Trailer Light Problems...............Please Read....

I

IBrokeMyFreakinNeck

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I just started having problems with my trailer lights.<br />I installed a new light kit on the boat trailer about a year ago. <br />Now when I hook the trailer to my truck and hook up the pig tails, I don't have the right rear brake light on the trailer, and the brake lights on my truck start going out. After a few pumps there are no brake lights at all on the truck or trailer.<br />The pig tail on my truck is the one that you just plug into the harness (bought from walmart). I unplugged the pig tail from the truck completely and re-installed the plug harness as it was from the factory, and with the trailer still attached I still had no brake lights on my truck. <br />I re-installed the pig tail and removed the trailer from my truck. Now my truck brake lights work fine.<br /><br />Anyone know what the problem may be? Could it be the pig tail on my truck going out? The ground wire is nice and tight on my trailer tongue.<br /><br />Any advice will be appreciated.<br /><br />-Bill
 
Bob_VT

Bob_VT

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Re: Trailer Light Problems...............Please Read....

There are individual ground connects at each light. you need to check each light and on occasion the ground wire of other wires get pulled out slightly.<br /><br />Tedious work but it has to be done.
 
G

gspig

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Re: Trailer Light Problems...............Please Read....

Either ground or short problem on the trailer. Short should be easy to check at the trailer pigtail. Remove bulbs from all lights and check continuity at pigtail to trailer ground. When you pull the bulbs, check the ground wires for each fixture.
 
Bondo

Bondo

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Re: Trailer Light Problems...............Please Read....

Ayuh,.....................<br /><br />I wouldn't even dare to tell you Where to start looking,.........<br />But,..<br />You've No Doubt got a ground Issue,... Somewhere...........<br /><br />Personally,... I Believe,.. When in doubt, Add redundent Grounds..........
 
SS MAYFLOAT

SS MAYFLOAT

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Re: Trailer Light Problems...............Please Read....

From experience, when you have strange things happening, 90% of the time it is a ground problem. Are you using just the ball and receiver for the ground, or do you have a good ground through your connector? Don't always trust the ground through the ball of the vehicle to the trailer.<br /><br />I'm with Bondo, make sure you have a good ground at the connector on the tow vehicle first. Then work your way back.
 
I

IBrokeMyFreakinNeck

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Re: Trailer Light Problems...............Please Read....

Well I just finished messing around with it. I have the trailer side pig tail grounded at the tongue. When I removed this ground one rear trailer running light still worked<br />.<br />I scratched the metal real good and re-grounded the trailer pig tail. <br />I have both rear running lights working, but neither side lights work. <br />When I hit the brakes with the running lights ON, I have NO rear trailer brake lights, and my 3rd brake light on my truck doesn't work.<br />When I hit the brake with the running lights OFF, both rear trailer brake lights WORK.<br /><br />At one point I had everything working right including blinkers.<br /><br />Now everything works with the RUNNING LIGHTS OFF. With the running lights ON, I get NO BRAKE LIGHTS on the trailer.<br /><br />The trailer pig tail has 5 wires, where the TRUCK pig tail has 4, with one being the WHITE GROUND wire.<br /><br />Right now I am so confused I can hear my brain sizzling, ahhhhhhhhhhh!
 
Silvertip

Silvertip

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Re: Trailer Light Problems...............Please Read....

Without a test light or a voltmeter you will drive yourself nuts, First, use a test light to make sure each circuit on the truck is working. If it's OK you know the trailer is the problem. If you have a battery charger, use it to test the trailer lights independently of the truck. Connect the ground lead to the ground pin on your trailer connector. Then clip a nail to the positive lead of the charger and probe each remaining pin on the connector to make sure that each circuit works. Just curious, but how are you mating a five pin plug to a four pin connector. Generally problems like this are ground related. Also, if 1034 or 1157 bulbs are used, someone may have inserted one incorrectly even though the bulbs are keyed. They can still be inserted incorrectly if you aren't paying attention. Finally, one of the dual filament bulbs may have popped a filament and it has fallen on the other one causing weird things to happen. One final thought is with a five wire system on your trailer, it may have totally separate bulbs for brake lights and turn signals. If that's the case, your four wire truck circuit never did work right.
 
I

IBrokeMyFreakinNeck

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Re: Trailer Light Problems...............Please Read....

Smoke,<br /><br />I think I will try the battery charger method. This light kit was a cheapy I bought on ebay. At the trailer pig tail there are 2 wires going into one circuit, therefore having 5 wires and 4 prongs. <br />Also, I don't think the wiring harness was right from the beginning as there were 3 wires together for running down one side of the trailer and just one wire for the other. <br />Usually there are 2 wires to run down the trailer for each side I am sure.<br />What I did was make a jumper wire at the rear of the trailer instead of pulling one of the 3 wires apart and running it down the other side of the trailer.<br />I know this might sound confusing but this is how it came, and this is a cheap light kit.<br />I definitely got what I paid for.
 
OBJ

OBJ

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Re: Trailer Light Problems...............Please Read....

'72....take a look at the thread link below, there is a good drawing of trailer wiring in it.<br /><br /> http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=22;t=001450 <br /><br />If it worked when you hooked it up originally, then something has gone amiss somewhere...usually a ground as posted in the previous posts. What kind of connctor did you get for the truck? A meter would be great for troubleshooting right now. You could read the voltages from each pin on the truck connector. Make sure the side light grounds are good.<br /><br />What I do, I take a battery and jumpers to check out trailer lights. Take the battery ground and connect it to the trailer ground. Then touch each pin on the trailer plug and check the lights. Brown is running lights, Green is Stop/RH Turn and Yellow is Stop/Left Hand Turn. If the trailer works from the battery, problem lays with the truck connector.
 
I

IBrokeMyFreakinNeck

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Re: Trailer Light Problems...............Please Read....

Well this is what I have for now. I've got the running lights working, brake lights, and turn signals. No side lights.<br /><br />I had to re-wire where I had made the jumper wire. I don't know what happened and don't know if it is right. <br />If I hook up another wire where the jumper is I can get the side lights on, but then it makes the "ding dong" ringer in the truck ring, even without the key in in the ignition.<br /> <br />I'm going to leave it like it is for now and get an LED light kit and just re-wire the trailer.<br />I did check the truck pig tail with a meter and it's working like it should.<br /><br />Thanks to everyone for all the help. I'm sure I'll be back :)
 
N

notinbig

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Re: Trailer Light Problems...............Please Read....

72,<br /><br /> I use to beat myself and my thumbs(from broken bulbs) up all the time untill I spent 60 bucks on a set of LED trailer lights, this is a quality kit, you may have gotten what you paid for. <br /><br />It's cheap, just my two cents thats all.hehe.
 
Silvertip

Silvertip

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Re: Trailer Light Problems...............Please Read....

The marker lights are on the same circuit as the tail (running lights). Each of those lights including the three marker lights in the middle of your trailer at the back (if you have them) should connect to the brown wire in the harness. If your tail lights work, so should the marker lights. If they don't work, the bulbs are bad, your have a bad ground, or the connection to the brown wire (hot) was lost.
 
Bondo

Bondo

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Re: Trailer Light Problems...............Please Read....

You've Still got a Bad Ground...............<br /><br />It Could be between the truck,+ trailer...<br />Or, It Could be between the the light,+ the trailer...<br />Or, It Could be the truck itself...<br /><br />Where Ever it is, the Ground is Insufficent.......<br /><br />Try hooking a set of Jumper Cables to a Bare spot on the Trailer Frame..... Connect the Other End to the Ground Terminal on the Battery.......Then you've Got Ground......<br /><br />The way your truck is acting("ding dong" ringer), I suspect the Ground Issue is with the Truck........
 
I

IBrokeMyFreakinNeck

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Re: Trailer Light Problems...............Please Read....

Will do Bondo. I'll get up underneath the truck and check out the harness. As I remember, it was just a "plug and play" harness from walmart. I don't remember if it is automatically grounded or if I had to run a ground wire for it.<br />I'll post what I find. Thanks for all the help fellas.<br /><br />-Bill
 
I

IBrokeMyFreakinNeck

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Messages
142
Re: Trailer Light Problems...............Please Read....

Well fellas I found the problem. No it wasn't a grounding problem either. I had one of the wires on the right rear tail light crossed.<br />I used my volt meter and re-checked everything to make sure. Now everything is on track. Thanks everyone for your help!<br /><br />-Bill
 
Bondo

Bondo

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Re: Trailer Light Problems...............Please Read....

I had one of the wires on the right rear tail light crossed.
Click to expand...
Great.......<br />Atleast you found the Issue......
 
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