Trailer light wiring
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Freshman User
Joined: Apr 2003
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From: Texas
Trailer light wiring
Ok I am at my wits end I hope someone can give me a hand. I tried hooking up my trailer the other day and the lights weren't working. If you turn on either blinker both trailer lights faintly blink. Then running lights work until you hit the brakes then they go out. Now here's where it get's interesting, I hooked it up to another truck and everything works fine. Got under the truck and after trying to untangle the mess of wires, I re-spliced them all, Y-Y, W-W, B-B, G-G. Then I thought it might be a connector, put a new 4pole connector straight off the truck wiring same problem. Then I checked Voltage everything checked like it should, no shorting between wires, and no shorts to ground. Does anyone have an idea. I also checked all the fuses under the hood
Thanks
Thanks
Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,417
Likes: 4
From: Braham MN
sounds like your truck is wired wrong, like the colors are not what they are supposed to be, make sure the white is the ground, brown is the running lights, and yellow and green are the turn signals, I think yellow is the driver signal, but I dont know for sure, just that it is a turn signal.
Diesel Rod
Diesel Rod
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Joined: Apr 2005
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Trailer Wiring
It sounds like you have a bad ground. Since the trailer lights work on another truck, it's a ground problem on your truck to the connector, or you're not getting ground from the hitch ball to the trailer hitch receiver.
If the white wire at the connector is in the wire bundle coming from the front of the truck, then you need to check continuity from the ground pin of the truck connector to the frame of the truck hitch receiver. Then check continuity from the ground pin of the truck connector to the frame of the trailer with the trailer hooked up. Both cases should show zero (0) resistance if ground is good.
If you can't get continuity from the connector ground pin to the truck hitch frame, you need to splice into this ground wire going into the connector and ground it to the frame of the hitch. Your hitch isn't making good ground with the truck frame. If you have continuity here, but you dont' from the ground pin of the connector to the frame of the trailer, you're not getting ground through the hitch ball and the trailer hitch receiver, either because of excessive grease or rust. Clean the ball and the hitch receiver.
This may not be the answer, but certainly sounds like ground issues I have chased before.
If the white wire at the connector is in the wire bundle coming from the front of the truck, then you need to check continuity from the ground pin of the truck connector to the frame of the truck hitch receiver. Then check continuity from the ground pin of the truck connector to the frame of the trailer with the trailer hooked up. Both cases should show zero (0) resistance if ground is good.
If you can't get continuity from the connector ground pin to the truck hitch frame, you need to splice into this ground wire going into the connector and ground it to the frame of the hitch. Your hitch isn't making good ground with the truck frame. If you have continuity here, but you dont' from the ground pin of the connector to the frame of the trailer, you're not getting ground through the hitch ball and the trailer hitch receiver, either because of excessive grease or rust. Clean the ball and the hitch receiver.
This may not be the answer, but certainly sounds like ground issues I have chased before.
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Freshman User
Joined: Apr 2003
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From: Texas
Ding Ding Ding give that man a prize. With me moving the vehicles back and forth I didn't have the truck hooked up tp the trailer. It wasn't needed on the other truck. Well I hooked the trailer on, the ground was there and the problems were gone. I guess I couldn't see the forest for the trees.
Thanks again
Brian
Thanks again
Brian
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 181
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From: Michigan
I agree with SEK Archer, I have had that with different trailers and with plow lights on a previous truck. If you don't have a good ground, your lights will be all messed up. You should not count on your hitch ball for a ground as that can be intermittent. Hook up your pigtail between truck and trailer and you should be able to test from the wires to the frame of your trailer and get the 12v your looking for, if not check the connection from your pigtail to the truck frame. Aluminum trailers can be more of a pain than steel because it is not as good of a conductor. I would recommend you run a ground wire to your lights-don't count on the frame.
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