no dumb elec questions? taillights...

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no dumb elec questions? taillights...

Postby oklahomajewel » Wed Oct 11, 2006 10:22 am

All my electrical helpers are either out of the loop or too too busy lately and this Jewel Box has got to get finished!!! Most of the electrical is hooked up and tested, all is okay. And I understand way more than I did when this project started -- see, girls? This building stuff is a good way to learn things!

Taillights... I have two on each side in the back, round stop/turn lights I got at PepBoys. They have a green and a black (or maybe it's brown) wire.
The neighbor that hooked up my other 12v light stuff and fuse box, he left a run of the 14 gauge to hook the trailer lights up to. That 14 gauge goes from the hatch area (taillights) and under the trailer thru the conduit and up to the tongue where that connection plug will hook to the vehicle.

Okay. I see that a 4 strand auto wire to the taillights would be green for right turn & brake, and yellow for left turn and brake, and brown for taillights. white for ground.....

So do I need to get some of that 4 strand wire and go from the taillight wire to the 14 gauge, and then do the same from the 14 gauge to the (connection at the tongue)

I hope that makes sense ... I'm about to just grab a different neighbor or pull favors elsewhere to get this DONE!!!!!

Ps... will connecting those wires to the 14 gauge need to be soldered? I can do that.

Thanks!!!

julie
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Postby rainjer » Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:02 am

If you only have 2 wires, 1 is the turn signal & the other will be the brakes. That means the lights ground thru the body of the fixture. If you are mountin them on wood you will need to run a ground wire and attach it to the moutning bolt or to the light fixture base. If you are mounting to metal you do not need a gound wire.

As for the 4 color wire, you do not need to use it but it make it easier to keep track of you wires.

FYI, I found you can get a 20ft wire with the 4 pin plugs at Ace Hardware cheaper than buying just the wire.
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Postby Dale M. » Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:22 am

First off wire is wire... The electricity flowing through it does not know what color the insulation of the wire is... Color is for people.

4wire (flat- bonded together) is simplest to work with....

Generally with 4 way flat wire the WHITE is used for ground, Yellow is Left turn/Stop lamp, Green is Right turn/Stop lamp and Brown is Tail/Marker lamps.

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It could be that your lamps are Stop/Turn - Tail lamps and each wire represents each function... Check inside of lamp assemble to see if there is metal strap from lamp sockets to screw/bolt locations. Most of these lamps are internally grounded ( designed to be mounted on metal trailer frame) and only the two light wires extend outside housing. Tail lamp assemblies are designed to be mounted to metal frame, and if you have them mounted on wood, you will need to bring a ground wire to lamp assemblies (just extend White wire to lamp mounting studs/bolt/screw)

Upon examining some lamps I have here, it appears the Green wire is Stop/Turn and the Brown wire is Tail/Marker lights... Your results may vary.

When hooking them up remember Stop/Turn is bright, Tail/Marker is dimmer...

IF you have it wrong, just reverse wiring.... No harm done.

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Last edited by Dale M. on Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby oklahomajewel » Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:25 am

Thanks for the quick reply!
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Postby madjack » Wed Oct 11, 2006 12:44 pm

I would tend to agree with Dale...ground is coming in thru body, Green is for brake/turn and brown is for tail/marker...
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Postby BrwBier » Wed Oct 11, 2006 4:21 pm

Having worked as an auto tech for more than 25 years, I would run a ground wire to each fixture even if mounted on a metal body. Loss of or poor ground is the most common problem in a vehicle. Yes, soldering is the preferred way to connect wires. Cover joints with heat shrink tube. Done that way you will not have to worry about your connections, and if a problem happens, you at least wont have to keep searching something done in this manner.
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Postby oklahomajewel » Thu Oct 12, 2006 9:17 am

Thanks for all the help guys !!! I knew you'd come to my rescue.

Looked at it last night, understand how I'll do it..... will get it all hooked up this weekend !!! and add those side marker lights while I'm at it although I don't recall seeing them on alot of tears...

Julie
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Postby Dale M. » Thu Oct 12, 2006 10:14 am

A lot of tears do not have side marker lights.... Early trailers (note term) did not require than so some still do not recognize the requirement or choose not use them... The marker lights are a Federal Department of Transportation (DOT) requirement...

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/Cars/rules/sta ... rpstr.html

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