Posted 2007-02-28 8:25 PM (#1439 - in reply to #1414) Subject: RE: 4x4 truck, trailer height problems
Posts: 1563
Location: North Carolina
Originally written by Gaelic on 2007-02-28 2:36 PM
Now...to figure out the colours....every website says something different ;)
Don't bother trying to figure the color scheme out. Some trailers use black for ground, others use white, not to mention left signal or right signal...
Get a 12 volt battery, two pieces of wire and a fuse, 10 amps should be good... put the fuse on the wire connected to the positive terminal. Take the other piece of wire, connect the negative battery terminal to the metal structure of the trailer. Then touch the fused positive wire to one of the wires at the connector. Then see what is operating. lights, etc. You can hear the brake magnets click or hum. Keep a paper record of the wire and its function... Now your color code is correct for your trailer...
Posted 2007-02-28 9:19 PM (#1440 - in reply to #1414) Subject: RE: 4x4 truck, trailer height problems
Posts: 63
Location: Canada
Aha! What a brilliant idea. I think I shall do this. Where do I get a 12v battery? Just a regular car battery? We have a NAPA auto parts store that I found today - I haven't been yet but it's got to be better than Home Depot - I asked for Dielectric grease there today and they looked at me like I had three heads. Thanks!
Posted 2007-03-01 7:24 AM (#1441 - in reply to #1414) Subject: RE: 4x4 truck, trailer height problems
Posts: 2621
Yes, the electrons really don't CARE what color the plastic is that covers the wire.
The reason that I suggested the battery charger was that you can see how much current is being drawn at each pin.
BTW, do NOT use a 12 volt battery or a battery charger to check the trailer plug's ground wire to chassis ground. Find some other way to figure out which pin that is, either from the diagram of which one it SHOULD be or by tracing it with a multimeter or continuity tester.
NAPA is a better source for auto stuff than Home Despot, they will know what dielectric grease is. Likewise don't shop at NAPA for sheetrock or nails.
Posted 2007-03-01 7:34 AM (#1442 - in reply to #1414) Subject: RE: 4x4 truck, trailer height problems
Posts: 1563
Location: North Carolina
Originally written by Reg on 2007-03-01 6:24 AM
BTW, do NOT use a 12 volt battery or a battery charger to check the trailer plug's ground wire to chassis ground. Find some other way to figure out which pin that is, either from the diagram of which one it SHOULD be or by tracing it with a multimeter or continuity tester.
Gaelic ... Reg is correct in this point. If you touch the positive fused wire to the ground pin in the trailer connector (if the ground is good) it will burn up the fuse. The fuse is your safety device for just this situation or if there is some other fault in in your trailer.
As for a 12 volt battery... use the break-away brake battery. or a lawn mower battery, or use two 6 volt lantern batteries together. or a 12 volt battery charger, or ...
Posted 2007-03-01 10:49 AM (#1444 - in reply to #1414) Subject: RE: 4x4 truck, trailer height problems
Posts: 1563
Location: North Carolina
Originally written by Casino on 2007-03-01 8:53 AM
What does Trailer Height Problem have to do with a wiring problem?
If you read the entire thread, you'd see the OP has multiple problems. The trailer hitch height is only the first. This forum has morphed into lending advice and information to all visitors. The forum owner has graciously allowed virtually any respectful discussion. In short... "A friendly place to share and learn"
Posted 2007-03-01 11:40 AM (#1445 - in reply to #1414) Subject: RE: 4x4 truck, trailer height problems
Posts: 63
Location: Canada
Multiple problems, oh yessireee I do ;)
A question that may sound stupid - I have a 12v battery booster that I used as a small converter (has a flashlight, radio, two ac outlets on it - we use it for camping and starting dead batteries on vehicles). I'm thinking I will use this.
With the wires I need to use to test each line, where do I put the fuses? What type of fuses do I need? Sorry if I seem stupid. This really does make me feel stupid.
I'm a nurse, I can resuscitate dead people but I can't get the lights on my Freaking trailer to work!!!!LOL!!!!
Posted 2007-03-01 3:52 PM (#1446 - in reply to #1414) Subject: RE: 4x4 truck, trailer height problems
Posts: 46
Location: Hickory Hills, IL
The wiring is a daunting task, but once you get into it it isn't that hard.
I am not terribly electrical savvy and I managed to completely rewire a trailer last fall. 3H BP. Couldn't get the lights to work, started digging and it was a complete mess. Same roll of red and black wire used throughout the trailer for all connections. If it is a big mess (and the use of an extention cord sure sounds like it is!) just rip it all out and start over. I did and was much happier for it. Took less time to run all the new wires and have a working trailer than the hours and hours spent trying to fix the mess. I got a big spool or 4 in one wire for the lights and another spool of heavy duty (14ga I believe) two in one wires for the brakes. Basically I replaced all the wires from where the mess started on back- my "mess" started on the tack room wall just above the floor where the factory wire harness from the trailer plug came through. Ran a two strands of 4 in one wire down each frame side, to the individual lights. Got color coded wires in 18ga that matched and spliced in to the marker lights up top for ground and running lights. Brakes lights, turn signals and ground are all you have left. Ran the brake power seperate (with a seperate ground up to the factory harness).
Only took about 3 hours to complete. I had spent probably 2X that troubleshooting the old stuff (non color coded and spliced 500,000 times!
Total cost was only about $40 including a test light and new trailer plug. Granted, it was a touch easier as I was also redoing the floor and had it removed during this whole process. Would have been possible without that, but made it easier (did wiring from top side instead of on back on ground!
Hope this helps, if nothing but to boost your confidence that the wiring once you decide to do it isn't that hard.
Posted 2007-03-01 8:33 PM (#1447 - in reply to #1414) Subject: RE: 4x4 truck, trailer height problems
Posts: 1563
Location: North Carolina
Originally written by Gaelic on 2007-03-01 10:40 AM
Multiple problems, oh yessireee I do ;) A question that may sound stupid - I have a 12v battery booster that I used as a small converter (has a flashlight, radio, two ac outlets on it - we use it for camping and starting dead batteries on vehicles). I'm thinking I will use this. With the wires I need to use to test each line, where do I put the fuses? What type of fuses do I need? Sorry if I seem stupid. This really does make me feel stupid. I'm a nurse, I can resuscitate dead people but I can't get the lights on my Freaking trailer to work!!!!LOL!!!!
Statzk makes many good points. It IS a lot easier to wire than try to figure out what several other people did years ago. But if you persist in your endeavor...
Your battery booster will serve quite well. Understand it has a fairly powerful battery at its heart. Enough power to start a fire if a wire is shorted. That's why you need a fuse. The easiest fuse to use is an inline fuse holder. Napa will have them. It looks like a piece of wire with a plastic cylinder in the middle. When you twist it open a glass cylinder fuse will be inside it. Now that you have the 10 amp fuse in your in-line holder. Put the black negative Clamp onto your trailer. Grip one bare end of your in-line fuse holder with the red positive clamp and touch the other end of your fuse holder wire to the first wire you're tracing. Or if you're like me and too cheap to buy a fuse holder, just clamp one metal end of the fuse and touch the other end to the connector...
If the circuit is functional... a light will come on or a brake will hum. If nothing happens check the fuse... a short will burn your fuse... If so, you've learned you have a short in your trailer. Statzk's suggestion should start to be most appealing about now.
Posted 2007-03-02 12:18 AM (#1448 - in reply to #1414) Subject: RE: 4x4 truck, trailer height problems
Posts: 63
Location: Canada
Well, it was a slow night at work tonight - and I've decided that I'm just going to rewire the damn thing. I look at the photos I've taken of all the wiring and it's all black and red and an extension cord thrown in the middle and I just don't trust it. Why try to figure out someone else's mistake? I imagine it will take me a while, but I WILL figure this out!
How hard can it be? Tomorrow I'm heading to NAPA with a list and hopefully I find someone with half a brain (as Home Depot was a loss) who can point me to the right aisle with the right stuff.
I've decided to replace the yellow marker lights on the top with LED's and leave the rest for now. There are only two marker lights along the top and I'd prefer more. A lit up trailer is a visible trailer, IMHO. I'm assuming I just use a drill and some sort of self-tapping screws to attach those suckers? Anyway, I'll get a good look at them tomorrow. Eventually I want to replace all the lights with LED's as they are brighter and last longer but that will be down the road. My initial goal is to MOVE THE TRAILER LOL.
Thank you all for your valuable assistance - it is greatly appreciated :)
4x4 truck, trailer height problems
