Trailer lights on my 80

[Jrob80]

I have a 1996 LC and the other night I went to hook up to one of my buddies trailers to help him move and when we hooked up the lights they didn't work quite right.

1. The lights were all real dim
2. Rt turn signal = blink like hazards were on
3. Lt turn signal = worked perfect
4. brakes worked but were really faint.
5. Hazards worked but were faint.

For all I know the dealer hooked these up for the previous owner. I have only needed trailer lights a couple times before and they worked, I don't know what would have changed?

Any help with what color does what etc would be great thanks in advance!

 

[Vitesse_6]

Is this a flat 4?
Sounds like it could be a grounding issue.


EDIT...
I needed a converter so all the lights would work properly, Something like what is in the link below.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac..._/N-262o?counter=0&itemIdentifier=182754_0_0_

 

[Jrob80]

Yes it is the flat 4, I really don't want to have to buy a kit to get it to work but maybe I will have to

 

[Vitesse_6]

Yes it is the flat 4, I really don't want to have to buy a kit to get it to work but maybe I will have to

I bought the converter because my tail lights wouldn't work on my trailer, Everything else did, Once I wired in the converter everything worked as they should.
I still think you may have a grounding issue because you say the lights are dim.

 

[96r50]

It's pretty easy to test the wiring on your 80 with a multimeter.

I'm assuming you have a 4-flat connector hanging of the back of the truck. The four wires should be coloured as follows:
White: ground
Brown: running lights
Green: right turn/right brake light
Yellow: left turn/left brake light

To test the truck wiring, take the negative lead from the multimeter and put it in/hold it against the ground pin (the one that looks different from the rest).
-Turn on the trucks running lights. You should get 12V from the brown wire.
-Turn on the hazard lights. You should get 12V pulses from the green and yellow wires. You could also put a weight on the brake pedal instead, and you should get constant 12V at the green and yellow wires. Obviously the turn signals should pulse 12V to their respective wires.

If this works, the truck should be fine. Time to start looking at the trailer!

 

[woody]

FYI, if you are running LED taillights, then these converters will cause some VERY irritating oddities...

with a trailer hooked up, all will work fine...however, with no trailer lights hooked up, the resistance from the LED lights are so low that your cruise control will kick out any time you flip the turn signals.

tracking that down was a few months worth of headaches...

 

[Jrob80]

FYI, if you are running LED taillights, then these converters will cause some VERY irritating oddities...

with a trailer hooked up, all will work fine...however, with no trailer lights hooked up, the resistance from the LED lights are so low that your cruise control will kick out any time you flip the turn signals.

tracking that down was a few months worth of headaches...

BINGO! I had read that somewhere before . I have LED tail lights, Woody what is the solution to fixing?

 

[woody]

honestly, I removed the adapter...although I need to reinstall soon, since I'm picking up a small trailer for my RZR...

I'd suggest running one of those cheesy receiver-plugs and see if that adds enough resistance.

The 'correct' solution is to locate a resister inline with the brake wiring...

Load Resistor Statement: If installing LED bulbs in your car or motorcycle causes your blinkers to blink fast or causes other electrical problems you may need to install a load resistor to correct these problems. Since LED bulbs draw much less current then standard incandescent bulbs your electrical computer system may think that your bulbs are not working. The AUT-RES-6-50 should resolve these problems. This is a 6 Ohms 50 Watt resistor that needs to be installed in-line with your tail/blinker lights, one Load resistor (AUT-RES-6-50) is required for each tail/blinker light.

LED Light Bulbs, Automotive, Tail & Brake Light Wedge Base - LEDtronics - C142K107

I had something similar installed, improperly installed, and melted the wiring...

so, do it right