Problem wiring of trailer lights (1 Viewer)

[CruiserLegolas]

I bought a brand new enclosed 5x8 haulmark trailer, but the trailer wiring on my 96 Toyota FZJ80 is bad.

I followed the 4-pin connector wires under the rig to the rear side panel. I took out the side panel and found out that it has a Lexus setup. The 4-pin connector says Lexus and the Trailer Tailight Converter box also says Lexus.

When I turn my right signal on, the left signal light blinks on the trailer itself. I bought a little LED test connector and it does the same thing -- the left light goes one when I turn my right signal.

Nothing happens on either the trailer or the test LED connector when I turn the left signal. Also, when I apply the brakes, the lights on the 80 go on fine, but not on the trailer and not on the test LED connector.

All the lights (brakes and turn signals) work fine on the 80. The lights on the trailer work fine when tested at the trailer shop using some kind of light testing machine.

I cut the wires coming out of the Lexus Tailight Converter and hooked up the wires for a new 4-pin connector from Pep Boys. It had the same exact problem.

I decided to cross the wires to get the left signal going with the left signal light on the trailer and this worked. However, the brake lights and the right signal light don't work.

By the way, when I turn on the lights on the 80, all the correct lights on the trailer turn on -- just not the brake lights and not the right signal light.

If anyone has any idea on what to try, please let me know. I didn't want to cut any more wires for now until I figure out a plan.

Could it be the Lexus Trailer Tailight Converter box gone bad?

I didn't see any fuses under the dashboard that could affect this. Also, the lights on the 80 work fine.

 

[grant5127]

I had a similar problem with one once and ended up buying a 4 bulb to a 2 bulb universal trailer converter from the parts store....after I rigged that in all was fine.......

 

[jonheld]

I just did this on my truck. I doubt the flat 4 on the truck is faulty, but that's easy to test with a meter. More than likely the trailer has been wired incorrectly, but again that's easy to test with a meter.

http://www.trailerwiring.com/
http://www.accessconnect.com/trailer_wiring_diagram.htm

 

[CruiserLegolas]

Thanks for the links. I'm pretty sure it's not the trailer. I saw it working at the trailer shop.

Also, if I take the trailer out the picture and use my 4-pin keychain tester (see attached picture), then I have the same problem -- brake lights not working and right turn signal not working.

I might have to borrow a meter to test converter box. I really want to fix this problem right.

 

[jonheld]

Then I suppose it's possible that the installer used the wrong kit for your vehicle or hard wired a kit the wrong way but that takes some skill . Most direct fit kits simply plug into the existing tail light harness on the passenger side and run a single left turn wire to the driver's side. However I don't know what kit was used on your vehicle. Have a look at http://www.trailerwiring.com/ and you can purchase a direct fit kit if you can salvage your original wiring and connectors.

 

[96r50]

I had one of those testers. My truck connection works fine, but the tester said otherwise. I ended up throwing it out. Definitely get a voltmeter/testlight and check it out.

 

[CruiserLegolas]

I just tried the 4-pin tester on a 2006 Nissan Xterra and the tester worked fine. It reported the correct brake lights, turn signals, and emergency lights.

I need to get my hands on a volt meter to test the converter box...

 

[CruiserLegolas]

4-pin to 7-pin wiring on 96 FZJ

It turns out that my Trailer Light Converter box is bad, so I'm going to replace it.

However, I have another question. Has anyone installed the 7-pin connector? Have pictures of the setup?

I want to tow an Adventure Trailer http:/www.adventuretrailers.com but they require a 7-pin connector.

I'm looking at an adapter that has both the 4-pin and 7-pin connectors, but I can't figure out what to connect the extra wire-leads on the 7-pin connector. I was looking at http://www.accessconnect.com/multi_tow_connectors.htm

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Brentbba]

From experience, those little testers don't draw enough current thru the converter box to find the problem. You've found it yourself. Congrats. Easiest solution for the 4-pin replacement is a Hoppy. Runs about $45-50 and is the same molex plug and play that your original 'lexus' was. They work great.

For an upgrade to 7-pin, you'll need to purchase a brake controller and get it wired up to the truck. Lots of us here on the board are very happy with the Tekonsha Prodigy model. It's what I've been using for several years now. Have your trailer shop wire that sucker up for you.

 

[450 DUDE]

This same thing happened to me , I purchased the new converter box kit for the 80 from hoppy, and all was good.

You dont have to have a brake controller to install a 7 pin connector, just leave those leads unconnected.
Im also running a hoppy 7 and 4 pin combo unit, Its the way to go.
I will see if I can dig up some pics.

ken



There a pic in here.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=157835&highlight=bumper

 

[CruiserLegolas]

I had to fix this by this weekend and my local parts store only had the Hoppy 48845 Trailer Wiring Converter ($14.99) which requires the wires to be spliced and tied into the existing wires.

The Hoppy 43405 has the plug-and-play connectors and it would have been much easier (no splicing at all) to replace the bad Lexus Trailer Tailight Converter (LTTC) box.

So, I cut the wires from the LTTC box, threw the LTTC box away, and inserted the Hoppy 48845 converter box. I just spliced the wires and tied them to the existing wiring leaving all the existing connectors in place,.

I used the Hoppy 4-pin flat tester to test my wiring and it shows that all the trailer lights (marker lights, brake lights, emergency lights, LT and RT turn signals) are working fine.

Next, I need to get a "4-pin to 7-pin and 4-pin combo connector" and plug it into the newly working 4-pin connector. I'll try that and see if the Adventure Trailer works with it.

By the way, the left picture below is the Hoppy 48845 and the right picture is the often mentioned Hoppy 43405.

 

[corsair23]

However, I have another question. Has anyone installed the 7-pin connector? Have pictures of the setup?

I want to tow an Adventure Trailer http:/www.adventuretrailers.com but they require a 7-pin connector.

I'm looking at an adapter that has both the 4-pin and 7-pin connectors, but I can't figure out what to connect the extra wire-leads on the 7-pin connector. I was looking at http://www.accessconnect.com/multi_tow_connectors.htm

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

I went with a Hoppy 47185 7:4 adapter but I didn't take any pics while I was installing it . It allows you to run both the 4 flat and 7 round connectors as needed.

http://www.amazon.com/Hopkins-Plug-Simple-47185-Multitow/dp/B0002Q80GS

IIRC it had 4 "extra" wires: ground, aux power, brakes, reverse.

I didn't wire up the aux power nor the reverse. If the trailer has electric brakes (not surge) then you need to (should) wire up the blue wire to a brake controller. Ground is a given.

There are some pretty good threads if you search on trailer, trailer wiring, hoppy, etc. Here is one by Valentine that was more about a brake controller but does have some pics of the adapter IIRC: Valentine's thread

If you're pretty good with wiring then it is pretty simple - REAL simple if you aren't wiring up the brake controller as you just plug your already working 4 flat into the adapter and connect up the ground. The only issue I ran into (which I still have not resolved) is that my running lights would not come on (i.e. when the 80s parking and/or head lights were on I didn't have any lights working on the trailer).

If you need to wire up a brake controller then it gets quite a bit more complicated and you can see that in Valentine's thread.

If you haven't been to this site I would recommend it as there is some pretty good info on some options for adapters etc.

http://www.trailerwiring.com/

 

[CruiserLegolas]

Thanks for all the help.

The Adventure Trailer that I was going to borrow does have e-brakes and it does require an e-brake controller, so the 7-pin connector has to be wired correctly. As a result, I can't borrow the trailer this weekend.

I'll read up more on the e-brake controllers mentioned in prior posts, but I'm happy that the 4-pin flat trailer lights connector is fully functional.

By the way, I did read in other posts and other sites that some of these trailer tailight converters burn out faster than expected. I hope the Hoppy one last a while.

Also, the wire splicing and connecting is fairly easy as long as you have a good wire splicer and those yellow twist-on caps to connect the wires. The most difficult part was lining up the wires correctly, so label the wires (RT, LT, BRK, GND, MKR) prior to cutting.

 

[450 DUDE]

Sounds like you got it squared away.

It sounds like you said you were using wire nuts for the wire connection (yellow twist on caps)
IMHO Thats fine for temporary fix but you might want to look into some butt splices or solder.

Good luck,
ken

 

[Vitesse_6]

I had to fix this by this weekend and my local parts store only had the Hoppy 48845 Trailer Wiring Converter ($14.99) which requires the wires to be spliced and tied into the existing wires.

The Hoppy 43405 has the plug-and-play connectors and it would have been much easier (no splicing at all) to replace the bad Lexus Trailer Tailight Converter (LTTC) box.

So, I cut the wires from the LTTC box, threw the LTTC box away, and inserted the Hoppy 48845 converter box. I just spliced the wires and tied them to the existing wiring leaving all the existing connectors in place,.

I used the Hoppy 4-pin flat tester to test my wiring and it shows that all the trailer lights (marker lights, brake lights, emergency lights, LT and RT turn signals) are working fine.

Next, I need to get a "4-pin to 7-pin and 4-pin combo connector" and plug it into the newly working 4-pin connector. I'll try that and see if the Adventure Trailer works with it.

By the way, the left picture below is the Hoppy 48845 and the right picture is the often mentioned Hoppy 43405.

Not to hijack this too much, I just bought some magnetic lights for towing and noticed that the stock 4 pin on the '94 FZJ80 has 5 wires where the other 4 pin plug only has 4, Is this the only way to make this work, Buy using the Hoppy thing? Or can you splice the wires and solder them? If you can solder them wht wire goes to what? I can get pic's if needed.
Thanks for any info, I have been searching for a bit tonight...

 

[96r50]

If your truck has a plug like the one below, the 4 pin trailer side will plug in normally. It just leaves the 5th terminal (the blue wire) empty. If not, I'm not sure what you mean

 

[Vitesse_6]

If your truck has a plug like the one below, the 4 pin trailer side will plug in normally. It just leaves the 5th terminal (the blue wire) empty. If not, I'm not sure what you mean

Thanks for the reply, Im going to start another thread in the trailer section.

 

[CruiserLegolas]

On mine, the white wire is ground.

The Lexus Trailer Tailight Converter and the Hoppy Trailer Converter both take 5 wires as input and only have 4 wires coming out.

I'm looking at my old Lexuc Trailer Tailight Converter and the input side with the 5 wires are marked as follows:

White = GRD
Green = MKR
Green w/blue stripe = LT
Green w/yellow stripe = RT
Green w/white = BRK

The output wires are marked as follows:

Green = RT
White = GRD
Yellow = LT
Brown = MKR

I'm guessing that when you press on the brakes, the Lexus Trailer Tailight Converter sends/converts the signal via the Green and Yellow wires. This is probably why there's no 5th wire for the brakes. Also, that's probably why the box is called a converter.