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Author Topic: I'm baffled on trailer wiring  (Read 4321 times)

taxid

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I'm baffled on trailer wiring
« on: May 17, 2019, 02:45 PM »
Gentlemen,

O.K not my boat trailer but a utility trailer but the same thing.

Did everything right (I think). However turn signals are reversed for some reason.

Anyway, connection to the rear LED lights themselves is easy as the different colored wires that come out of the light assemblies are already sealed into the lights so all one has to do is match the colors and connect to the harness wires of the same color.

Soooooo...

White is ground

Brown tail/ running lights

Green is right turn/brake

Yellow is left turn/ brake.

All are connected correctly and on the correct side with the correct colors, but as I said turn signals are reversed.

The rear light assemblies themselves are in the correct place and top is the top.  As in left assembling is on the left side and right on the right side.

Any ideas? Defective equipment as in lights, connectors, etc?

I'm thinking of switching the green and yellow and see what happens.

 
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meandcuznalfy

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Re: I'm baffled on trailer wiring
« Reply #1 on: May 17, 2019, 02:48 PM »
Truck may be wired backwards. Switching them should fix it.

taxid

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Re: I'm baffled on trailer wiring
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2019, 11:03 PM »
If it's wired backwards why would it work O.K. for the boat trailer?
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

meandcuznalfy

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Re: I'm baffled on trailer wiring
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2019, 11:12 PM »
I'd switch the wires then, that should fix it, trailer must be wired backwards.

iceman260

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Re: I'm baffled on trailer wiring
« Reply #4 on: May 18, 2019, 07:43 AM »
If switching  wires doesn't work check your ground must be very clean and connected to bare metal on frame.

taxid

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Re: I'm baffled on trailer wiring
« Reply #5 on: May 18, 2019, 08:05 AM »
If switching  wires doesn't work check your ground must be very clean and connected to bare metal on frame.

Thanks Iceman. I did that late last night when I had time. Ground down to bare metal all ground connections with a coarse circular pad a drill and reconnected. Today when have time will reconnect to the vehicle and see what happens. Then probably switch wires if need be.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

fishinator

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Re: I'm baffled on trailer wiring
« Reply #6 on: May 19, 2019, 11:29 AM »
If switching  wires doesn't work check your ground must be very clean and connected to bare metal on frame.
It's almost always the ground. Easier to run ground wires all the way to the lights. No more problems that way.

taxid

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Re: I'm baffled on trailer wiring
« Reply #7 on: May 19, 2019, 02:31 PM »
It's almost always the ground. Easier to run ground wires all the way to the lights. No more problems that way.

Finally getting time to reconnect all the wires and we what happens. Just have to make a run to the hardware store.

Each light already has a ground. A white wire comes off each light.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

taxid

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Re: I'm baffled on trailer wiring
« Reply #8 on: May 19, 2019, 07:35 PM »
Problem solved!

Yellow wire on the right side and green wire on the left side works beautifully for the turn signals. Just the opposite of protocol. Go figure! Running lights and break lights work fine too.


Also found that since the trailer frame is ground, where the pin is located to remove it and tilt the utility trailer back for dumping, rocking the trailer up and down breaks the ground (where frame sits on itself) and causes the lights to flicker. A permanent bolt should take care of that problem! 

I knew it was a grounding issue but was perplexed as all my ground connections to the frame were ground down to bare metal! Then my dad who worked as an I & R man for 21 years after 20 years in the military figured it out.


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fishinator

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Re: I'm baffled on trailer wiring
« Reply #9 on: May 19, 2019, 07:42 PM »
Finally getting time to reconnect all the wires and we what happens. Just have to make a run to the hardware store.

Each light already has a ground. A white wire comes off each light.
  The white wire from the harness and the lights normally connects to the frame. I just run the white wire from the harness directly to the lights, eliminating the frame as a ground. It saves a lot of problems due to corrosion.

taxid

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Re: I'm baffled on trailer wiring
« Reply #10 on: May 19, 2019, 08:33 PM »
  The white wire from the harness and the lights normally connects to the frame. I just run the white wire from the harness directly to the lights, eliminating the frame as a ground. It saves a lot of problems due to corrosion.

Interesting. So you run the one white ground white from the tongue to both running lights and rear lights? To the brown wires? My LED lights are sealed inside so I can't actually contact to the light but the brown wires would be the next best thing. 
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fishinator

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Re: I'm baffled on trailer wiring
« Reply #11 on: May 20, 2019, 05:53 AM »
I run the white wire from the tongue all the way to the white wire coming out of the the tail lights. If there is no white wire coming from the lights the mounting bolt serves as the ground. In that situation i put a ring terminal on the white wire and place it behind the mounting bolt of the taillight. Still have some corrosion issues but not nearly as many when using the frame as the ground.

Mac Attack

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Re: I'm baffled on trailer wiring
« Reply #12 on: May 20, 2019, 07:39 AM »



Also found that since the trailer frame is ground, where the pin is located to remove it and tilt the utility trailer back for dumping, rocking the trailer up and down breaks the ground (where frame sits on itself) and causes the lights to flicker. A permanent bolt should take care of that problem! 



Run a heavy ground wire from one section of the trailer to the other.  Put a small loop in it so it flexes and you can retain the tilt feature of the trailer.  Besides, it will only rust eventually with the permanent bolt and you will again have grounds issues.  Or run a white wire from the plug to all the lights as others have said.

taxid

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Re: I'm baffled on trailer wiring
« Reply #13 on: May 20, 2019, 10:40 AM »
I run the white wire from the tongue all the way to the white wire coming out of the the tail lights. If there is no white wire coming from the lights the mounting bolt serves as the ground. In that situation i put a ring terminal on the white wire and place it behind the mounting bolt of the taillight. Still have some corrosion issues but not nearly as many when using the frame as the ground.

Makes sense! Why didn't I think of the main white wire connecting to the lights white wires?  :whistling: :whistling: :whistling:
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

taxid

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Re: I'm baffled on trailer wiring
« Reply #14 on: May 20, 2019, 10:42 AM »
Run a heavy ground wire from one section of the trailer to the other.  Put a small loop in it so it flexes and you can retain the tilt feature of the trailer.  Besides, it will only rust eventually with the permanent bolt and you will again have grounds issues.  Or run a white wire from the plug to all the lights as others have said.

Makes sense but won't ever use the tilt option as it will be used to haul the kayak, and for moving a fish tank around the farm.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

 



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