no brake or turn signal

[beardeddone]

Re: no brake or turn signal

OK,hope that fixes it..

 

[johnson89]

Re: no brake or turn signal

ok got new converter......turn key on left blinker and left brake light works,nothing on right side, start motor and both sides work....if you put your foot on brake before before starting motor blinkers and brake lights will not work on either side ..........running lights work no matter what I do...all lights work on the jeep at all times....I am at a lost with this thing....with christmas just 3 days aways, not going to have time to work on it

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: no brake or turn signal

There are too many little important details missing.
When replacing the converter, how much of the old wiring was reused? Connectors? Screws? Ground hole? Same splice locations?

What make and model is the converter? Be specific!

Connect the trailer to the jeep.
Turn on the Headlamps and the Emergency Flashers.
What voltage, if any, is on the Green and Yellow wires.
Do not disconnect anything to measure it.

Try the same test again with a battery charger attached to the battery to raise the voltage.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: no brake or turn signal

Without going back and reading everything again, troubleshooting begins by proving (yes or no) that the trailer is or is not the problem. You do that as follows:

1) Disconnect the trailer and the trailer light plug from the tow vehicle.
2) Using your battery charger, connect the ground clamp to the trailer tongue (such as an unpainted bolts or the coupler).
3) Insert a nail in the positive clamp.
4) Plug in the charger.
5) Touch the nail to the terminal with the brown wire. Both tail lights and side marker lights should light. If NO - fix it. If YES - go to step 6.
6) Touch the nail to the green and then the yellow terminals respectively. The appropriate turn signal should light. The turn signals are the bright filaments. If you have one bright and one dim light you have some wiring issues. Fix it. If each turn signal works fine the problem is with the truck -- not the trailer.

 

[johnson89]

Re: no brake or turn signal

.(SILVERTIP),,yes have done that with the battery charger,and yes everything works.....everything works on jeep at all times,the only problem I have is with the trailer...the converter is a (CURT) t-connector item #55382 for a jeep liberty 2007 model...so ALL wiring is new....IF I plug in the trailer I have NO voltage at the plug on the green and yellow wires with key on and blinkers or brake on ,but if I start the motor I have voltage unless I have my foot on the brake before I start it,I will have to recheck to see what it is.....if I unplug the trailer and turn the key on with the blinkers or brake on I have voltage on the green and yellow wires.......I am going to drive the jeep christmas day and put about 70 miles on it....also going to check and see if my nephew still has and old trailer at his house and see if the plugs match...it might be wed before I can check the voltage again................

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: no brake or turn signal

The Curt #55382 T-Connector Converter is a Circuit Protected model.
This means it is a more expensive electronic converter, as opposed to the less expensive mechanical converters. (i.e. Relay Logic)

The circuit protected models will disable the Brake/Turn circuits if it detects any anomalies in the electrical system.
A low initial voltage below 12.0v caused by the low battery or the Headlights or Brake lights being turned on at startup may cause the converter to go into protect mode and lock out the trailer lights.

The Tail/Marker light (Brown) Circuits passes through the converter for the sake of cosmetics and will not be involved in the lockout.

Try your tests again with the Battery Charger attached to the Jeep's battery to insure the voltage is well with operating range at all times.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: no brake or turn signal

You guys seam to be way over complicating things first off figure out the sorce problem. Get a tester at any auto parts store.

Amazon.com: Attwood Trailer Light Inline Circuit Tester: Sports & Outdoors


then you know if its the truck or the trailer

 

[beardeddone]

Re: no brake or turn signal

With all things considered if battery, alternator, and if vehicle starts ok, and trailer light verified to work at the connector , I would do away with the converter all together and just wire a harness directly into the working light wires themselves as this converter seems to be apia and failing to work properly.

You really need to verify your battery is holding a charge from the vehicles alternator 12.5 volts when engine is off at the battery and 13.5 -14+ volts when motor is running and revved, I might have missed you saying it, but haven't seen you saying it..

just my .02 worth

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: no brake or turn signal

...I would do away with the converter all together and just wire a harness directly into the working light wires themselves...

The Jeep has separate Brake and Turn Lights.
All trailers have the old style combined Brake/Turn Lights.
Eliminating the Converter is NOT an option.

The converter chosen is a circuit protected model and is touchy in it's operation.
It works fine if the Jeep is started before operating any of the trailer lights.
The issue comes with operating the trailer lights with the Jeep turned off.

The Converter may not have any problems and it operating as designed.
I used to have a manager that would say that it wasn't a "Problem", it was just a "Feature".

Johnson,
You may just have to learn to live with the "Features" of the trailer lighting.
Your other option would be to downgrade to a less expensive, Relay Logic Model.

I would still like to hear how the lights work with a battery charger attached to the Jeep's battery to insure the voltage is well with operating range at all times.:joyous:

 

[beardeddone]

Re: no brake or turn signal

The Jeep has separate Brake and Turn Lights.
All trailers have the old style combined Brake/Turn Lights.
Eliminating the Converter is NOT an option.

The converter chosen is a circuit protected model and is touchy in it's operation.
It works fine if the Jeep is started before operating any of the trailer lights.
The issue comes with operating the trailer lights with the Jeep turned off.

The Converter may not have any problems and it operating as designed.
I used to have a manager that would say that it wasn't a "Problem", it was just a "Feature".

Johnson,
You may just have to learn to live with the "Features" of the trailer lighting.
Your other option would be to downgrade to a less expensive, Relay Logic Model.

I would still like to hear how the lights work with a battery charger attached to the Jeep's battery to insure the voltage is well with operating range at all times.:joyous:

I stand corrected.

I suppose I would have to stick with my original post.

If everything is working correctly with the motor running, go fishing and don't worry about it, if this is the nature of the Converter..

I'm still wondering if this is just a low battery problem with the key off as 30 miles a month isn't enough to keep the battery charged properly without more info of other charging sources when not in use.

 

[saginawbayboater]

Re: no brake or turn signal

I think it's Haunted!!! Did you check the hi pressure vapor knuckle?
Maybe just use a slow moving vehicle triangle on the back. Just trying to help.

 

[johnson89]

Re: no brake or turn signal

well I went fishing today and my lights are not working...when I left the house all was fine, but 5 miles down the road and my brake and blinkers would not work.I had to turn off the motor and restart the motor and everything was fine,before I made it to the ramp,they quit working again...the drive home was the same,had to turn off the motor and restart to get the brake lights and blinkers working 2 times before I made it home...15 mile trip....I have pulled off every light, trying to find a problem somewhere...........running lights are fine no problems at all,it was dark when I left the house so all light were on...........................

 

[johnson89]

Re: no brake or turn signal

today I started with 1 light plug in...right tail light,turn key on and blinker worked,so then I pluged in the amber runninglight,blinker and turned key back on,no blinker working,both lights, so then I unpluged the back tail light and and turned key back on and the amber light blinker worked....I started the motor both ways also and same results.....I will try the brake light tomorrow.....the lights are made by truck lite I have model 60...15...and 10 on my trailer,,,,the 2 tail lights are brand new

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: no brake or turn signal

... so then I plugged in the amber running-light,blinker ... turned key back on and the amber light blinker worked...I will try the brake light tomorrow...

Now I am confused!
Are these LED or Incandescent lamps?
Do you have Red AND Yellow lamps attached to the Brake/Turn Circuit.

How many lamps are controlled by the Converter?
If more than one per side that may be the issue.

 

[johnson89]

Re: no brake or turn signal

they are incandescent lamps,,,,i have 2 red and 2 yellow that are control by converter, have 4 model 60( red and yellow lamps ),,2 model 10( red lamps) and 3 model 10 (red lamps) and 1 tag light........this set up worked fine for almost a year....this is a hydra=sport trailer...10 lights total

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: no brake or turn signal

The plot thickens!

A picture of the stern of the trailer will help!
Let's ignore all the tail lights and marker lights as you state they work OK.

When the brake lights activate; What lights up? All 4 (RED and YEL) Mod.60's or just two?

When the Turn signals are working; What lights up? 2 Mod.60's or just one?

It sounds like you have non-standard lighting.

 

[johnson89]

Re: no brake or turn signal

when you touch the brakes, 4 lights come on,2 red on the back and 2 yellow near the middle of trailer, when you turn on a blinker ,1 red and 1 yellow light come on,all these are mod.60...all the rest of the light are running lights......I have had this boat since 2002,its a 1989 trailer...my last truck was a 1989 nissian, it also had a converter on it.....these lights I am sure came with the trailer when new,the lights sit in a hole cut into the trailer,not something you just add ,...I like this set up,it allows you too see your blinker and brake lights in the mirror.....I tired the brakes (right side) and with 1 light pluged in it came on and with the brake still on I pluged in the other light and it came on...I release the brake and pressed it again and the 2 \lights would not come on, with the brake still on I unpluged 1 light and the other light did not come on...I check for power at the plug from 1 of the lights I had no power,I checked for power on left side of trailer and had power....pluged in left side and lights work.both lights

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: no brake or turn signal

the yellow (actually amber) lights forward on the trailer should NOT be wired into the brake light circuit..... You don't need to see the brakes and turn signals from the driver's seat. I suspect that you are overloading your converter (what worked with the nissan and it's converter is irrelevant). It sounds like it works with the amber's unplugged and if so, there's your solution... rewire them properly into the tail/marker circuit.

 

[saginawbayboater]

Re: no brake or turn signal

I couldn't agree more with smoke!!! hopefully that does it!!

Curt may also be able to verify the setup limitations!!

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: no brake or turn signal

... I suspect that you are overloading your converter (what worked with the Nissan and it's converter is irrelevant)...

+1 ^^^

Most converters allow up to 2.5 amps per side on the Brake/Turn Circuits.
Your Mod.60 lamps are rated at 2.1 amps per bulb.
x2 equals 4.2 amps per side and the converter is thinking there is a problem. and shutting down.

The Tail/Marker circuits commonly allow up to 7 amps. (15-20 Marker bulbs)

If you insist on keeping it the way it is; replace the lamp in the amber side housings with a much lower wattage bulb.
Marker bulbs are typically under 0.5 amps.

Or replace the converter with a powered converter that allows 6-7 amps lamp assemblies. Select carefully!