Half my trailer lights went out

[Justbass11]

I have a 2003 Triton trailer and my half my lights went out. I was thinking about rewiring the trailer and going with LED lights. How hard is this to do??? Thanks for your advice

[Catt]

FYI trailer lights only work in the driveway ?

 

Don't difficult at all

[J Francho]

A wiring harness and light kit is around $50 at Harbor Frieght. It’s the exact same brand that Autozone and Pep Boys sell for $70. I did my son’s trailer in about an hour and a half. Use the old wires to snake the new ones through. 

[Fishing Rhino]

I will add one thing to Francho's sage advice.

 

If your trailer doesn't have rubber grommets where the wires pass through the trailer's frame, go to the hardware store and get some.  They come in various sizes.  Measure the diameter of the hole the wires pass through, and get the size that will fit the holes.

 

Put the grommets in before you run the wires.  For those who have the wires run, you can cut the grommet to get it over the wire, then install it into the hole.

 

[J Francho]

Great tip.  I do that too, but forgot to mention.

[WRB]

You only have 4 lights on your trailer; 2 sealed rear red lights and 2 yellow running lights. If you plan on adding additional LED running light to replace the yellow lights you can use the same wiring. Need to check trailer light color laws where you use your rig.

Tom

[DINK WHISPERER]

As already mentioned, extremely easy to do. I just did mine a few weeks ago. 

[Bassin_0502]

I think I'd try to find out why 'half' the lights went out before investing any time or money in the project. Is it a right vs left 'half' or perhaps brake vs tail light 'half'. Wouldn't want to replace all the wiring just to find out it was the vehicle harness that was the problem and not the trailer at all. Of course, rewiring would certainly eliminate any problems from the trailer harness on back. (Just watch the ground, poor grounding is a very common problem.)

[slonezp]

26 minutes ago, Bassin_0502 said:

I think I'd try to find out why 'half' the lights went out before investing any time or money in the project. Is it a right vs left 'half' or perhaps brake vs tail light 'half'. Wouldn't want to replace all the wiring just to find out it was the vehicle harness that was the problem and not the trailer at all. Of course, rewiring would certainly eliminate any problems from the trailer harness on back. (Just watch the ground, poor grounding is a very common problem.)

While I don't disagree with you, a bad ground will normally affect 1 light, because that ground was compromised, or all the lights because of a bad ground either on the trailer or tow vehicle. Sounds to me like a something else is going on. Something I do a couple times a year is spray electrical contact cleaner into the 7 pin on the truck and 7 to 5 adapter, and wire brush the 5 pin on the trailer.

[Further North]

On 10/29/2017 at 10:03 AM, slonezp said:

While I don't disagree with you, a bad ground will normally affect 1 light, because that ground was compromised, or all the lights because of a bad ground either on the trailer or tow vehicle. Sounds to me like a something else is going on. Something I do a couple times a year is spray electrical contact cleaner into the 7 pin on the truck and 7 to 5 adapter, and wire brush the 5 pin on the trailer.

Great preventive program.  I've been doing similar since the 80s on every trailer I've owned; it makes a difference.

[TheRodFather]

It is easy enough to test for voltage at the wires coming from the truck to prove that the truck wiring is good.  What type of plug does your trailer/truck use?

 

When you find out, use Google for a wiring diagram for your trailer plug type, and assuming the truck wiring is good, it should be easy to figure out which color wire is causing your problems in the trailer.  As far as fixing the wire, or rewiring the trailer, usually when you buy a light kit, it comes with wiring.  Its really a no brainier to just run the all new wiring.  Not a hard job at all. 

 

I suggest using solder and shrink tubing rather than crimp splices.  Harbor Freight has good marine shrink tubing, it has sealant that melts to a waterproof seal when you shrink the tubing.  That will go a long way towards helping things last since the LEDs are water tight, then your connections are also water tight and the only significant point of failure is the plug to the tow vehicle or wires chafing over time.  And the advice given on grommets and cleaning the trailer to truck plug every so often will keep things going for many many years.

 

TRF

[clark9312]

My right turn signal and brake light went out and I can't seem to figure it out

[WRB]

First get contact spray and clean the connections. Change the bulb if it's not a sealed unit, if it's a sealed unit change the unit.

Tom

[TheRodFather]

9 hours ago, clark9312 said:

My right turn signal and brake light went out and I can't seem to figure it out

Do you have a test light, or DVOM?  Just a matter of knowing which wires should have 12v, and which should be grounded.  Then test for 12v, and a good path to ground.  If wiring is good, then the bulb or fixture is bad, as mentioned.

[clark9312]

On 11/1/2017 at 6:43 AM, TheRodFather said:

Do you have a test light, or DVOM?  Just a matter of knowing which wires should have 12v, and which should be grounded.  Then test for 12v, and a good path to ground.  If wiring is good, then the bulb or fixture is bad, as mentioned.

I'm awful when it comes to wiring lol. I can figure most things out but when it comes to wires I get extremely frustrated

[TheRodFather]

In your case there is a strong chance that the fixture itself or bulb is bad.  You could just change it, but troubleshooting it properly might save you some time, money and frustration.

 

TRF

[Further North]

Stoopid question: When you say "... half my lights went out ..."...

 

Which half?

 

Left?

 

Right?

 

Every other light on the whole trailer?

 

...yeah that last question is a bit facetious...but letting us know what's going on will help diagnose the problem.

[Justbass11]

It was the left side and only the brake light worked. I think it's a good  idea to clean the  connection though 

[Further North]

Yeah, it is.

 

Those connections get all gunked up, corroded and oxidized even if we cover them up.

 

Cleaning them is often the quickest solution.

[corn-on-the-rob]

I had issues where there must have been a short causing the right side taillight brakes/signal to blow a fuse in the truck, couldn't isolate the short on the green wire, so just ran a new wire from the tongue. The wiring in a trailer are extremely simple, just a little tricky when it comes to finding out why when they are not working.