Conversion - Tail light 4 wire, Trailer 3 wire

[byebye]

Finally got around to installing these new LED taillights from ebay but had a problem;

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2X-LED-Tail-...mp;hash=item565312b7d2&vxp=mtr&_uhb=1

My Trailer has 3 wires (red, white, purple) and the LED Tail light has 4 (red, white, yellow, brown).

If I connect it; white to white, purple to brown, red to red + yellow (combined) then the running lights work, the brake lights work, and the turn signal works. What DOESN'T work is the brake & turn signal TOGETHER, this basically dims the taillight severely.



Am I missing something (other then some soap & water for my license plate)?

 

[Coastiejoe]

Ok..

Four wires setup is.
Green Right Turn
Yellow Left Turn
Brown Tail Lights
White is ground.

Having a three-wire setup means (I am assuming based on common sense) that you have a LEFT turn wire, a RIGHT turn wire, and a TAIL LIGHT wire. Which means you are picking the ground up from the trailer.

So,,, I am betting your old lights had a wire or somehow were grounded to the trailer.

Thus,, you will have to take the white wires from the LED lights to the trailer (White=Ground).
Now you will have to do a little guess or testing. Use a DVOM or a test light to confirm which is the left and right turn and then you can follow the wire specs I posted.
Or,,, look at the back of the trailer, I believe you will find two wires on each side near where the lights mount and or, one side will have three wires and the other side will have two wires. If you have the 3/2 setup, look at the color of the wire that is on both sides. This will be the tail lamps wire. Hook your TAIL LAMPS wire to BROWN.
This will leave one wire on each side not used. This unused wire will be the turn wire for the side. Hook your wire to the GREEN WIRE on the right tail lamp as this will be your right turn wire. Thus,,,, hook your left turn wire to the YELLOW wire on the tail lamp on the left side of the trailer.

Make sense...

If it were me, I would remove the three-wire system as it is the least reliable system out there. When you use the trailer as the ground you are doing and or having many issues.

1). The ball is the ground connection. If it is dirty or greasy it can loose it connection. Even if it has a connection at the full 12 volts, it often does not have a good enough connection to allow for the amps to do their job.
2). You are running electricity into the trailer which begs for electrolysis when it comes in contact with water. This promotes corrosion at a very fast rate. Which brings us right back to poor connections. As they corrode, the connections loose their quality contact, create additional corrosion, and dim the lights or they nor work at all.

If it were me, I'd buy a 4-wire harness and use it. MUCH better quality connection.

In fact, now that I type this, I changed over to LED's earlier this month and never used the NEW 4-wire harness that came with the lights. If you want it I'd sell it to you dirt cheap.

I will include a link to when I installed my lights. I suggest you SOLDER the connections as this further helps the longevity of the quality connections.

If you do solder them, I suggest using heat shrink as I have, don't forget to put it on the wire BEFORE you twist them together.. LOL

Here is the link, take a look at the connections...
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?63155-Installed-New-LED-Tail-Lights

 

[Coastiejoe]

After posting the above, there is a potential of the following,,

One wire for the left turn, one wire for the right turn, and one wire for the brake signal (common on vehicles with amber turn signals). So if your vehicle has separate turn and brake lights you may have this setup. If so, you may need to get a converter that turn the 3-wire setup into a 2-wire setup and then will STILL need wires for the running lights and the ground.

But,,,

You should be able to use your lights no matter what.

Try it as I posted above and or use a DVOM / Meter / Test Light to determine what the three wires are that are in your existing trailer.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

ya.. what he said....

Great posts !

 

[byebye]

Thanks.

My vehicle has separate turn & brake lights (Sienna 2010).

So I need a converter (link handy?) and I would still use the trailer as ground - do I have that right?

Not looking to re-wire the trailer, thanks for the offer tho.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Thanks.

My vehicle has separate turn & brake lights (Sienna 2010).

So I need a converter (link handy?) and I would still use the trailer as ground - do I have that right?

That would work fine... Especially if you don't do salt water.
Like I said, if it were me,, I'd use a dedicated ground (4-wire) as you will KNOW it is a good and solid connection.

Will look for a link for you.

Having separate brake and turn lights makes it a BIT more challenging as, if you were to use a tail light that used a common bulb with duel elements, you would likely not see the turn signal element when the brakes are applied as there would be no break in the circuit (flash of turn bulb).

However, sine you purchased tail lights that have separate brake and turns you are good to go.

In your case, I think you are best not to use a converter due to having a brake and a turn on the new trailer lights. The converter (I believe) is used to cause common bulb to flash or not flash based on if the brakes are on and or a turn signal is on.

I think you should, confirm which wire does what using a DVOM / Meter / Test Lamp and post the results.
With that info, this is an easy fix. (At least from the logic side of the house I believe).

 

[Coastiejoe]

Also,,, you said LED Tail light has 4 (red, white, yellow, brown).

Are both of you r new lights identical or different wires?

This will help once you let me/us know what wires are what at the trailer.

 

[racerxxx]

Thanks.

My vehicle has separate turn & brake lights (Sienna 2010).

So I need a converter (link handy?) and I would still use the trailer as ground - do I have that right?

Not looking to re-wire the trailer, thanks for the offer tho.

Curt has them as does Hoppy --YOUR"RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FITMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.curtmfg.com/part/55580

http://www.hopkinstowingsolutions.com/products/vehicle-wiring-harnesses/toyota_sienna_04-10.html

 

[Coastiejoe]

racerxxx has provided go info in regards to the "link" request.

In your case, since you have separate brake and turns on the vehicle and separate brake and turns on the trailer, I do not think you need/want a converter.

Yes, you can get one and it will do its job, but you will end up running separate wires to the trailer lights as they are not a common bulb (like traditional trailer lights).

 

[racerxxx]

No he doesn't need a converter, only if he used a single bulb trailer light. Sorry, I didn't look at said ebay tail lights, I just assumed they were the standard red tail lights like everyone in America has. Personally, I would ditch them and just run a red tail light and a converter.

 

[Coastiejoe]

No he doesn't need a converter, only if he used a single bulb trailer light. Sorry, I didn't look at said ebay tail lights, I just assumed they were the standard red tail lights like everyone in America has. Personally, I would ditch them and just run a red tail light and a converter.

As he just bought these LED lights I'd think he will want to use them.

The one thing I would do is get rid of the trailer as the ground. But his existing setup will work with what he has once he figures out what each wire is.

 

[byebye]

Also,,, you said LED Tail light has 4 (red, white, yellow, brown).

Are both of you r new lights identical or different wires?

This will help once you let me/us know what wires are what at the trailer.

New lights both have identical wires.

Unfortunately the house ate my voltmeter, until it turns up, no readings.

 

[Coastiejoe]

New lights both have identical wires.

Unfortunately the house ate my voltmeter, until it turns up, no readings.

Buy a cheap test lamp. Less than 10 dollars and it will make it much easier.

This is a simple fix once we know what the wires are.

Did your new lights come with a wire schematic?

Even without a test lamp this is not a big deal.

Tell me the color of the wires on the left and right side of the trailer.

 

[byebye]

Figured out & fixed. It's not all good news though, I didn't use the LED's. What I'd said;

My Trailer has 3 wires (red, white, purple) and the LED Tail light has 4 (red, white, yellow, brown).

If I connect it; white to white, purple to brown, red to red + yellow (combined) then the running lights work, the brake lights work, and the turn signal works. What DOESN'T work is the brake & turn signal TOGETHER, this basically dims the taillight severely.

What I didn't realize is that the brake + turn signal also dimmed the original bulb. It's more noticeable with the LED taillights, I'm guessing because LED's are more sensitive to voltage changes. So basically white to white, purple to brown, red to red + yellow (combined) IS the right way of wiring the LED.

However, I wasn't happy with the severe dimming of the LED light when turning/braking. Also, the LEDs would have meant drilling a couple more holes in my trailer because the taillight bolts don't match the existing holes.

F it, the objective here is to drink of the beach, not spend all day working on this. :cheers: I bought a replacement sealed bulb assembly for $10 & installed it. My trailer works, but with the old style lights. Wires were soldered using some lessons I remember from grade 9 electrical & then heat shrinked.

Also, the wiring doesn't depend on the trailer being attached to the van, behavior is the same even when just the wires are connected & the ball isn't on the van.

If anyone wants to buy my unused LED's just post on this thread.

Thanks & Cheers all