Wiring - Need some help please.

[Sandmannd]

Didn't want to steal the wiring 101 thread so I thought I would go here.

OK, got the LED lights and started the install yesterday afternoon. Here's the fun part - One of the screws wouldn't come of so I thought I would crack out the sawsal. Got through the screw, problem is it came through fast and went into my leg!!! Didn't think much of it till I looked down and blood was shooting straight out of it. I ran to the garage and the only thing I had was a Fleet Farm bag. Wrapped that around the wound and applied pressure. Blood everywhere, called the wife and she was a long way from home and no neighbors were home yet. I had to call 911 cause I wasn't sure if I hit an artery or anything. So ride to the hospital and a few stitches and I'm good to go.

OK, now for the wiring. Got home and ran the wires down from the tounge to the back end of each side. I started on the right side of the trailer. I hit the first amber light and soldered a new wire to it. Ran the wire from there down to the amber light by the tire. Soldered that light to the wire and another wire that went down to my trailer posts. I soldered that to the wire, one wire to go back to the lights and another to go to the tail light bar on the bottom of the trailer. Then it was dark so I stopped.

Got home today and hit it again. Finished up all the soldering on the right side. Got the tail lights wired up and put on. Turned the lights on the truck and nothing!! Checked the connection and it all looked good. So I cut the solder to the new lights and twisted my old lights back on. It worked fine so I tried it on the other side and it worked fine. Neither LED will light up for me. Old lights work fine on the new wires. I still can't get any of the amber running lights to work.

Anyone have any ideas what to do with this? I'm assuming I have to take my LED's back and get new ones since it's not the wires. But why are the amber lights not working? They go on the brown wires right?

By the way, you don't need to answer "Don't run a saw through your leg". I already got that from the wife!!

[Sandmannd]

Oh yea, I can take the amber light (I have a couple of spares) and connect it right by the tail lights that are working to the brown and nothing as well?

[Valv]

I think you might have issues with the ground.

Remember the problem is the ground. It's always the ground.

There's only 2 reasons for all problems, It's Bush fault or it's the ground fault, that's it.

Ok, ok, I was kidding, I am glad you are ok now and nothing worse happened.

Anyway the brown wire is the lights wire, the ampber gets ground from the screws/bolts to the trailer. If theres a little interference in between you won't have any ground Be sure your screws bite the metals good.

Regarding the LED it could be they were bad, but it's very unlikely. Let's wait and see what happens with the new set.

Remember: the ground.....

[jwhjr]

Ground was my first thought as well.

[boatfixer]

Got home today and hit it again.

The leg?

Is there a separate ground wire, or does it ground on the mounting post?

Shoot E-mail me Shane.

[Jeremy airjer W]

I agree, If there is only one wire to the ambers than the ambers have to ground through the trailer with the mounting screws.

[Sandmannd]

There's only 2 reasons for all problems, It's Bush fault or it's the ground fault, that's it.

Ha, that's funny right there, thanks for the laugh Valv.

There are seperate ground wires that connect to the screws for the tail lights. Could that be the reason the LED's aren't working. I will check all the others to see the ground, but they were working before I switched out the wires. Weird. Boatfixer, I dropped you an email.

[Tom7227]

How about checking the LED's by hooking them up to a battery. A quick touch and you should know whether they work or not.

[Neighbor_guy]

When in doubt, punt. Then punt again. Walk away from it for a little while and come back refreshed and not frustrated. Mabe try sanding away a little paint were the screws and everything conect to the trailer.

FWIW, I punted, cut the wires to the running lights and just run with the tails. I got so frustrated that I gave up.

I agree with checking the lights on the battery to make sure everything is working with them. They may have been jostled in shipping and have a loose connection inside.

Good luck. Them sawsalls leave some great scars. You will have to look at that one for a while.

[Sandmannd]

Thanks guys. So to connect them to a battery do you just do the brown to neg and the gr/yw to the bos?

Yea, I'll have a nice scare, bound to happen to me sooner or later, wife doesn't call me tool man for nothing.

[Valv]

there should be 3 wires from the LED lights, you can test any of them since you won't hurt anything if you invert polarity.

This way you will also be sure which is the - and the + wire(s)

As Neighbor Guy mentioned be sure to scrape well the area where the ground screw touches the frame.

[boatfixer]

Brown-Running Lights

Yellow-Left turn

Green RT Turn

White-Ground

[Sandmannd]

I hooked the brown off the lamp to the neg of the bat, the yellow to the pos and they worked. Scraped up the post that it mounts too. Connected it and ran the white wire through the bolt. Still get nothing on the side with the LED. Side withought works fine, outside of the running, but I want to get the tail fixed first.

So howcome they work connected to the battery with the ground connected to nothing, but they don't work on the trailer?

[Sandmannd]

I sanded down where the ground connects to the trailer (just a bolt on the tounge) and reattached it. Sanded down for the light brackit so it's all bear metal. Connect it up and nothing. I took some extra wire and attached it to the ground coming out of the plug on the truck. Connected to same bolt as above and ran it down to the light. Works fine like that. So does this mean my trailer isn't grounding right? How do I fix that? Would you just run a ground wire to each light to get them working? Or is that a huge no no???

[Jeremy airjer W]

Sandmannd, can you post a pic of the trailer? I think I have an idea but I would like to see what your typing.

[Sandmannd]

Thanks to everyone who replied. Jer, I'll get ya a picture of it. It's all working. I was waiting for a reply on here, but since everyone (other than me) has better things to do then wiring and checking FM I gave my Dad a shout. First thing he asked was if the trailer was on the ball.

DOH!!!!!!!

Moran me, so that was my whole ground problem. Put it on the ball and everything worked!!!! Fished soldering up the wires (Thanks to airjer's post, it was not bad and should last) and got them all working. Again thanks to everyone who answered me and let me know what to look for.

Next time, keep in mind I'm a mental midget!!!!

[Valv]

Do you want me to lock the thread right now so you don't have to read the replies....

[Neighbor_guy]

That was going to be my follow up. Clean the rust off the ball since the trailer grounds threw it.

Glad it worked out for you.

P.S. one word for that leg of yours. "Bacitracin"

[Sandmannd]

Do you want me to lock the thread right now so you don't have to read the replies....

Now where would be the fun in that Valv? I'm the type that if you can't laugh at yourself, well you know how it goes. I think it's funny I was beating my head trying to figure it out and that's all it was. Maybe me posting the fool will save someone else the trouble.

If not, it's good for a laugh anyway.

[Macgyver55]

The light should not be grounding through the ball hitch. When properly wired, they should be working whether its connected to the car or not. True, they will work if everything is not rusty, but they should have a good ground at the connector to be correctly wired. That means your connector probably lacks a good ground to your vehicle, or your trailer frame. Grounding through the ball will usually end up with flickering lights as you drive down the road.

[Dave]

My Shorelander has two wires per light, one ground and one power. That way, there's no messing around with trailer frame grounds. Plus, lights work when hitched or unhitched.