Locating a Lighting problem on a Boat Trailer with 4-Way Flat Wiring
Question:
just bought a used boat. to make a long story short, the wiring was obviously not stock. should there be a seperate brown wire to each tail light? if so, do I splice it in at the connector? the way it was, the brown ran down one side and was spliced in at the driver side light and run across to the passenger side light. put on turn signals and they bleed back and forth. also when headlights are on...no brake lights. I know this sounds like a ground problem, but I have grounded and regrounded everything. 14 trailer with the standard lights. please help...going nuts thanks
asked by: tom
Expert Reply:
It sounds as if the trailer wiring is wired properly. You can splice into the brown tail light wire at any point and run it to the other side of the trailer. As long as the connector on your vehicle is wired and grounded properly the problem is with the trailer.
A couple of things to look at would be the connection of the tail light mounting brackets to the trailer and the license plate bracket on the left side. If the mounting brackets are bolted to the trailer frame, remove them and clean any rust and corrosion from between them and the trailer frame. If there is a plastic license plate holder in between the left tail light and the mounting bracket this may be the issue.
Most boat trailer lights are grounded through their connection to the trailer frame so you should make sure the nuts holding the lights on to the trailer are contacting clean rust and paint free surfaces.
If none of these ground related remedies work you should check for a broken pinched or frayed wire on the trailer. Sometimes a pinched wire will cause problems of varying degrees.
If all else fails we have a economical light to replace the lights and wiring on your trailer. The Standard Trailer Light Kit with 25' Wire Harness, item # TL29BK, should work fine for your trailer and provides all of the parts needed to rewire your trailer completely.
Products Referenced in This Question
Standard Trailer Light Kit with 25' Wire Harness
- Trailer Lights
- Tail Lights
- License Plate
- Rear Reflector
- Side Marker
- Side Reflector
- Stop/Turn/Tail
- Square
- Kit
- Surface Mount
- Non-Submersible Lights
- Incandescent Light
- 5L x 4-1/2W Inch
- Red and Amber
- Optronics
more information >
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