Trailer light wiring

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May 5, 2013
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11
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Location
Frederick, MD
Well I'm moving this weekend and need to tow a trailer for about a 6 hour drive. When I got my 80, it already had been wired for trailer lighting, but it was a really crappy job and I ended up having to completely replace my tail light wiring because it was so chopped up. So now I need to install wiring again, but actually do a good working job at it. I just have a generic flat 4-prong harness that I need to splice into my lights. I've already called around and can't find anyone that can do it this week before I leave (everyone is busy for the 4th). I've never done this before so any help on how to hook it up, what wires need to be spliced to what, etc. would be appreciated.
 
give me a minute to find my gallery of when I did my 7 pin light install. Its not hard at all. one second. Okay here is my thread, you need a converter that will take 5 wires to 4, they are cheap and easy to find and I should have the wire color and location listed on this thread

Well I'm moving this weekend and need to tow a trailer for about a 6 hour drive. When I got my 80, it already had been wired for trailer lighting, but it was a really crappy job and I ended up having to completely replace my tail light wiring because it was so chopped up. So now I need to install wiring again, but actually do a good working job at it. I just have a generic flat 4-prong harness that I need to splice into my lights. I've already called around and can't find anyone that can do it this week before I leave (everyone is busy for the 4th). I've never done this before so any help on how to hook it up, what wires need to be spliced to what, etc. would be appreciated.
 
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give me a minute to find my gallery of when I did my 7 pin light install. Its not hard at all. one second. Okay here is my thread, you need a converter that will take 5 wires to 4, they are cheap and easy to find and I should have the wire color and location listed on this thread
I'm not hooking up a 7 prong hadness or brakes though, so would I still need the converter?
Here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002RNSH8/?tag=ihco-20

Plug and play, takes all of 10 mins to install.
I don't have enough time to order that since I'm leaving this weekend.
 
I'm not hooking up a 7 prong hadness or brakes though, so would I still need the converter?

I don't have enough time to order that since I'm leaving this weekend.

The converter translates our separate signal and stop lights and converts them to a combined lead. going from 5 wires down to 4. Without a converter you can have brake lights or turn signals...not both.

Its a breeze though, once you pin point all 5 truck wires to tap into, its just a matter of match the colors. The 7 pin harness is exactly the same pin configuration as a 4 pin with the addition of + and - power for the trailer brakes coming off your battery and a reverse light (optional) 4+3 = 7
 
So how do you do it with out the plug & play?
I caved and bought the plug and play. Im not sure if it was the converter box, or my splices or what...but I couldn't get voltage to work with the hand spliced setup. It worked for a while, but then didn't I went with the hopkins plug and play kit and am happy with it.
 
Bought a 5 wire harness with converter but thought about buying the plug and play harness. I had just removed the passenger seat heater assembly and noticed that the three electrical plugs on the heater were exactly the plugs needed to hook up the trailer wiring harness. This is on a '94. They worked perfectly.
 

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