Using A Marker Light With Two Wires To Replace Old Light That Only Had One Wire

Question

Question:

Im replacing old trailer marker lights the ones on the side with new ones. The old ones just had one wire, black. The new ones have both red and black. Which one do I hook up? What do I do with the other one?

asked by: Janet R

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Expert Reply:

Since your old trailer light only utilized one wire that means the one wire was used for power and the old light got it's ground through the mounting hardware.

Since the new light like # MCL44AB has two wires, one for power and one for ground, you'll just need to connect the black wire for power to your trailer, and then run the white wire to your frame and ground it.

expert reply by: Bryce D

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Answer 1

A trailer light that only has 1 wire means that it grounds through its mounting hardware. The single wire is the power wire. The best surface to ground a light to is steel. If steel is not available in the area the light installs you can attach a…

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Answer 2

The lighting on your 1987 camper van used a single power wire input and would ground the lamp through the lights mounting bracket. This is how the Optronics LED Trailer Clearance and Side Marker Light #MCL44AB1 would connect. The Optronics LED…

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Answer 3

Two-wire LED clearance lights such as the Red #MCL32RB or the Amber #MCL44AB have one wire for the power lead and one ground wire. The wire that was attached to your old clearance lights will be spliced to the power wire of your new lights. The black…

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Answer 4

If you are replacing a trailer marker/clearance light that only has one wire with a trailer marker/clearance light that has two wires like the part #MCL44AB that means the previous light grounded though the mounting hardware and the new light grounds…

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Answer 5

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Answer 6

When installing a sidemarker light such as this Optronics Trailer Light #MCL44AB you will want to splice into the signal wire for your trailer running lights circuit and then run the ground wire to a clean metal surface. The black wire will be the…

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Answer 7

There are typically only two wires on a clearance light which are for ground and power. There is not a standard wire color to function chart on a trailer for anyone to abide by so it will be best to test them for function with a circuit tester. In…

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Answer 8

For a clearance light like the #MCL44AB The black wire on the light would be connected to the running light circuit on your trailer. That said, wire colors are not universal. We would go in with a wire probe like the #PTW2993 to determine function.

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Answer 9

Yes, you just have to remove the old lights, match the wires and mount the new ones. Please note, that it is usually not a good idea to mix LEDs and incandescent lights, so if you have have side markers or other lights on the trailer, make sure you…

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Answer 10

The Bonded 4 Wire - per foot #16-4B-1 you asked from would use the brown running light wire for your clearance/marker lights. The LED light you referenced sound like they have two wires so one will be power and the other ground. You can connect them…

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Answer 11

Trailer lights that only have one wire are designed to ground through the mounting hardware of the light. So signal is carried to the single power wire of the light and then it grounds through the mounting hardware. If you go to install a light that…

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Answer 12

Your old trailer lights like #MCL67AB are grounded to the trailer via their mounting hardware. Since your new lamps use 2 wires, you'll connect the red wire to the trailer running lamp circuit and install a ring terminal on the end of the black…

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