Troubleshooting Trailer Wiring Without Typical Color Wiring for Lights
Question:
So I have the big plug attached to my F-150 with the 4 pin connected to it from my trailer! Can’t get all my lights to work at once! They all work with either lights on and hasserds or my driver side brake light turns off on my trailer when I hit the brakes! Got the normal brown,green, yellow and white from truck to trailer but the trailer lights have a yellow and brown striped and I think a green and brown striped then the white! I’m soooo confused and I drive my truck every day for my landscaping company! Checked all fuses! Any help would be greatly appreciated
asked by: Dan
Expert Reply:
As you noted, the typically wiring colors for a 4-Way connector is white for ground, brown for tail/running, yellow for left stop/turn, and green for right stop/turn. The confusing part is that even though this is the typical way that the wiring is configured, not everybody uses the same color schemes.
It sounds like either your F-150 or your trailer has different wiring colors than what we just talked about so you will simply need to use a circuit tester like part # PTW2993 to verify the pin-out of the 4-Way on your F-150 and the use a 12V battery to verify the functions of the wires on your trailer. You can do this by grounding the negative terminal of the battery and then using some wire to apply power to each of the wires on your trailer to see what wire carries what function. Once you know this you simply need to make sure that the wiring matches that of your F-150.
While you are testing your wire functions I would also use some heat shrink butt connectors like part # DW05744-5 (5 pack) or # DW05744-10 (10 pack). These will provide a much more secure connection than electrical tape and will keep water from getting to them. You will also want to check your ground connections to ensure that they are securely connected to a clean, bare-metal surface.
Products Referenced in This Question
Deka Heat Shrink Butt Connector - 16-14 Gauge - Nylon Insulation - Blue - Qty 10
- Wiring
- Wire Connectors
- Butt Connectors
- 16-14 Gauge
- Deka
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Deka Heat Shrink Butt Connector - 16-14 Gauge - Nylon Insulation - Blue - Qty 5
- Wiring
- Wire Connectors
- Butt Connectors
- 16-14 Gauge
- Deka
more information >
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