What is Needed to Wire Replacement LED Trailer Lights for Separate Turn and Stop Light Functions  

Question:

Helpful Expert Reply:

A standard 4-pole flat trailer connector carries brake light and turn signals on the same wires. Typically the yellow wire carries both left turn and stop light signals and the green wire carries both right turn and stop light signals. The brown wire carries the running light signal for both sides of the trailer and the white wire is the ground. Please refer to the photo attached.

In order to separate the turn and brake signals so they can be sent to separate lights you will need a vehicle-to-vehicle Taillight Converter such as # 118158 from Tow Ready. This converter connects between the trailer 4-pole and the trailer lights. It is best to mount this converter near the 4-pole on the front of your trailer in a protected spot where it will be safe from weather and damage.

The white ground wire from your 4-pole and the white wire on the input (left) side of the converter both connect to your trailer frame using ring terminals, such as # DW05702-1. The yellow and green wires from the 4-pole will connect to the yellow and green wires on the input side of the converter. The brown running light wire from the 4-pole does not connect to the converter; it goes directly from the 4-pole to the wire on your LED tail lights (often this is the black wire on a 3-wire light). You can use butt connectors such as part # 05731-5 to make these connections. The Deka 16-gauge wiring you referenced will work fine.

The three wires on the output side of the converter, green, red and yellow, will attach using butt connectors to the wiring that leads to the lights at the rear of the trailer. The green wire should connect to the right turn light; the red wire connects to the stop light; and the yellow wire connects to the left turn light. Each of the individual LED lights will also need to be grounded to the trailer frame to complete the circuit.

expert reply by: Adam R

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