Trailer Wiring Dimly Lights LED Taillights on Trailer

Question:

i had a wiring kit installed on my 2012 Ford Escape and all the lights work properly. The problem is when I turn off the ignition and the lights I still get a glow from my LED lights. Is there something wrong with the wiring or is something hooked up wrong? Please help me figure out this problem.

asked by: Leon

Helpful Expert Reply:

Trailer wiring harnesses sometimes have the exact issue that you are describing. The issue is that there is some bleed over power from the powered converter that can light up LED lights ever so slightly.

The reason that it happens with LED lights and not incandescent lights is that the LED lights draw much less power to light up so the small amount that is coming through is just enough to light LEDs up dim. Incandescent draw much more power so there is more resistance and the small amount of power is not enough to light the bulbs.

If you want to stop this completely you could install load resistors # DI34ZR, one on each affected circuit, to create more load so the lights will not light up when they should not be.

My contact at Curt stated that the small amount of power will not drain the vehicle battery since it is much a minute amount of power. You can also just unplug the trailer from the tow vehicle when parked if you are worried about draining the battery.

expert reply by: Jameson C