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Brake light on trailer wiring
Mark is right, you can easily fry some spendy electric hardware crossing wires in a modern vehicle.
You can also do some pretty major MECHANICAL (read REALLY spendy) damage by connecting a few wires together wrong.
For instance, a lot of modern automatics use, amongst other things, the presence of 12 volts in the brake light circuit past the switch as a sign you are stopping and it is one of the triggers that unlocks the torque converter.
If your trailer harness back feeds the brake light circuit with 12 volts on such a vehicle, even at a low enough amperage that the lights don't come on, the torque converter will never lock up, and that together with the extra weight of even a small trailer can cause severe over-heating, this will shorten if not end the transmissions life. It will also likely void the warranty on said transmission.
Best of luck.
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Brake light on trailer wiring
Okay, I think you guys are thinking this is way more complicated than it is. This is a small trailer that does not have brakes, just brake lights. (No battery.) I am trying to hook up a four wire harness to a car. Blinkers work, tailights work, but the brake lights do not work. Besides the overwhelming advice to stop working on this car (which has been noted,) does anybody have any other ideas?
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Brake light on trailer wiring
Ok, skipping the potential issues for the moment, a little more info. is needed to answer your question.
Is the vehicle equipped with a separate turn signal and brake light, such as the Japanese cars that have a yellow turn signal and a red brake light?
If that is the case, you need a 5 to 4 wire converter. It is basically a small set rectifiers (one way valves for electricity) and solenoids which allow the voltage to flow from the cars turn signal into the brake light circuit of the trailer and make it flash, without back feeding the brake lights on the car and making them flash too. These are available most any place that sells trailer wiring stuff such as auto parts places.
In a 'standard' 4 wire harness, the brake light flashes as a turn signal. In such cases the wiring is easier described as there being a ground wire, a running light wire, and a pair of brake light wires.
Best of luck.
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Brake light on trailer wiring
Murf, you are the man! Yes, I failed to mention that this is a Japanese car, and yes, seperate yellow turn signals. Okay, I am off to tractor supply and then I'm going to fry my wifes car.
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Brake light on trailer wiring
If you haven't already started, I strongly suggest you spend the extra couple of dollars and buy the pre-made trailer converter, Hoppy is one of the biggest. I believe Draw-tite also make them, as well as several others.
The big advantage to these setups is they are about as simple as gravity, and use the factory harness connections. All you do is split apart a particular plug under the vehicle and plug in the T-fitting they give you!!!
All connections are then completely waterproof and guaranteed correct.
Best of luck.
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Brake light on trailer wiring
Klein, sorry you missed Dennis and my comments on wiring options earlier. kt
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Brake light on trailer wiring
I also believe that if you hack up your wiring by splicing the lines your new car warranty may be voided by the dealer.
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Brake light on trailer wiring
I appreciated everybodies input, and if it appeared that I was missing information, maybe I wasnt giving enough. Murfs post seemed to contain the only info I could use right now. I need this thing tommorow morning, so dealerships and internet parts wernt an option. The part about foriegn cars having a seperate turn signal got my unstuck from where I was. TS had the part, and I am all fixed up. Except now my headlights won't turn on. Any ideas?
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Brake light on trailer wiring
Just kidding about the headlights.
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Brake light on trailer wiring
Have you checked for a loose nut behind the steering wheel?
Kenny T. in SC has found the same loose nut behind the wheel of his pickumtruck for many years now. Iareckon he's taken a shine to himself...errrr...the ol' nut.
But he's a good nut.
Or was it that he had a loose screw? hmmmm
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