Like it says up there, I'm tired of blowing bulbs, and having crap trailer lights.
My truck has one dual filament bulb per side for tail, brake, and directional light. I'd like to be able to hook up to any standard 4 wire connection (7 wire not really needed-no trailer brakes).
Most converter boxes are widely renowned as junk. Who has a good one that has been reliable, cheap would be nice, but I want to be Legal! Please help.
What's wrong with the Hoppy's? Get the one that's custom made for your truck.
In reply to Dr. Hess :
Thanks, off to check it out....
In more direct response: I don't know what's wrong with the Hoppy's
Dr. Hess, have you used one of these kits? It looks too simple. I thought (perhaps quite incorrectly) that the two bulb input had to be switched over to a 4 bulb set-up. I soldered in a Harbour Freight 4 pin adaptor, but it back feeds, and blows light bulbs. My belief is it wants one signal fo tail, one for brake, and one for each blinker. Unfortunately, with the two bulb setup on the truck, it has two brake inputs, and the left, which I spliced into, tries to feed the right, if that makes ANY sense.
I would of course, love a plug and play. Off to see if the factory connections are intact...Many hacks involved. The last one (or two) was me.
I'm working on it.
I used this one (probably an older version) on an 01 Cadillac sts for years with no complaints.
https://www.etrailer.com/Custom-Fit-Vehicle-Wiring/Curt/C56190.html
I used one of the kits from etrailer as well on an Acura TL no complaints plugged into the car harness then into the tail lights.
What kind of truck? Chevy and Ford make a unit that plugs into the factory harness at the back of the box. I got one from NAPA.
Perhaps your truck manufacturer has one.
914Driver said:What kind of truck? Chevy and Ford make a unit that plugs into the factory harness at the back of the box. I got one from NAPA.
Perhaps your truck manufacturer has one.
This is what I use on my 2000 Chevy.. Works fine. I can't remember the name, but I got it either at NAPA or Advance. The only problem I've had is grounds, which isn't the fault of this thing on my rusty POS.
I put the Hoppy kit on whatever I'm towing with. They have kits that plug directly into your harness. You don't have to do anything, just plug it in. OK, you might have to take the tail light lens out to get to the plug.
My ZAV came all berked up. Someone had put it together wrong, probably at the dealer when it was new. It only worked because they added in a short circuit protector gizmo, which was good because they had the brake light wired to ground. After 19 years, it died. Probably well before that, actually. Anyway, pulled that crap out and put a Hoppy in. I have another on on my bike for the HF trailer. The bike has separate brake and turn signals, trailer uses 4 wire. Works fine.
I am 99% sure I deleted the factory connections chasing shorts a while back, and while I could throw one of these in easily enough,
, it just seems too simple to run a multi light trailer, a-la U-Haul.
I admit I may be overcomplicating this quite a bit.
They make Hoppy kits that you plug in series with your tail light connectors. That is, you unplug the tail light, plug the Hoppy connectgors between the harness connector and the tail light. I think you are way overcomplicating this.
I think you're over complicating things. If you've got one bulb per side on the the truck there's no converting to do. The tail light wire that feeds both truck bulbs goes to the brown wire (Pin 2) the brake/turn wire to the left side of the truck goes to the yellow wire (Pin 3) and the brake/turn to the right side goes to the green wire (Pin 4). The white wire (Pin 1) gets attached to a good ground. The only vehicles that need any kind of converter are those that have separate turn signal bulbs or new ones that control the lights through the CAN buss.
Yeah, if you have the same filament acting as the brake and turn then you don't need a box at all.
Thank you all for that. Sometimes I do overcomplicate stuff. I'll delve into it a little deeper at a later date. For the time being, I have brake, turn and tail on the truck. Responses greatly appreciated.
Do yourself a favor and run a ground wire to your lights. Convert to LED and call it a day. I learned from the saltwater guys that crappy grounds are the devil's playground. I used a drop cord cut in half to run the wires on each side.
I got the Reese version from Amazon for my Mazda. It has worked flawlessly for almost a year. Granted, my trailer is all LED, so very little load, but I'm happy with it.
wheelsmithy said:... For the time being, I have brake, turn and tail on the truck...
Now I'm confused. In your initial post you said that there was one bulb per side. Are you now saying that they're separate? Perhaps it would be clearer if we knew exactly what the truck is.
Brake, turn, and tail can all be handled by one bulb and often are. The brake filament is simply interrupted by the turn signal switch.
Curtis said:Brake, turn, and tail can all be handled by one bulb and often are. The brake filament is simply interrupted by the turn signal switch.
I'm aware of that but since all vehicles have those functions and the OP's OP indicated that they were combined I'm not sure what he's telling us by listing the functions seperatly.
In reply to APEowner :
I appreciate everyone's input.
I have a 93 Dodge W250. One dual filament tail light per side. Dim element for tail, bright for both brake and turn.
The problem is the truck gets brake/turn signal from a single source, so when I hook a standard 4 pin connector up, the left turn backfeeds through the right turn circuit (as near as I can tell). So, for instance, if I turn on the truck's left blinker, the right gets signal, but only with trailer atatched. I, too thought this a simple matter when I "cleaned up" all the previous E36M3, but still experience problems when towing, specifically with fleet rentals like U-Haul trailers. I haven't been under the truck in a couple of years, but hoped someone here might have a simple solution. I know there are boxes made to sort this out, but every suggestion I have seen so far, is for vehicles with multi-bulb tail/turn signals.
I hate to belabor the point, and appreciate everyone's patience, but have tried the obvious fixes. I am no stranger to wiring, but could be being exceptionally stupid. Maybe this is why new trucks have trailer light computers.
https://smile.amazon.com/Hopkins-42105-Simple-Vehicle-Wiring/dp/B0002Q7ZFA
I mean, it's like:
Doc, I have a lung infection.
Here, take this antibiotic.
Doc, I have an infection In My Lung, it's like In My Lung, OK?
Did you take the antibiotic?
Doc this infection, it's in my lung, and not my big toe.
Did you take the antibiotic?
But my infection is in my lung.
wheelsmithy said:In reply to APEowner :
I appreciate everyone's input.
I have a 93 Dodge W250. One dual filament tail light per side. Dim element for tail, bright for both brake and turn.
The problem is the truck gets brake/turn signal from a single source, so when I hook a standard 4 pin connector up, the left turn backfeeds through the right turn circuit (as near as I can tell). So, for instance, if I turn on the truck's left blinker, the right gets signal, but only with trailer atatched. I, too thought this a simple matter when I "cleaned up" all the previous E36M3, but still experience problems when towing, specifically with fleet rentals like U-Haul trailers. I haven't been under the truck in a couple of years, but hoped someone here might have a simple solution. I know there are boxes made to sort this out, but every suggestion I have seen so far, is for vehicles with multi-bulb tail/turn signals.
I hate to belabor the point, and appreciate everyone's patience, but have tried the obvious fixes. I am no stranger to wiring, but could be being exceptionally stupid. Maybe this is why new trucks have trailer light computers.
You don't need a logic box, computer or converter of any kind. If you haven't eliminated the connectors where it plugs in then the harness that Doc linked to is the easy way to make the connections you need. If you've modified the harness trying to correct other issues then you'll need to wire from scratch but it's still pretty simple.
The tail light wire that feeds both truck bulbs goes to the brown wire (Pin 2) on the trailer wire
The brake/turn wire to the left side of the truck goes to the yellow wire (Pin 3)
The brake/turn to the right side goes to the green wire (Pin 4).
The white wire (Pin 1) gets attached to a good ground
They symptom you describe is the result of a bad ground. Either the white wire wasn't attached to a good ground or the trailer had a grounding issue. Some U-Haul trailers have an alligator clip on the harness that needs to be attached to a good ground on the truck.
In reply to all:
Thank you all for your patience.
Specifically, Dr Hess, I apologize for being dense.
As this truck is a rust bucket, The bad ground thing makes complete sense. I accept my time with the dunce cap, and will trouble the forum no more with my increasingly circular logic.
You all are a tolerant bunch. Much love. I'll fiddle with it soon
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