Turn Signals/Brake lights

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edin351

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Sep 29, 2009
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So I've been working on getting my turn signals to work. I investigated the rear wiring to find that the person who put in a 5wire-to-4wire trailer converter did something rull funky with the wiring. Since the truck has LEDs, it would make sense to hook up the wires to the trailer converter then from the trailer converter to the LED Truck lights in the rear right? Whoever did it had wires spliced in before the converter, which doesn't take advantage of the converter at all. So I redid the wiring, connecting the wires straight to the converter and then from the 4-wire side of the converter connecting those to my rear lights. However, after doing this, I lost brake lights. Any ideas why? The converter combines tail and brake lights, but I thought this was fine, considering trailers work this way...

Question two: Only my front left turn signal works...there must be something funky going on between the front and the rear that i'm not sure about. Why are there separate wires for the front and rear left side turn signals? Is there anything wrong with splicing in a wire to the front one to send to the rear so the rear will light up with the front?

Three: I think my issues are with my hazard switch, but I don't have the time to try to figure it out. I remember reading somewhere someone had bypassed the hazard switch and had working turn signals with just the signal switch, flasher, and lights. I know my flasher and signal switch works, so this seems like something worth trying. Any input?

Thanks from an electrical newb,
Eric
 
I'm not familiar with the LED setup at all, but be sure to check every ground. I had a "floating" ground and when I would fix one thing, I would lose another. The best thing to do is "level the playing field," and by that I mean rule out the usual suspects...grounds being the big one. Also, if you're using LED's you have to make sure you have enough resistance in the system to get the hazard and flasher to work.

Pinhead should be able to help you if he sees this...
 
I am in my own electrical mayhem right now. Whenever i push on the brake my left turn signal does not work atleast for the most part. The right one functions just fine. I am afraid to venture into fixing this myself, does anyone have a general idea of what i should do?
 
I'm a little closer to getting mine to work right...I at least have brake lights and (most times) a left turn signal. much more than was working before.

Elishallen, what lights do you have in the bacK? stock or LEDs?
 
Yeah, thats the gist of it. Sometimes it still blinks but only like once every 3 seconds.
 
edin351 said:
So I've been working on getting my turn signals to work. I investigated the rear wiring to find that the person who put in a 5wire-to-4wire trailer converter did something rull funky with the wiring. Since the truck has LEDs, it would make sense to hook up the wires to the trailer converter then from the trailer converter to the LED Truck lights in the rear right? Whoever did it had wires spliced in before the converter, which doesn't take advantage of the converter at all. So I redid the wiring, connecting the wires straight to the converter and then from the 4-wire side of the converter connecting those to my rear lights. However, after doing this, I lost brake lights. Any ideas why? The converter combines tail and brake lights, but I thought this was fine, considering trailers work this way...

Question two: Only my front left turn signal works...there must be something funky going on between the front and the rear that i'm not sure about. Why are there separate wires for the front and rear left side turn signals? Is there anything wrong with splicing in a wire to the front one to send to the rear so the rear will light up with the front?

Three: I think my issues are with my hazard switch, but I don't have the time to try to figure it out. I remember reading somewhere someone had bypassed the hazard switch and had working turn signals with just the signal switch, flasher, and lights. I know my flasher and signal switch works, so this seems like something worth trying. Any input?

Thanks from an electrical newb,
Eric
Click to expand...
what kind of led lights some have 2 wires some have 3. ? pics of the madness might help
 
Elishallen said:
I am in my own electrical mayhem right now. Whenever i push on the brake my left turn signal does not work atleast for the most part. The right one functions just fine. I am afraid to venture into fixing this myself, does anyone have a general idea of what i should do?
Click to expand...

did this just start happening?
 
77TPIFJ said:
what kind of led lights some have 2 wires some have 3. ? pics of the madness might help
Click to expand...

Ok lemme revise my issue, because it's kinda changed.

I have 4" round LEDs in the back with three wire (ground, tail, stop/turn). The brake lights started working again (I guess it was just a bad connection...redid the connections) and I have a left turn signal.

However, things are not consistent. The left signal does one of two things: (1) Will work normally then when brake is pressed, it will go solid (but front will continue to flash). (2) Will light up half the diodes at a weak intensity and when the brake is pressed, continue to flash (working properly, but at a weak intensity). When (2) happens, it's my understanding this is a resistance problem? That's why people suggest wiring in resistors correct? Why would this happen only sometimes? Also, what kind of resistor should I be wiring in?

Right side is still dead...flasher works, so the problem must be in the wiring to the lights. Gotta dig in there and check it out.
 
Instead of installing resistors to simulate tail lights you can adapt an electronic flasher. The stk flasher operates by resistance & the LED's don't pull enuff amps to activate it. FYI,You would also need an electronic fasher, & trailer converter, if you removed the stk 4 wire tailights and converted to a 3 wire lights w/bulbs.

You need to make sure your front turn lights work too. power & ground.
 
pb4ugo said:
Instead of installing resistors to simulate tail lights you can adapt an electronic flasher. The stk flasher operates by resistance & the LED's don't pull enuff amps to activate it. FYI,You would also need an electronic fasher, & trailer converter, if you removed the stk 4 wire tailights and converted to a 3 wire lights w/bulbs.

You need to make sure your front turn lights work too. power & ground.
Click to expand...

So I have a new wiring harness (not sure what brand, PO installed) but on the fusebox itself, there's only a two pin cylindrical flasher. I'm actually out of town right now so can't look at the truck, but next to the fuse box (hanging there...?) in a black cube...is that a flasher too? Why would i have two? Not sure if it's electronic, the PO didn't put in LEDs so there would be no reason for it to be electronic right?

Also, I already wired in the trailer converter to convert 4 to 3 wires.
 
I not sure what the black cube would be. It could be an emission computer if it has a bunch of wires going to it, or the stk L/C flasher which is a big box usually mounted to the pedal assembly w/2 prongs. The old style round flashers, as you described are usually silver/metal or plastic on domestic cars & work by resistance. . The electronic flasher I got for AZ was plastic w/2 prongs, I believe it said it was load sensing. It was about 10 bucks.
 
pb4ugo said:
I not sure what the black cube would be. It could be an emission computer if it has a bunch of wires going to it, or the stk L/C flasher which is a big box usually mounted to the pedal assembly w/2 prongs. The old style round flashers, as you described are usually silver/metal or plastic on domestic cars & work by resistance. . The electronic flasher I got for AZ was plastic w/2 prongs, I believe it said it was load sensing. It was about 10 bucks.
Click to expand...

Where can I get a two prong electronic flasher? I'll double check when I get home about the black box...although it unplugs and has four prongs (i think) like a flasher.
 
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