Trailer Lighting Systems, 4 and 5 Wire, Explained
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ส.ค. 2020
- When you need to connect a trailer to your motorcycle or trike, you'll need to know if the lights on the trailer are "4 wire" or "5 wire." This video explains how the two setups work and how they are different. If you have questions, feel free to ask them using the comment box. Below you'll find links to the motorcycle trailer wiring kits, plugs and receptacles I offer at Open Road Outfitters. Thanks for watching!
Wiring kits: openroadoutfitters.com/parts-...
Plugs and receptacles: openroadoutfitters.com/parts-... - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
Wow! You have taught me a thing today! I hold the belief that I should learn a new thing everyday OR teach something to someone that they didn't know everyday. My motorcycle trailer is a 5 pin setup and now I know what that means. Thank you!
I TRULY APPRECIATE YOU!!! I had been struggling trying to hook up my 5 wire trailer for my Harley. You made it so simple and easy to understand. Thanks
I'm glad I was able to help Tony. Many happy Journeys!
Thank you, thank you! This is the only video on TH-cam that explains the low /high intensity feature :) Solved my ongoing boat trailer brake light issue .
Very useful video, nice 👌 explained.
Thak You, came here to know about the override in the 4 way connector :P, learned smth today
Fantastic tutorial.
Thanks for the information!
Great job was useful to me
Dale-
I have a four wire trailer behind a five wire bike (brake wire is #5).
Trying to figure an easy way for brake lights on the trailer without ALL signal lights illuminating when I apply the brakes. Thanks!
Thank You for the educational video Dale. Have A Good Day! 🛻🚚🚛
Great explanation, my question wone what Can I do on my small cargo t trailer, the right turn light all of them go on, and when the vehicle light are on left is off, 4 wire, any advice is well appreciated
Thanks so much for the information you provided however I am having trouble finding a solution when the liftgate mechanic changes my brake,turn and reverse light unfortunately the brake light didn't work as it should when i brake it stays on not bright up at all
I checked power on the trailer side for my running lights. It shows 12v. When I connected the left and right brown wire I lose all voltage. I've cleaned each ground connection at 6 amber side markers 2 red markers and the rear lights that are LEDs just like in your video. I ran new left and right wires through the frame and made sure of good connections. I have a center 3 red light bar at the rear also. The lights were flickering sometimes before the went completely out. Brake and turn signals still work. I also installed new plug on the truck and trailer. Why does it lose power when I connect the running light wires whether it's one side or both wires? I'm baffled and just subscribed. Thanks
Great video. Towaide sells an electronic control panel that can control a four or five-wire system
Thank you so much
Very Nice Demonstration.... (I was today years old that I learned a stinking 9V battery will run trailer lights!)
Very informative 👏 👌 👍
Awesome 👌
Great video thank you
So my Boat trailer has the 3 male and 1 female adapter. I see alot of videos they have a 3 female and 1 male attachment on the boat. I have a plug on my truck that has an attachment that fits with my boat trailers set up. I am just curious what's going on with videos showing the opposite trailer attachment then what my boat is set up as. I haven't changed the boat set up but am now running into this problem as I watch other videos on rewiring the trailer. Thanks
Video helped a lot, thanks!
Thanks, I'm glad you found it helpful!
What color would/should reverse be? I'm wiring a flatbed on a semi, I thought the blue was reverse or should it be brakes and reverse is a different color?
Thanks!
What a simple comprehensive explanation. Well done.
Thank you !
I have 3/4” 3 wire led lights I’m trying to hook up as clearance light, stop, turn. When I hook them in my box and turn turn signal on I get low current back feed in the clearance wire. Same if I turn clearance lights on it back feeds low current to turn wire. Have 5 lights hooked on side! Looking for help to cure issue? Thanks
I have 4 wire system installed to my car but need the 5 wire one for the barakes , so can I take the red brakes wire from the tail lamp of the car ?
I see how both work but how do I go about wiring those same lights on to a factory truck harness?
I came here after ordering the wrong trailer wiring kit for my Harley. I received a 5 wire kit and have a 4 wire trailer. Being lazy I decided there must be a way to use the wire harness I have. I discovered the local auto parts stores have 5-4 or 4-5 wire converters for under $20. Hope this comment helps others
Putting a flat bed on a chevy truck, I have 3 wires for running and stop and 2 wires for turn, the lights I bought for the flat bed are led 3 wire stop tail and turn. How do I wire the 2 turn wires into this light.
Wish I had found this video sooner. I have a bike that has a 5 pin connector on it, and my trailer has a 4 and he gave me a 5 to 4 adaptor. It seems to work but I am concerned of any damage it could do to the isolator on the bike or the bike it self. Any suggestions?
It won't hurt anything. If you get the result you want, you'll be okay.
Hello, I have a 4 wire set up however one of the brake lights does not turn on everything else works properly except the driver side brake light. What can be the issues?
It may be you are using LED lamps, then you must use a diode preventing the current return
Hello. I have an rv c class and recently my tired in the back popped. It hit and damaged the left side marker wiring underneath and the bulb isnt there anymore and the 2 wire (white and brown) was hanging down. My parking lights, both side marker (left and right) , and the top marker lights are not working (REAR) What do you think happened? By the way all my FRONT lights and markers are working. Back signal both works. Brake lights works. (Brake light and parking light in one) . Thanks
2004 ford e450 c class 32’
It's not like you can't use a five wire harness like this but it is usually used for trailer lights that have back up lights. The fifth wire is connected to your reverse lights.
How do u wire it so tue brake does Not override the Turn Signal⁉️
What about if the Indicator wire also Carry the Brake Signal⁉️
Hi. I’m installing led taillights on my utility trailer. The leds have 3 wires white brown and red. The left trailer has a yellow and 2 brown. The right a brown and green. I can’t get everything to work. And ideas? Thanks
On the LED lights, the white will be ground. Brown will likely be the low intensity light setting. The brown wire on each LED would connect to your running light circuit. The red wire is the "high" light, so those would be wired to your left and right turn circuits. On the trailer I am only going to be able to guess. On the right side, it SOUNDS like the brown is ground so that would go to the white wire on the LED. The green would be your right turn signal so that would go to the red on the LED. On the left, the yellow wire would go to the red on the LED. One of the two browns should be a ground. The other brown may be your running light circuit. That would go to the brown on the LED. You would then need to run a wire from that to the brown on the other LED to get running lights. I would probably start by wiring up the right one first to see if that works, then go to the left.
Thank you!
Great video! An ah ha moment. Question. I have a 4 wire hookup on my gl1800, but it's not isolated with a relay block. I'd like to upgrade to the relay box. But... I just bought an old motorcycle cargo trailer with a 6 wire hook up (break light line as well as external power line.) The trailer isn't using external power so it's basically a 5 wire system. So it's a no brainer, right? I just need to get one of your 5 wire isolation relay block setups. Except-- I also have a motorcycle popup camper. It uses a 4 wire hookup. What should I do?? Thanks in advance, Kerry
Hi Kerry, that can be a little tricky, but if the cargo trailer turn signals have red lenses or you could CHANGE the lights to red lenses, then you could run both the camper and cargo trailer as 4 wire systems. Or add separate brake lights to the camper and run both as 5 wire. OR, you could put a common plug set on both cargo trailer and camper, then get a modular wiring kit like the one I sell and either add or remove the 5-to-4 converter, depending what mode you need the harness to run. There may be other ways, but those are a couple of ideas that come to mind.
@@Openroadoutfitters Perfect. Thanks!
I broke my 4 point flat connector on my trailer. My problem is that when I buy a 4 point connector there are only 4 wires. Electrical from my trailer is 5 wire
I am busy re-wiring my trailer. So I have one ground wire from the plug connected to the vehicle. Can I connect my left and right rear lights and number plate ground wires to this one wire?
When you say "to this one wire" are you referring to a single wire conductor or a bundle of wires that are bound together as a cable? You will need one physical wire per circuit, one for ground, one for left/brake, one for right/brake and one for running lights.
You can connect the tag light to the running light wire (brown in conventional wiring and his pictoral) and the ground can either be run too or just bolted to the frame giving that the trailer frame is grounded at the plug end. All grounds can be connected together if wiring length allows.
i pick up some after market led light i got my brake and turn and runing they all work . how to get them to flash went you hit the brake . what i mean is by flash 4 time then the brake light come on . it a 4 pin wiring . will i need a Flasher Mod to do this ? to make them flash
The trailer lights are only going to do what your vehicle lights do, so if you add a flashing function to the vehicle to make its brake lights flash then the lights on your trailer will also flash
Hi David I’m building a DIY camper with a new 4 pin wire , the camper is all wood so I used peace of 2”metal & grind it to make my ground connection, I connected the red cable from the light to the green & connected the brown & ground together the lights on that side turn on i tested with a small battery but before I connect it to my truck I just want to make sure I made the right connection bc don’t want to blow any fuses this is my first time doing it & also does the yellow side & front lights needs to have turn signal or I just can have it as running lights only
Hi! what if my 12v trailer light has only one black wire, how do I connect it to the battery without having 2 wires?
Is this light a bulb that is mounted in a socket? If so, this might be a case where the trailer frame is a ground and the shell of the socket acts as the ground connection for the bulb. You can send a pic to dale@openroadoutfitters.com
@Open Road Outfitters: Great video; curious, my car has a 4 wire system and the used trailer i Have has a 5 wire system, can these be wired together in order to function correctly?
Do you know what the fifth wire does? Is it for brake lights, or another function like an interior light?
Thank for de video. One question, Does the white wire has to be grounded to the chasis also ? O no ?
If all of the lights are connected to the ground wire then, no. Using the chassis as a ground is a shortcut. It is a way to save having to run a white wire to all the lights. I think having all the lights connected to a dedicated white ground wire is more reliable.
@@Openroadoutfitters thank you. One more question ? I have some marker lights they have two wires a red and a black, on which cable does de red goes and on what cable does the black goes ?
@@nraccordions4068 Black would go to ground. Red would go to the running light circuit.
@@Openroadoutfitters thanks for your help.
Is the white ground wire the fifth wire? The basic problem with lights that don't work is the Ground. I have the white ground wire shortened from the plug on my trailer and attached it to the trailer frame. All the lights attached to the frame are then grounded with no independent ground wire from the light. Sometimes when a light attached to the trailer doesn't come on, a separate wire is attached to the grounded frame, and the other end is attached to the light or the trailer metal bed frame. Paint on the trailer frame is often the grounding problem and has to be ground off to bare metal and then sealed after the connection is made, I use black liquid plastic.
Yes, a bad ground is often the issue with lighting problems. The standard color for trailer grounds is white. The ground is present in both 4 and 5 wire systems. I usually consider the brake circuit to determine 4 vs 5. 4 wire: ground, running, left/brake, right/brake. 5 wire: ground, running, left, right, brake is separate.
Iam trying to wire two lights per side so 4 total.two brake lights and one turn per side just not exactly sure how to wire efficiently could you recommend a way to wire this please.
Send me an email address and I'll send you a trailer wiring diagram
Can you break the brake and turn signal apart for a 7 pin trailer connector? I'm getting to rewire a car hauler and would like to do something similar to 5 wire
Looking at the pin-outs for a 7 pin plug, it looks like that would not be possible. The brake signal is combined with the turns which, as far as the trailer is concerned, makes it a "4-wire" system. The other 3 wires in a 7 pin plug are generally used for auxiliary charging, reverse lights and brakes. Maybe there is some type of converter out there that you could plug into the 7 pin system to split out the brake lights but I don't think it would be worth the effort.
@@Openroadoutfitters greatly appreciate your response. I have been doing a lot of research and I can't find anything. Thanks again for taking the time to write back!
@@theejmaenpaa you are in the same predicament I was in with my gooseneck car trailer. It was also a 7-pin and as the OP stated, even though it’s a 7-lead setup the lighting acts as a 4-lead setup. I didn’t like this because I wanted to put an Amber turn signal in the center of each side of the trailer for added safety. Curt makes a conversion box that will decode the brake and signal function to allow the use of Amber signal and make them not activate with brake lights but I forget what it’s called.
@@Openroadoutfitters dam thats clear
7-blade (rv style) connectors are meant as a 4-wire plus extras (battery charge, reverse, and brake controller), if you look into a 7-pin (commercial/"agricultural") connector then the turn and brake wires are split, however, it all depends on how you wire your rig. You can wire the 7-blade to match a 7-pin, but then you won't be able to power any other trailer with that connector without issues due to a mis-match in wire functions.
Will a trailer harness work with a single setting light with only 2 wires?
If you use enough single setting lights to fulfill each function. One each for turn/brake, then however many you want for running/tag light function
I have a 4 wire boat trailer. I'd like to add a 3rd brake light in the center. How do I wire that in so that it doesn't flash when the turn signals fire?
It has a red, black and ground wires coming off the light.
TIA.
What you're describing there is effectively a 5 wire system where the brake signal is on its own circuit. On the trailer side, that means adding a wire to the harness and tying that to the red lead on the light. Then you'll need to identify a way to add the brake-only signal to your plug at the back of the towing vehicle. If that's a four-pin plug, you'll need to move up to a five pin to accommodate the extra circuit.
@@Openroadoutfitters thank you. This is the exact problem I’m having. I tapped into the right break light for my third center brake light, but it now blinks the third brake light when I turn on the right turn signal! 🙄
@@Mannievh Yes, you basically just added another right turn/brake. You need a circuit from the vehicle that carries only the brake signal. If that's not available, a brake-only light won't work.
@@Openroadoutfitters thank you. sad!
@@Mannievh Look up CURT 2 to 3 wire taillight converter (Part# 56196). This will solve your issue.
On the 4 wire system, can I add another pair of lights? I don’t care if the lights override, I just want to add 2 more in my trailer for better visibility
You could run 2 sets of lights as a 4 wire, sure.
Can you keep light on high intensity and still use it as a blinker ? Somehow canceling the low intensity
You could do that with some kind of custom module, but there's nothing available like that I'm aware of. Also, when you grab the brake there would be no change in light intensity.
Some signaling lights are actually ground switched meaning it uses interruptions in the ground circuit for flashing and if that is the case in your application then it would work. It’s not often that vehicles are setup this way though.
In a 4 wire how to use only the blinkers ,no running lights, no brakes ,need only blinkers?
Thank you
@@marconumero9481 I believe there's a module out and about that separates the 4-wire into 5. I haven't used it just seen it on the interwebz.
Can I hook up a workable pigtail off my ATV to a trailers running lights,brakes..??
Possibly, I can't say for sure but you could probably make something workable. An isolator would offer some protection for the vehicle against any issues that develop in the wiring harness on the trailer
Running Lights and Brake Lights = YES, BUT, only if they are LED and not very many lights.... I have an ON/OFF road trailer, that has these dual function LED tail lights... *And a 4 wire system.* So when taillight is lit on the quad it is operating the low power led running light function (BROWN WIRE)...but also have a wire from the ATV brake light wire to both the Green AND Yellow on the ATV side of the 4 wire plug (It doesn't have turn signals, so to make BOTH trailer lights come on with ATV brake lights, need to bridge the Yellow & Green, to feed the trailer.) - I also put small inline fuses - like 3A on both the running and brake light wires on ATV side of the "Vehicle 4-Flat Connector" as extra insurance if they happen to get pinched, it will blow the fuse and not burn my ATV wires!
Hooked it up and now don’t have power in the right turn including in the truck so I got that going for me
Merci Canada M.T.L 😮
Often on the 5 wire system the 5th wire is the brakes, true, but that is for the electric brakes not a separate brake light. That is why it is blue in most cases, for the brake controller and brakes. 99.9% of utility trailers, cargo trailers, and RV trailers, excluding semi trailers will have a combined brake/turn light. Very seldom (that .1%) will you find a separate brake and turn signals on a non-commercial trailer.
I prefer the look of the 4 wire system where the same lamp is used for brake and turn.
What do you do if only 2 wires from the light?
It depends on how many lights are on the trailer. What is this light being used for? Is it one of a pair of turn signals or something else?
If you have one white wire and you run it the length of the boat trailer to the left light, how do you run this ground wire to the right light? And if you have one brown wire that runs all the running lights, and you hook that up to left tail light how do you run to the other tail light? I'm good with the the green & yellow wire going to the right & left tail light, but my problem is I have one white ground wire & one brown running light wire but two tail lights. I know I'm missing something here, could you help me? Thanks
Good question- think of the first wire as a tree trunk. add branches to the trunk to reach the other lights. You can do that with the ground as well as any signal wire. To make those branches, google “scotchlock connectors” or “positap”. Does that make sense?
@@Openroadoutfitters Green wire to right turn signal/brake light. Yellow wire to the left turn signal/brake light. It doesn't matter where the brown or white wire goes?
The white is typically used as ground, so it will run to the ground wire on all lights. The brown will go to the hot lead of any lights you’re using for tag and running lights.
@@Openroadoutfitters Is this correct: green to the right tail light & yellow to the left tail light. The brown wire to the right tail light and the white ground wire to the left tail light? Thanks for being patient
yes on the green and yellow. white is ground and has to connect to all the ground leads on all lights, turns, running, tag, etc. the brown wire has to connect to the “hot” lead on all lights you use for running lights
Any idea how to convert to a 5 wire
If the purpose is to add separate brake lights, you need to run an additional circuit from the plug to the back, attach and wire in a separate set of lights to function as brake.
My wires on my runner lights are green. Yes just green. 1990 sportster 27 ft camper
This is a good example of why it's important for anyone who buys a previously owned camper or trailer to run through the lights and determine the color/function before wiring up the bike side. Sometimes a manufacturer will use a different color to finish a build if they run out, a previous owner may have rewired the trailer for a car, etc.
Hi Dale
Hi Michael!
Thank you so much! I'm going to be making a video of me replacing the wiring plug on my tool trailer. Would you mind if I gave you a shout-out on my video?
Glad it was useful. A shput-out would be nice, thanks!
ಚಂದ ಇದೆ
Except normally the 5 wire is the same as a 5 wire in every aspect except that the 5th wire is reverse lamps.
Maybe on trailers towed by four wheelers. But on motorcycles, which is what I deal with, it's the brake lights.
FYI: Boat trailers with surge breaks use the 5th as reverse to disable the surge break.
I hoped this would help, but it doesn’t. I have 9 lights in the back of my trailer. No idea how to use 4 wires across 9 lights with 3-4 different purposes.
Ive never seen anyone make it so complicated 😂
Ml
That is elementary, let’s see how you take 2 lights an turn the brake am signal light on the same light yes it can be done.
Yes, that is the 4 wire system described in this video. Two lights perform turn, brake and running light functions.