Trailer Wiring

[paulholcomb]

I just purchased a 15 foot trihull boat and the wiring is FUBAR!! With my TB in park and running everything works......turnsignals, flashers, running lights, brake lights, etc.............as soon as I drive away, when i use the turn signals, all lights flash including my 3rd brake light.:weird: When turning with the turn signal on, all lights flashing, if I hit the brakes.........everything just STOPS!!! :hissy: The turn signals on the TB even quit blinking, they just stay lit up, no blinky blinky:duh: Has anyone else run into this problem? HELP.............................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .........:sadcry:

[SIK ENVY]

I recently realized that when I was towing a trailer my running lights didn't work. found out it was because of the wiring end on my Voy. so I'm gonna take it to the dealership. but everything else worked fine. :undecided

[willlouis]

I have worked in the trailer fieild for a long time and your proublem sounds like a simple ground problem. I would find the ground wire that runs to the frame of the trailer and reground it to the frame. If that does not work check the wires in the trailer plug. If it is wired to code and depending on the type of plug ( 6 prong, 7 prong or a flat 4) it should work. If not here are the colors and what they represent....YELLOW (left signal),GREEN (right signal),BROWN (tail lights) and WHITE (ground). This is the standard flat 4 trailer wiring. If you have a 6 prong or 7 prong the wiring code is....RED (left signal),GREEN (right signal),BROWN (tail lights),WHITE(ground),BLUE(electric brakes)and BLACK (12v). Some trailer manufactures swithe the BLACK 12v and the BLUE electric brakes depending if it is Canadian or American wiring.

[afjfam]

Let us know what you end up finding out the problem is please. It helps when somebody else runs into the same problem and does a search for the solution.

[PROSPHOTO]

Do a search on the subject for pics...but I'll try to describe [one scenario]

A few members have reported that they found the connector behind the plug (under the bumper) had corroded over time. Reach under the back of your truck and disconnect the trailer plug; check & clean the wires, then try again.

If the connector is OK, I'd bet your problem is like what willlouis pointed out :D

[RayVoy]

I think this is the link Mike was talking about http://forums.trailvoy.com/showthread.php?t=24027

I agree with the poor ground observation, sounds like your grounding through the hitch/ball and moving is disrupting the ground :thumbsup:

[LMMJ]

my adapter sometimes doesn't make a good connection. I just wiggle it around till they light up. I'm guessing corrosion but I can't see any.

[muddy tires]

In my experience, boat trailers (because of the constant dunking) and snowmobile trailers (because of the corrosive salt) need wires redone every few years. The problem in most cases is corrosion in the sockets and lost ground with the lost ground being the most common. Bad connection in the plug will also cause intermittant problems.

[clfaus]

My :m2:

I just experienced a similar problem with boat trailer lights that I was working on. A boating forum that I'm a member of suggested running a seperate ground wire to each light on the trailer from the white ground wire in the harness instead of relying on the ground to be through the trailer and the hitch ball connection. It worked like a charm. Let us know how it goes.

[paulholcomb]

Well guys.........I figured it out. It was a simple ground problem. It's always the ground wire isn't it? This trailer was recently rewired with all new lights and when they wired it they didn't run a ground!! Then when I pulled the wiring apart I found that they had the brake lights and the turn signals wired to each other!! I will always wire my own trailor from now on.