Trailer Light question

[b.bodemer]

Could anyone help me problem solve this:

My trailer lights don't look bright enough during the day. The hook up works when I connect to my truck and I check for turn signals, brakes, emergency lights, etc. They are not LED lights. I've got the white wire grounded.

With the td almost blocking out the vehicle turn signals I want to make sure everybody behind me knows what I'm doing when I'm towing the td!

Thanks in advance,
Barb

[IndyCubby]

Barb,

A couple of things that come to mind that may help...

First, I've found that the lights appear brighter when you are looking at them from behind at the level that a car or truck may view them. Sometimes the lenses concentrate/aim the light that way and they may not appear that bright standing right above them. Something to consider.

If the lights just aren't bright enough, it may be that they are not getting enough juice from your car. On my last tow vehicle, I installed a tail light converter that had a positive lead to the battery, therefore powering the trailer lights directly from the battery instead of from your vehicle's lights. I found that this converter made my trailer lights a bit brighter than they had been before. There's just more power getting to them that way.

Also, even though your trailer may be grounded, the ground may not be good enough and that could make your lights dim.

One last thing, maybe try some new bulbs. I had almost all my original bulbs go out within a month of putting the harbor freight trailer together. I think they were just cheapo bulbs that were included with the trailer kit. Maybe new GE or Sylvania ones will do better?

Again, just some ideas. Good luck!

[Dale M.]

During the day time no lights look very bright.... At night do lights on trailer look as bright as those on tow vehicle?... IT may be a problem of the way trailer lights were manufactured...Typically they do NOT have internal reflector surfaces behind bulb and some times they do not have bulbs that have a high wattage rating... For example a bulb that is a turn signal and tail lamp will have two elements one being 8 watts(tail lamp) and 12 watts(stop/turn lamp) where a bulb that looks the same may have a 12 watt (tail) and 16 watt (stop/turn lamp) and both bulbs will be 12 volt!.... This is some what analogous to wattage of light bulbs in your home...

Now I've opened up a whole new discussion on bulbs, other will definitely chime in....

http://www.topbulb.com/find/prod_list.a ... gory_E_431
http://autolumination.com/bulb_reference.html

Dale

[bobhenry]

Light are electrical what are you doin' over here !

If you still have those 3" OR 4"inck little black pot lights
try a $3.00 cure. Buy a small can of that chrome look paint at the auto parts store and paint the inside of the can. If it has the clear at the bottom for the plate light and you don't need it , paint it also. This should reflect all the light back where you need it. It's just my guess but it's a cheap place to start.

[b.bodemer]

Thanks guys .....I appreciate all the advice.

Barb

[angib]

My (Yurpeen) experience is that poor quality (ie, thin) cables to the trailer lights give a voltage loss that makes the lights fairly dim. It would be worth putting a voltmeter across the contacts of each rear light, with the bulb present and lit, to see what voltage you're getting in practice. The drop-off of light output with voltage is fairly severe - at 10 volts you get just a dim glow.

If this is the problem, thicker wires are the likely solution, though it's worth the usual check on how good the ground is too.

Andrew

[ARKPAT]

Barb;
I had the same problem with the Harbor Freight Trailer lights being dim. I replaced the whole light with exact LED copies and mounted them in the same brackets and what a real difference it made and using the same wiring. I think all of the above answers are correct. Low voltage, bad ground loop, poor quality of bulb sockets, lack of reflective surface inside the housing and low wattage bulbs. I just bought a new light package at Atwoods ( new store and the where cheap as the HF light $37 for the kit ). Of course the Atwoods light are more now but at the time a great replacement. The new LEDs light are great and very bright. I can use the Licence plate light as a backup area light while backing to see where and what is on the ground at the back of the trailer ( it is that bright ). I gave the old lights to a friend that was going to use them on an ATV. He knows about the lights problems when I gave them to him ( they where free ).





Pat