up to the harness.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: trailer light problem

Ground problem in my humble opinion.

 

[puddle jumper]

Re: trailer light problem

Yellow left turn/brake light
Green right turn/brake light
Brown running lights left and right
white ground
sounds like you have a bad ground

 

[4everafloat]

Re: trailer light problem

I would think the ground as well, but then if it's working when you arent braking, then it should be grounded, right? if it wasnt because of a ground issue, I would first check your bulbs. Some lights have two sep. bulbs for brake and parking, but most have one with two filaments. I would then check the left (im assuming drivers side) yellow line. test it from the vehicle end, and then at the trailer end. If you can take the cover off, test it from the metal that the yellow wire leads to, of course, with your brake pedal depressed and a good ground off the trailer.

here's a pic of a wiring diagram... http://www.accessconnect.com/trailer_wiring_diagram.htm

As for me, goin back to the ground, it's probably overkill, but I ground to the trailer as well as running a wire from each light with a round ring terminal connector mounted on each mounting bolt to the white wire coming out of the harness. I havent had a problem yet. Also, connections are important. If you can't solder them, at least use shrink tubing to cover any splices, especially boat trailers, goin into water and all. good luck.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Re: trailer light problem

sounds more like you have a ground problem on that light.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: trailer light problem

Your problem may not be in your trailer wiring at all. Have you checked your vehicle. You need to meter the voltage coming out of your vehicle plug. I had a similiar problem on my previous vehicle, and due to a defective module, I had only 1 volt on one lead, while all the others were good at 12 volts.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: trailer light problem

Yellow to left
Brown to right
Green to both - running lights
White - ground

This is wrong. The brown wires are for the running lights (both) and the green light is for the right turn signal/brake.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: trailer light problem

Try using a pair of jumper cables to bridge the ground connection temporarily from your truck frame to your trailer. Also, if you have a bolt together trailer frame, make sure the bolts are tight, I've had a few loose their ground connection over time due to loose bolts or corrosion. Tube frame trailers are known for this, as are tilt trailers. On tilt trailers, I normally run a ground wire back to the main frame, not just to the tongue of the trailer.

If the light is lit until you hit the brakes, it's not the filament or bulb, it has to be a ground problem. Start with tightening all the grounds, look at where the white wire grounds up front at the tongue, and the nuts that hold the taillights on as well. You can check the trucks wiring with a test light, the white wire is your ground, it's the only wire with a male pin on the truck, brown is for tail lamps and green is your right turn and stop lamp and yellow is the left turn and stop lamp. If you have a fifth wire, it's most likely a blue wire which connects to your back up lights and is connected to a brake lockout solenoid on the trailers surge brake unit.