blinker/tail lights question

[Larwyn]

In that case the light for the blinker should have two wires, one for positive and one for negative, and the combo will have 3 wires one for the stop light, one for the tail light and one for negative/ground.

AH! thats what i was looking for! lol and now that i am going back and looking at the lights on different sites, i do see three wires from the tail portion and two from the blinker/amber lights.. thank you. i believe i do get it now. For the actual grounding portion, you mean that every single light is wired to the same ground throughout the trailer? just chained off of one another? that in turn..i assume grounds at the front trailer.

thanks again!!!

Yes, I ground the white wire from the trailer connector to the frame of the trailer as well as running it to each light. Many just use the frame for the ground and it works fine for a little while but most always causes lighting problems down the road as connections corrode. Copper is a better conductor than a steel frame, especially a rusty connection to a steel frame.

[rhltechie]

ah..gotcha. if i do happen to get a light that i intend to use for a blinker and it has three pig tails, i just use the two i need and leave the third taped and unconnected?

[Larwyn]

Yep, you could do that or go ahead and wire the tail light. You might have to name that trailer the Impala with all those tail lights..........

[rhltechie]

HEHE....i will look like space shuttle!!!

[brian_bp]

If that is the case I would just add additional side markers and wire them up with the blinkers on the rear. That would leave the original markers to act as running lights which is required. Sure the additional lights will also function as brake lights, but who/what is that going to hurt?

So there I am, driving down the road beside a trailer. I can only see the near side of the trailer... not the other side. The lights on the side which I can see flash. At this point I suppose that I am expected to rub my crystal ball and see that this is the result of the driver touching the brakes, not a turn signal.

If I take evasive action to avoid being creamed by the few tons of trailer which is apparently about to lane change into me, but it's really not about to do that, what useful function was performed here by connecting tail light wires to marker lights?

The point of flashing the light on the sides is to inform other drivers, not to cause confusion. If you're not going to hook them up correctly, then I suggest not hooking them up at all.

[brian_bp]

...For the actual grounding portion, you mean that every single light is wired to the same ground throughout the trailer? just chained off of one another? that in turn..i assume grounds at the front trailer.

It is common to chain the negative or "ground" connection for all the lights together, or in whatever combination makes the wiring easiest.

At the front, they all connect to the "ground" pin of the connection to the tow vehicle. If the lights use wires for the negative connection - not the frame - then I see no reason to connect the DC wiring for the lights to the frame at all.

[rhltechie]

there I am, driving down the road beside a trailer. I can only see the near side of the trailer... not the other side. The lights on the side which I can see flash. At this point I suppose that I am expected to rub my crystal ball and see that this is the result of the driver touching the brakes, not a turn signal.

If I take evasive action to avoid being creamed by the few tons of trailer which is apparently about to lane change into me, but it's really not about to do that, what useful function was performed here by connecting tail light wires to marker lights?

The point of flashing the light on the sides is to inform other drivers, not to cause confusion. If you're not going to hook them up correctly, then I suggest not hooking them up at all.

hi brian...

this was not my intention..my intention was to have the lights only flash when i DID have the blinker on..therefore if you were there and saw them blinking...apparently you are correct and i did not see you...and i would in face be attempting to get over...i didnt want them to just flash randmomly..lol...that would just be weird.

[brian_bp]

yikes..yeah that sounds more complicated that i wish to get for a few blinking lights!! my original plan was actually just to do what i believe you described. have a brake and a turn signal light seperate on the back for each side. so you say i will need some sort of "isolator" to make this work?

I agree that the most straightforward way to have properly functioning blinkers on the side is to just keep the "stop" function separate from the "turn" functions, which means using separate stop and turn on the back.

An isolator is just a device which provides power to the lights from its own power circuit, controlled by the tow vehicle's light circuits but not drawing any significant current from them. It keeps faults on the trailer from disabling the tug's lights, and avoids overloading the tugs lighting circuits (which are usually not expected to run a bunch of extra lights).

[brian_bp]

...
this was not my intention..my intention was to have the lights only flash when i DID have the blinker on..therefore if you were there and saw them blinking...apparently you are correct and i did not see you...and i would in face be attempting to get over...i didnt want them to just flash randmomly..lol...that would just be weird.

Right, I understand that's the intention, and the right way to go. I was just responding to the suggestion that it would be okay to have the side markers connected to the combined stop/turn signals.

[brian_bp]

hi..thanks for reply.

Don't buy the adapter and use a connector that has at least 5 pins.

I dont think I understand this...I need something that connects at the back of the jeep to go out to the trailer correct? I thought this was the adapter portion...hmm....i am a little confuzzled

The T-One product shown at the beginning of the thread has two parts to it:

1. a set of connectors and wires to plug into the Jeep's wiring without needing to splice anything; and,
2. a converter to take the five-wire separate signals and combine them into the four-wire system.

The converter isn't needed if you keep the stop and turn signals separte on the trailer, but the connectors and wiring are still needed to connect any kind of trailer lights unless you want to splice directly into the Jeep's wires (which many people do).

Some vehicles - particularly trucks and truck-based SUVs - have a connector just waiting for you to plug into it... or even a connector on the hitch ready for the trailer plug. The T-One shown has connectors which appear to intercept the wiring in the interior of the Jeep, which they would only do if they thought that it is required for that particular model.

[brian_bp]

ah..gotcha. if i do happen to get a light that i intend to use for a blinker and it has three pig tails, i just use the two i need and leave the third taped and unconnected?

Sure, if it's an amber lamp mounted on the tail, just use the wire for the brighter light as the signal lamp, connect the ground, and don't use the other one.

If it's an red lamp mounted on the tail, you can use the wire for the brighter light as the signal lamp, connect the ground, and either don't use the other one or connect it as an extra tail lamp. It is probably a more clear turn signal without the tail function connnected... but an amber lamp is much more clearly a turn signal than any configuration of red lamp.

If you don't like the look of amber lenses on the tail of the trailer, you can use LED lamps which are clear but produce amber light.

On the side, these dual-intensity (three wire) lamps can be used as both marker light (the lower intensity) and signal light (the brighter one), just like a tail+signal on the rear. Red marker/turn at the rear end of the side, amber marker/turn at the middle (if used) and front. Yeah, I know, teardrops are not long enough to need middle marker lights!

[Larwyn]

If that is the case I would just add additional side markers and wire them up with the blinkers on the rear. That would leave the original markers to act as running lights which is required. Sure the additional lights will also function as brake lights, but who/what is that going to hurt?

So there I am, driving down the road beside a trailer. I can only see the near side of the trailer... not the other side. The lights on the side which I can see flash. At this point I suppose that I am expected to rub my crystal ball and see that this is the result of the driver touching the brakes, not a turn signal.

If I take evasive action to avoid being creamed by the few tons of trailer which is apparently about to lane change into me, but it's really not about to do that, what useful function was performed here by connecting tail light wires to marker lights?

The point of flashing the light on the sides is to inform other drivers, not to cause confusion. If you're not going to hook them up correctly, then I suggest not hooking them up at all.

Well Bryan ole sport, if you are driving down the road and dodging teardrop trailers that weigh several tons, perhaps you should worry more about your imigination or what you are smoking than any marker lights.

There is no requirement for side blinkers and as far as I know nothing that states you cannot or should not have brake lights on the side of your trailer. The only requirement is for running lights on the side of the trailer.

The OP's question had been answered long before you posted 6 more replies just to see yourself post, I soupose. Your tone is a bit high and mighty, so just to let you know, I am not impressed with your story. Maybe you should peer into that crystal ball of yours and see if you can see which finger I am holding up. You can take your wise a$$ attitude and .........................

[Larwyn]

...For the actual grounding portion, you mean that every single light is wired to the same ground throughout the trailer? just chained off of one another? that in turn..i assume grounds at the front trailer.

It is common to chain the negative or "ground" connection for all the lights together, or in whatever combination makes the wiring easiest.

At the front, they all connect to the "ground" pin of the connection to the tow vehicle. If the lights use wires for the negative connection - not the frame - then I see no reason to connect the DC wiring for the lights to the frame at all.

Brian,

It is not much trouble to connect the ground to the frame. and it could come in handy if you decide to pull the trailer with a vehicle on the ground wire has either broken, corroded, or never been connected. It does happen and the trailer will ground to the tow vehicle through the trailer ball. It is not the preferred method but it is used more often than most people think.

As far as your opinion; "You cannot know how much I do not care".

[brian_bp]

...Well Bryan ole sport, if you are driving down the road and dodging teardrop trailers that weigh several tons, perhaps you should worry more about your imigination or what you are smoking than any marker lights.

I thought that it was obvious that my story was inspired by experiences involving larger trailers with bad lighting, and that the scale just exaggerates the consequences and so draws attention to the problem. I apologize for overestimating some of the audience.

I suppose I should just let teardrop-sized trailers lane change into me, although I think the "OP" is trying improve the trailers lighting for the very purpose of avoiding collisions.

...There is no requirement for side blinkers and as far as I know nothing that states you cannot or should not have brake lights on the side of your trailer. The only requirement is for running lights on the side of the trailer.

I agree that signal lights are not required on the side of trailer. Brake lights are not required on the side (or front for that mattter), but "not required" is not the same as "allowed" or "correct", or "a good idea".

...The OP's question had been answered long before you posted 6 more replies...

I now understand that "been answered" means "been answered by the person who thinks that only his opinion matters". Thanks for the clarification.

I was only trying to be helpful. I'll remember to not try that from now on.

[BPFox]

All disagreemts aside, many trailer manufacurers are now starting to put turn signal lights on the sides of trailers. This is true even for small 5x8 utility trailers. The most common placement is on the top of the fender. That said, these lights are turn signal only. There are some two filement styles that I have seen that would be for turn signal and running lights. There are some brake lights available that are visable from the side but are still placed at the rear of the trailer.