shortfieldbreak

Hey all! I was out working with my trailer today to figure out what was wrong with the right taillight. While driving, a friend of mind told me that it kept fading in and out, and then would go out altogether. The left taillight wasfine. I found the bulb sockets pretty well corroded, so I think that was the problem there....the sockets on the left side were squeaky clean.

This brings me to the new problem. The running lights on both sides work fine, but 1) when I activate the brakes, the lights go out, and 2) no backup lights. I followed the wiring around, and it seems to be bodged pretty good. (bodging [to bodge] the act of making a square peg fit in a round hole by brute force) It looks pretty halfa$$ed with ugly splices everywhere.

My conclusion so far,...I think I should just go and rewire the whole dang trailer. My questions: 1) where can I find a diagram of a 6 pin connector so I can get the wires in the right place? 2) should I try to run the wires on the inside to protect them, or keep it outside where it is now to keep it accessible even with a full trailer? 3) If I go through all this, I should have working brake and backup lights,...right?

Sorry this is so long, but thank you in advance for the help/suggestions.

-SFB

pappyman

Heres a link with the standard wiring of a 7 pin trailer plug<br><br>http://dodgeram.info/tsb/1996/08-33-96.htm

Stevie G

Try this site.<br>http://www.etrailer.com/faq/wiring.asp<br>

sherod

I checked the factory wiring plug on my truck and inside the cover it shows which pin is which. Hope this helps. Ed

shortround

Re-wiring shouldn't be much of a problem, even for a Naval WingWiper. <br><br>Shortround

shortfieldbreak

Well, shortround, I like to think I'm smarter than your average bear. I actually need the diagram for a 6 pin setup because that's what the trailer has. Sorry for the confusion.

-SFB

ps stevie g. that was exactly what I needed. thanks

shortround

SFB,<br>Where ya headed, Whitby Island?

Duelin

The truck probably has a 7 pin connector outlet now , right?<br>If you go with the 6 pin connector on the trailer you are going to need a adaptor between the two. OR You could rewire the trailer with a 7 pin plug and eliminate the adaptor which allways seems to get lost when you need it. Or fits loose and causes another set of problems. You can pick up kits at Wally world and they have directions and schematics with them. Secure the wires well and don't forget to leave slack for the flex in the axles for the brake wires.<br>Good luck

emjay

It's pretty easy to figure out with a test light. Just turn on one function at a time (tail, l turn, r turn, brake, reverse) and probe each pin with the test light to ground. If you have a multimeter, you can verify the ground pin with it, visually check it, or use the test light between +12 (like from the brake when on) and the pin in question.<br><br>Depending on whether you have 5-wire (separate turn signals) or 3-wire, you may need an adapter, though. The good news is that they're easy to make.<br>

biglar

Go ahead and check all the lights, and replace the corroded ones.................and make sure you provide a separate, and solid ground. Don't depend on the hitch/ball to provide a ground. In a lifetime of working on these things, I've seen many strange problems straighten right out when a good ground was provided. Also check where wires rub against sharp edges. An intermittent short can give you fits, too. Finally, I've looked under some cars &amp; pickups, shook my head, and started cutting the trash out, so I could start clean. Loose crimp fittings, corrosion in those fittings............lots of that, too. Rather than the inline connector to join 2 wires - 1 in each end - I prefer the little &quot;hats&quot; where you put both (or 3) wires into 1 connector, and crimp them all together. They eliminate a lot of extra connections, and crush the wires directly together. After getting them all done, I like to squeeze silicone or RTV into the connector to make it corrosion proof. If anyone's interested, I'll take some pics of some wiring I recently did under my truck, to extend the back-up sensor wiring. Lar.

spots

best thing you can do if you are in a salt area is solder and heat shrink the wires. the heat shrink has glue and will prevent any problems in the future. Also LED lights are nice maintence free items, although are a bit more money. If you are going to rewire I prefer to leave the cable exposed. I use something like extension cord cable, with a jacket good for salt and rain. Heat shrink and solder, and the body will rot off the trailer before the lights quit working. Also saves a visit from your local sheriff. HTH

shortfieldbreak

I FIGURED IT OUT!!<br><br>The sketchy lights were due to a number of things, not the least of which was an adapter in which the contacts were loose and sliding around.<br><br>First off, I removed the six pin plug on the trailer cable, and attached a 7-pin connector. Turns out that it's a 7 conductor cable, but not everything was hooked up. I also used that little hot wire/ground wire trick to make sure the right colors ran the right lights.<br><br>Then I added a piece of wire from each of the taillight fixtures to provide a good ground directly to the end of the white wire, instead of depending on the trailer hinges and frame to do it. (the brake lights weren't working because of that ground)<br><br>I noticed that the backup lights weren't even hooked up, and the wire that was supposed to be going there was hooked to running lights in the back. After fixing that, I only had one more thing to do. I pulled all the bulbs, sprayed in some electrical contact cleaner, and replaced the corroded bulbs with new ones.<br><br>Long story short....everything works now just as it should. I also learned my lesson about checking out all the wiring before I buy a trailer, but this time I was lucky. It only cost me about $6 in a new 7 pin connector and wire to fix it all.<br><br>-SFB

bulabula

SFB, good job! Hows that old saying go? &quot;Expect what you Inspect&quot;?

shortfieldbreak

well, this is my first trailer, and I didn't really know what to inspect, but I have learned an awful lot on this one. <br>shortround- yep. Whidbey Island. I can't wait.<br><br>-SFB

TXRAM2

SFB<br>Great job and real good experience too. Never rely on anything other than a wire for ground connection (ie. ***** and hinges). Weak connections an corrosion are your biggest probs with a low voltage direct current system.<br>FWIW<br>wk