Troubleshooting Running Lights Not Working And Weak Brake Lights On Motorcycle Trailer
Question:
I have a motorcycle with 5 wire flat plugfemale end and a motorcycle trailer with a 4 wire make plug 2 light trailer. What do I need to do to get all lights working correctly. Plugged in as is, The blinkers work,brake light but no running lights, seems brake lights are weak.Please Advise. I have another camper trailer with 5 way plug,all lights work correctly. The bike has a wiring kit with converter.
asked by: Larry S
Helpful Expert Reply:
The 5-way flat plug on your motorcycle should be able to power the 4-way flat connector on your trailer without issues.
Based on the issues you described, and since you have plugged your motorcycle into a different trailer and all of the functions worked correctly I believe the problem is a bad ground on your motorcycle trailer. You can confirm this by plugging the trailer to another vehicle to see if the same problems are still present.
You will need to check each of the grounds on your trailer and make sure they are secured to clean corrosion free metal. If the trailer is aluminum or has a tilt function you will need to run the grounds from each light to the main grounding point on the tongue of the trailer. You can also use a circuit tester like the # PTW2993 on the brown wire of the trailers 4-way connector to see if you have power going to the running light circuit when hooked up to your motorcycle.
It is pretty usual that a bad ground will cause some lights to be dim, and usually has the most issues when multiple lights are on at once.
I included a link to a helpful article that goes over troubleshooting wiring for you to take a look at.
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