4-Way Connector Needed to Replace 4-Way on Trailer with 6 Wires

Question

Question:

My 4 wire connector has six wires coming out on the trailer side. Green Yellow Green Brown White and White The first green wire is broken right at the connector so the connector needs to be replaced however I cant seem to find anything other than a standard 4 wire connector and the 5 wire wishbone connector. Any ideas?

asked by: Lance

0

Expert Reply:

Since you have six wires it sounds to me like you have a double ground and a left and a right side tail light wire. If this is the case you could use a wishbone harness like the 20 ft. Wishbone 4-Way Trailer Wiring Harness with 30" Ground Wire, # A20WB, as a replacement because it has the separate left and right side tail light wires.

I recommend using a spare car battery to assist with testing the trailer wires for function. You will just need to ground the negative terminal of the battery to the trailer frame and then apply power to each wire separately,excluding the white wires, checking for function. If you have all functions, left turn, right turn, and running lights on both sides of the trailer, that extra wire is a double ground.

expert reply by: Leah S

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Cory B.

5/10/2020

I have a 4-flat connector for my boat trailer that I need to replace. But I noticed today it has 6 wires leading into the terminal rather than 4. I'm looking through several auto parts sites, including etrailer and others, but only seen 4-flats having 4 wires. Holding the 4-flat, viewing wires from left-to-right (covered ground terminal on the left), my wires are: - white with yellow stripe - black - white with green stripe - yellow - brown - green I can provide an image but I don't seen an upload link here. Thank you!

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Chris R.

5/12/2020

Most likely you have an extra ground wire along with a running lights wire for each side of the trailer (typically this is a single wire that gets split further down the trailer). As for which color carries each function on your trailer though, I really can't say. You'll need to actually test these - either by applying 12V power to each of them directly to see what light/function they activate or hooking up to your tow vehicle and testing them for power while you activate each function in the truck. You'll then just need to combine the "extra" wires to the correct circuit/pin on the new 4-Way.

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Answer 1

It sounds like your trailer had a wishbone harness and/or could have multiple ground wires. On a 4-Way trailer end, the one covered pin is the ground. Next to that is the running light pin. The running light pin on some connectors will have more…

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Answer 2

Typically, the wire colors are brown for running lights, green for right turn and brake lights, and yellow for left turn and brake lights. White is ground. To confirm this on a trailer you can trace the wires back to see where they terminate or…

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Answer 3

In regards to the Mini LED Identification Light Kit for Trailers part #OPT29FR, you will need to remove the grommet from the light and then push the light through the hole. Then, you can reinstall the grommet securing the light inside the hole.

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Answer 4

Aluminum trailer frames or bodies can cause grounding issues so I suggest using a separate ground wire that runs from the rear of the trailer up to the main ground post in the junction box like #38656. You can join the ground wires for the individual…

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Answer 5

Over or under 80 means 80 inches of width. There are certain lighting requirements if the trailer is more than 80 inches wide. Trailers that are less than 80 inches wide can still use lights that are indicated as over 80 inch. Since you need a 5-way…

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Answer 6

It sounds like there is a short circuit that is overloading the running light circuit in the tow package wiring on your tow vehicle. The most likely culprit is a dirty or corroded trailer connector on the vehicle or trailer if not both. The first…

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Answer 7

This sounds like either a ground problem or a loose or broken wire causing your problem. First, you will need to check for a proper ground at the connector and at each light. The taillights are grounded through the mounting bolts. I have included a…

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Answer 8

It sounds like you have something similar to a wishbone wiring harness with 2 running light circuits and then also 2 ground circuits. To replace this, I recommend the Hopkins Endurance Quick-Fix Replacement 4-Way Flat Trailer Connector w LED Test…

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Answer 9

We likely have a toolbox which will work with your Aluma 548 trailer although A-Frame toolboxes are not made specifically to fit certain trailers so you will need to know the amount of room you have to fit the box. I do recommend going with a plastic…

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Answer 10

I went out to our warehouse so I could take a measurement on the CE Smith Tongue Skid #CE30002G. I found that the existing mounting hole and tab are designed to line up to bolt holes on the trailer tongue that are spaced apart by 4 inches, on center.…

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Answer 11

The trailer connector that you had is what is called a wishbone harness. It has 2 running light wires so you do not have to run a jumper wire for running lights from one side of the trailer to the other. Harness #A40W5B is an example of a wishbone…

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Answer 12

It is likely that the red wire on your old lights is the turn signal/brake light wire, and the black wire is the running light wire. That would make the white wire the ground. You can verify this by testing the wires using a circuit tester such as…

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