Conference vicki::boats

    When you wire both directionals, the brake lights will work.  The
    stop lights (brake lights) work basically by lighting both directional  
    lights at the same time.
    
    
    
    Don

The wiring instructions you have are for connecting to an American
vehicle, which only uses left turn, right turn, and and tail lights.
Brake lights are accomplished by lighting both turn signals.

The European vehicles use a 4 wire system, with left turn, right turn,
tail and brake lights.  What you need is an adaptor for converting
the European 4 wire system to the American 3 wire system.  They're
available at almost any auto parts store for $10-20.  It's just a
small sealed box with a bunch of diodes inside, with 5 input wires
4 and output wires (including ground), with instructions for connecting
it up.  Make sure the one you get is weatherproof.  I've got the $20 model,
and it's survived 2 winters tie-wrapped under my rear bumper.

It took me about an hour to install.  I spliced into the truck harness
using some connectors made by 3M.  After splicing use some stuff
called "Liquid 'Lectric Tape" to seal up the connection and prevent
corrosion from working its way up the wire.  Also, solder all connections
if at all possible.

Rick W.

    	Some new cars have a seperate bulb now for the directionals
    and brakes (I have a toyata that does).  If you then wire the brakes
    and directional together the brake lights will flash when you use
    the directionals. There is a isolation box they sell that has seperate
    inputs for the brake light wire and directional wires, the output
    has just three wires; Left dir, Right dir, and operating lights.
    The output of the box then operates as .1 stated with the two
    directional wires acting for the brakes also.
    
    	Does anyone know of a trailer light kit that has seperate
    directional and brake bulbs... It would require the extra wire in
    the harness...
    
    Ron  
    

    Since your vehicle is manufactured by a foreign car maker,
    Misusbishi (sp) your wires are non standard and I believe that
    you will find that you have a seperate turn signal circuit.
    I believe you will need a converter and will have to meter out
    the truck harness.  Then follow directions with the converter.
    
    
    Dave
    

    With or without a converter your wires should come into the tow
    vehicle connector as follows:
    
           (X)  ( )  ( )  ( )
            W    B    Y    G
    
    GREEN  is RIGHT (directional or stop)
    YEllO  is LEFT  (directional or stop)
    BROWN  is Parking lights    
    WHITE  is ground
    
    My Toyota truck has a converter and is wired as follows:
    (3 wires on tow vehicle side 2 wires on trailer side)     
    
    Truck side:     Green  is to right directional
                    Yellow is to left  directional
                    Red   is to either stop light
    
    Trailer side:   Green is right, Yellow is left
    
                Brown is wired straight through from truck parking light
                (either side) to brown on connector
    
                White is also wired straight through.
                   
    

    reply to 4 
    in australia we have to have seperate brake and turn bulbs
    if you were after the connections car and trailer it could be arranged
    to pick them up for you but you definately need the extra wire 
    in the harness
    but i think you should be able to buy them localy no matter
    where you are
    reg
    

    Moved by moderator...
     
================================================================================
Note 826.0                      Trailer lighting                      No replies
HEURIS::DEMBA                                        11 lines  22-APR-1991 09:31
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Is there such a thing as a trailer brake/turn signal light booster?

The brightness of the side lights and the parking lights is fine.
When I use the turn signals the on/off frequency is very slow and
the brake light brightness is not all that bright. I am concerned 
that on a dark, rainy night the use of them may not be observable.

They have worked this way since the trailer and connections were
new. Can I make the system work better?

	thanks, Steve

Steve,
I've never heard of a booster, but I think you can resolve your problem
without going to that extent.

First, Make sure there's a GOOD ground from the car to the trailer, the
source of almost all trailer lighting problems is a bad ground.  Don't 
rely on the hitch ball for a ground connection, there should be a seperate
wire in your wiring harness from the car to the trailer frame for ground. 
Also make sure there is a good connection where the trailer's tongue connects
into the rest of the frame - corrosion buildup between the rails and tongue 
can lead to an open connection and no ground at the rear of the trailer.
I had one trailer that had an open connection and needed a ground strap 
between the tongue and frame.  Tilt trailers are notorious for this problem.

Once you're certain there's good ground, get a multimeter and check the 
voltage level at the taillights.  A fully charged battery should provide
12.8 volts, or about 13.5 volts with the engine running.  

If you've got a good ground and 12+ volts at the lights, the next problem
may be with the lights themselves.  A lot of the older lights did not have
properly designed lenses to defuse the light correctly.  A trailer I just 
sold had lights that were probably 20+ years old, and were barely visible 
in daylight.  I know it was the lights themselves that were the problem,
because the lights on my other trailer work fine with the same truck.  If
you submerge your trailer, get a set of Dry Launch lights, I've had 'em
on several trailers and IMO they are the best.

Your turn signal problem will probably be corrected if you find a bad
ground.  If not, get a heavy duty flasher unit.  Usually the symptom of
an overloaded flasher is when it flashes too quickly, but I suppose it 
could also cause it to flash too slow, depending on how the car's system 
is wired.

God luck, and let us know what you find.

Rick

    Moved by moderator...
    
================================================================================
Note 826.1                      Trailer lighting                          1 of 1
PIPPER::JDREW                                        12 lines  22-APR-1991 09:58
                   -< sounds like a trailer wiring problem >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    It sounds like you have the brake and running light filaments reversed
    in your trailer wiring. The flasker in your car/truck works of the
    heating effect of the current drained by the combination of your
    vehicle and trailer lights. It should flash faster not slower when the
    trailer wiring is attached unless the trailer is putting such a load on
    the circuit that it's lowering the battery voltage seen at the flasher.
    On a dark raining night they should be able to be seen easier than in 
    bright sunny day because the ambient light will less. I would be more
    concerned with the bright sunny days in traffic than at night. You may
    want to change you flasher to a heavy duty one to support the extra
    load of the trailer lights.
    Jim

RE: Notes by WILSON and DREW 

>>    It should flash faster not slower when the trailer wiring is attached 

>>    You may want to change you flasher to a heavy duty one to support the extra
>>    load of the trailer lights.



Just seeing if you guys are on your toes. Yes, I meant it flashes faster not slower.
So I will pick up a heavier duty flasher, and my problems will be solved.

But what happens when the trailer is not attached and I still have the heavier duty
flasher in? Will this cause the system without the trailer to flash slower than
normal? 

	Steve

RE: 325.11  

>> But what happens when the trailer is not attached and I still have the 
>> heavier duty flasher in? Will this cause the system without the trailer
>> to flash slower than normal? 

No.  It will work fine without the trailer attached.

Rick

Right.  The lights should work as normal with the HD flasher and no trailer
attached.  The only thing you might find is that in most auto light systems with
a "standard" flasher, if a bulb burns out the directional lights on that side
will not flash, but will remain on (when you turn on the signal).  This helps
you find out that you have a burned out bulb.  With the HD flasher, it drives
the system regardless of an inoperative bulb, and so you usually find out about
the burned out bulb when someone tells you (usually in a nasty tone, e.g. "Hey
buddy, why don't you try using your signal sometime!" when you actually thought
it was working right).

Of course, you're a good citizen of the road, so you check the operation of
your auto lights regularly, right?  :-)

...Roger...

Has anyone tried a "Lite Mate" truck wiring connector?  Overton's has them in
their Discount Marine catalog for around $11.  Basically, they're a one-piece
back-to-back male-female 4-conductor wiring connector with a 4-prong trailer
plug coming out the side.  You disconnect the rear light connector under the
truck, plug in Lite Mate, then plug in a standard trailer plug pigtail to the
side connector.  Nice and clean, no splices, and it retains the original
"weather-tite" connection.

Having just bought a new truck, I was considering getting one.  But, like the
bonehead that I am, I forgot about it when I placed a recent order to Overton's
(which has already arrived, so I'm SOL) and now I don't want to pay $11.25 for
the part, and $4.50 in shipping!  :-)  Sooooo, anybody thinking of placing an
order to Overton's sometime soon?  :-)

...Roger...

P.S.  Anyone seen these things in local stores?

re           <<< Note 325.14 by ROGER::GAUDET "Nothing unreal exists" >>>
>                                 -< Lite Mate >-

	I think they're available at all the usual local outlets, i.e. 
Tucks in Hudson (almost on your way home) Vans Unlimited in 
Marlborough, CAP, Campers' Inn, etc.   You getting close to pulling 
your boat to water or sumthin' ???  (-:, (-:

	R

    If you have a Ford, I have a connector you can have for free!
    
    Rich

    You have to watch the model years as they change connector types. I
    have an `89 which was different than the `88 model year. You also
    need the connecting cable from the splice connector to the rear to
    connect the trailer plug. 
    
    Wayne

    	RE: ROGER::GAUDET
    
    		Just go to U-Haul; they have great connectors and they'll
    even hook it up for ya, real cheap. It's worth the money to have
    someone hook it up that's used to doing it.
    
    
    			-Hoop- 

RE: all... thanks for all your help.  I took Reg's suggestion and got "mated"
(as in Lite Mate'd) at Tuck's in Hudson (Mass.).  $14.50 for the connector, and
$8.50 for the M/F harness that connects to it.  I went for the harness as well
because the end that connects to the trailer has a four-prong rubber cap that
keeps the whole setup water-tight while not in use.

...Roger...

    I just hooked up a harness to my S/10 Blazer and when ever I
    connect it to the trailer my dome light comes on.  I checked
    the wires and they are all in the right spot and the trailer's
    lights work fine.  Any idea on what can cause this problem?
    
                                      Thanks in Advance,
                                           Tony C.

    
    Re .21
    
     Always make sure you have a good ground. Very Strange things happen 
    when you don`t. 
    
    
    			jeff b. 
    

    Re: .22
    Definitely.  Don't rely on the hitch ball to link the ground
    of the vehicle and trailer together. Missing or bad grounds
    can cause VERY strange problems.  Be sure the ground wire on
    the truck side of the connector is connected to the truck frame, 
    and the same for the trailer side.
    
    Rick

    I think the problem is that even though the author of the blazer 
    trailor lights problem says the wires are all on the correct places, I
    have to say this:
    
    You have grounded the dome light return wire in your venture. The dome
    light is always connected to the hot wire, with the return wire hooked
    to all door switches and the dimmer switch. Whenever a door is opened,
    the switch connects that wire to ground and you have a light.
    
    What you're describing is, all trailer lights work OK, but dome light
    is on whenever the trailer is connected. That says that you have the
    brake and parking lights wired correctly, and that, to me, the trailer
    is grounded through the ball on the hitch. Verify that I'm correct by
    connecting the trailer lights but not the hitch mechanically. You
    should get a whole slew of problems when you step on the brake, turn on
    the park lights, or open a door. You may see all park lights dimly lit
    when pressing the brake pedal and no parking lights on. It's anyone's
    guess as to exactly what you'll see when you do this, but I think you
    will not see "situation normal, excepting the glowing dome lamp" with
    the trailer not grounded mechanically to the truck. 
    
    What to do? Well, where did you connect the trailer wiring harness? Did
    you connect the white wire to a white wire on the truck? You should
    have the white wire hard grounded to the metal of truck, not
    piggy-backed to the wiring of the truck (although connecting the wire
    in that way to the Correct wire will work OK.) The white wire would
    return a ground to the vehicle from the trailer when hitched to the
    truck, if the white wire on the truck side is not grounded. In your
    case, you were lucky in that you grounded something that is OK to
    ground.
    
    Tell us what you used to connect the trailer harness to the truck. Was
    it a tap-plug that was inserted into the harness of the truck between
    two connectors, or was it a series of Scotchlock connectors that you
    had to crimp into place?
    
    Mike

    I'll be installing a new wiring harness on an old trailer in the near
    future. My question is, do the lights and wires have to be water tight?
    The trailer came without a harness but there are lights on it except for 
    the brake lights. I have never wired anything that is immersed in water. 
    Any info greatly appreciated.

    Gus

    The wires don't have to be, but I strongly suggest that any connections
    you make which will be immersed are SOLDERED rather than simply crimped
    with those virtually useless crimp connectors.
    
    You can buy lights which form an air pocket and keep the lamps/sockets
    out of the water.  I never saw a 'watertight' tail light assembly yet
    which didn't leak.  If nothing else CONDENSATION will cause a virtual
    leak.
    
    After years of replacing the tail lights annually I finally gave up
    and put in a 'light board'.  I tried everything (except air pocket
    lights) to keep those lights working... sandblast the sockets, grease
    the sockets, rinse with fresh water after salt water use... etc. etc.
    NOTHING kept the corrosion away for long.
    
    A light board is a board with two tail lights mounted on it which I
    hang off the stern of the boat.  The board with lights on it never even
    goes underwater.  I simply put the light board in the back of the tow
    vehicle when I launch.  The trailer has no lights on it anymore so I
    don't have to worry about them.  You drap the wiring harness along the
    length of the boat, over the bow and plug into the trailer connection.
    You have to run a ground wire along with the harness because you 
    don't have a ground through the wooden board. Also grounds tend to be
    poor when going through the frame of the trailer so I just bring the
    ground wire along which insures a good ground.
    
    The light board tail lights have never failed... years later.  Its
    sort of a pain taking the board off and on all the time (I hang it
    off two stern cleats from two short lines) but its not as much of a
    pain a replacing the tail lights all the time. And its less expensive.
    
    I don't know how well the air pocket lights work, can anyone give us
    any feedback on how well they hold up?
    
    

    Thanks for the reply. Is this light board your talking about simply a
    homemade jobby???
    
    Gus

    Yes, I use a 3/4' pine board 6 to 8 inches wide and maybe 4 feet long,
    but the length depends roughly on your transom width.  The pine is easy
    to drill and mount the lights on. I went to NAPA (or equiv.) and bought
    4 tail lights which could be mounted against the board.  I went to the
    hardware store and bought a suitable length of # 16 rubber covered
    (the round flexible black or orange kind you use for extension cords)
    and soldered a trailer connection on the light board end.  That is vs.
    the tow vehicle end. Actually I ran two parallel # 16 wires to come
    up with enough conductors and tie wrapped the two cords together along
    its length.
    
    
    I used a 12 volt 'ring out' light to 'ring out' the correct connections
    to match the tow vehicle.  You will want of course tail lights, stop
    lights and directionals.  There is a circuit which allows the use of a
    single double filament tail light on each side but the wiring was
    simpler to figure out using two tail lights on each side.  A double
    filament for taillights and stop lights, and the other, a single
    filament for turn signal.  But anthing you do that winds up with the
    correct hook up electrically to get the results at the tail lights 
    is ok of course. 
    
    I used two 1/4 inch manila lines to go from the board vertically a
    stern cleat on each side of the transom on the deck of the boat to
    hang the board from.
    
    Whats great is if you tow anything else you can move the board to it
    without any wiring changes needed?  Such a towing your car with a tow
    bar, all you need to do is move the light board rather than tap into
    the towed vehicles wiring.
    
    Does this help?
    
    Jeff
    

    I bought a new trailer a few years ago. All summer long I fought with
    the lights working as they pleased. The next spring they acted up
    again, as they had all summer. I'd get them working, go away on a trip,
    and before I crossed the state line problems would sometimes occur.
    	then I went and bought the lights that trap the "air pocket" under
    the lights to keep them dry. I haven't had a single problem since,
    I hook them up and they work. Every year, no hassle. (I do need one
    bulb replaced now due to a burnt filament :).
    	My advice "REPLACE THOSE LIGHTS NOW !". Don't waste any time with
    hassles, you'll just get irritated. Like .-1 says, there is no such
    thing as a watertight light, and the ones that try to be just cause
    problems.
    
    
    		Steve    
    (my lights are white plastic, they are simply completely open on the bottom)

    After 8 years of hassles with my trailer lights, I decided to replace
    the works (lights, wiring, connector) and go the submersible light
    route.
    
    I found a complete kit of the Peterson/Anderson "Submariner" lights,
    w/ 25' of wire at Wal-Mart for $28.xx. That price was better than
    most all boating mailorder places. I now have an all new light
    installation. 
    
    One curve that I ran into - after properly grounding both sides
    of the connectors, I still had my clearance lights / taillights
    flash as the flashers / directional signals were on. I had to run
    a grounding wire from one side of the tilt "hinge" to the other - 
    even though there was lots of galvanized steel against galvanized
    steel on the tongue, fore and abaft of the tilt hinge, there was
    enough "road grunge" that I needed the jumper wire.
    
    Time will tell if the "Submariner" (air pocket) lights keep the
    connections dry. I also soldered, caulked and shrink sleeved all
    connections.
    
    Bill
    

    I use the lights that trap air like an inverted cup, made by
    "Dry Launch".  I've used them on about 3 or 4 trailers, and 
    have NEVER had a problem with them leaking or corroding, they 
    work super.  They're so watertight, that I leave the lights on 
    when I back the trailer into the water at night with the lights 
    on, which looks pretty cool...
    
    Now that I think of it, I did have one problem. They don't stand 
    up too well to backing the trailer into a post.   8^(
    
    Rick

    I did what Jeff did; created a "light bar" out of a 2 x 4 with carpet
    stapled to the back.  I hang it off the back of the boat and throw it
    in the truck when I launch.  I also use it on my homemade brush hauling
    trailer so I don't have to register two trailers.  (I've also used it
    on my friends boat trailer to move his boat but don't tell anyone).
    Couldn't have cost more than $15 bucks and I've had it for 7 years now
    with no signs of deteriation because when not in use, it gets stored in
    the garage.
    Wayne

    
    I echo the statements about Dry Launch lights. My 87 trailer hasn't
    had a single light problem (other than smashing them) with the 
    exception of an occasional bulb replacement. It's got 2 taillights
    and 9 marker lights.
    
    I also leave the lights ON in the water at night, makes the trailer much
    easier to "find".
    
    One other idea that I kind of stumbled onto... When I put the wiring
    harness on the '92 Dakota the connector which hangs off the back of the
    truck came with a "dummy" plug to keep it clean and dry when not in
    use. I use that plug all the time (except when the trailer is hooked
    up, of course :-) ) and haven't had to perform the old, I gotta clean
    up that d*mn connector, AGAIN.., cuz the lights ain't working ever since...
    Such a simple idea!
    
    Rick

    
    I replaced the "water tight" (NOT!) lights that were on the trailer
    I bought last year with the "diving bell" type submersibles and they
    worked fine...I too leave them on while in the water...
    
    Another little widget I saw for keeping the connector clean/dry when
    not hooked to the trailer was a ball cover that had a built in pocket
    for the connector.  
    
    Now, if I could just remember WHERE I saw it, I would go back and BUY
    one...
    
    
    Jim
    

    Thanks for all the replies. I'll try the submersible ones fer now and
    see how the work. Hopefully I'll have all the work on the boat and trailer 
    lights done by the end of the weekend. Can't wait to get it in the water:').
    Thanks again..
    
    Gus
                

    The Ultimate el-cheapo connector for your homemade light board harness
    and car harness has to be those twist on wire connectors the electricians 
    use.  Don't bother drilling a hole in your car to mount the harness
    connector, leave the harness in the trunk...the rubber trunk gasket has 
    enough "give" to not pinch the wire harness.  Do label or color code
    the car harness and light board harness so you know which wire goes
    where.  
    
    Carl

    If you want to minimize hassles later SOLDER any connections which are
    external to the car trunk.  The twist on, or crimp style connectors
    ultimately will corrode and fail.
    
    Jeff

I'm having this problem with the wiring on my Jeep Cherokee.
I bought a homemade trailer and had to put lights on it (the wiring
is there though I don't know if it is done correctly).
The wiring harness is as follows:

           (X)  ( )  ( )  ( )
            W    B    Y    G
    
    GREEN  is RIGHT (directional or stop)
    YEllO  is LEFT  (directional or stop)
    BROWN  is Parking lights    
    WHITE  is ground

The trailer lights i have have 2 wires; green and brown. I am assuming the 
green wire is for directional/brake and the brown for taillights. I connect 
each side as so. The directionals and brake work fine on both sides but nothing 
when I put my  headlights on.

I then brought the trailer lights up to the harness from the jeep and stuffed
the wires into the appropriate holes. Again the directionals/brakes work fine
but not for the taillights when the headlights are on.


Any suggestions?
Paul 

Paul,

	Since turning on the headlights on the Jeep doesn't light
any running lights on the trailer (and it appears that it's wired
correctly) my first guess would be a bad connection in the running
light circuit. I'd check the Jeep first since the trailer likely has
two separate lines.

	Gotta test light?

Rick

    Betcha. Did you have the trailer on the ball of the jeep? I bet the
    white is there, but not grounded. Just a guess. I have scrambled my
    brains on trailer wiring problems by not having the ground connect 
    **THRU**
    the ball. 
    Just a wild guess. Try/Do before you make any 'rip aparts'.

    
    
    If you do not get power at the connector in the jeep check this:
     
    The headlights came on, but do the Jeep taillights still work?
    
    If you had a short in the trailer for the running lights, the blinkers
    would work, the brakes lights would work, the headlights would work,
    but the taillights AND the trailer running lights would not work.
    
    If so, check the fuse panel, tail lights are always on their own fuse
    in the Jeep Cherokee.
    
    Then I'd get a meter and check the trailer wiring. I had a new trailer
    that scraped it's wire insulation on a small hole in the frame and 
    shorted out the taillights every 10 miles or so until I caught on.
    
      john
    (been there, tried that, hated it...)
    john

    I had lots of mysterious power problems on my trailer until I figured 
    out that the tilt mechanism on the tongue was blocking the current.
    I had to install a jumper wire around the hinge pin. The tongue was
    grounded, but everything aft of the tilt hinge wasn't.
    
     Do power boat trailers have a tilt at the back end of the tongue?
    
    Bill
    

    Check your bulbs? Make sure they have two intact filaments.
    Wayne