# trailer lighting help



## MunkMaster (Nov 19, 2014)

i recently aquired an old home made boat trailer from an elderly lady that husband had passed away(he was a boat builder)
i just fineshed redoing the whole trailer and i installed submersible LED lights on it. tail lights with license plate light and 2 side lights.
the brake lights, turn signals and running lights work on the rear lights. BUT the side lights are not working and the tag light isnt working.
each light has its own ground wire that i sanded to bare metal, both studs for the rear lights are on bare metal and the front ground wire is also on bare metal. 

any ideas?

here is a before and after of the trailer


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Nov 19, 2014)

I would suggest wiring the nonfunctioning lights directly to a battery. That way you will know if the actually work.


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## MunkMaster (Nov 19, 2014)

i was going to do that but the non functioning lights are in the same housing as the ones that work and they get direct power from the functioning lights. they are led


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Nov 19, 2014)

I would say that light is defective. Where did you get them? What brand are they?


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## MunkMaster (Nov 20, 2014)

i bought them off of ebay but they are name brand. 

something interesting i found. I am starting to think it might be my truck.

went and plugged in my landscape trailer and the first set of clearance lights light up on both side but after that no running lights or side turn signals. so what seems to be happening is the power goes to the first light that it reaches and no power is transferred through the circuit. i didn't have time today but i am going to have my father in law hook his jeep to the boat trailer and see if it works normally. 

if they don't then i will change them out. if they do work normally then i have a whole new issue to scratch my head at.


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Nov 20, 2014)

Some vehicles have separate fuses for the trailer lights.


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## MunkMaster (Nov 20, 2014)

it has 3 relays and a fuse. checked them all out and they are working correctly


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## BigTerp (Nov 21, 2014)

MunkMaster said:


> it has 3 relays and a fuse. checked them all out and they are working correctly



This. 

When I had incandescent trailer lights I would occasionally pop a fuse.


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## MunkMaster (Nov 21, 2014)

started back at the beginning. 

went and bought a cheap pair of lights to slap on to see if it was the lights.
and low and behold it was. the lights on both trailers i tried we bad. 

thanks for everyone's input


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## richg99 (Nov 22, 2014)

Apparently there are fakes, knock-offs and outright crap being sold as if they really were the "Brand Name" products that we thought we were purchasing. 

Just read a Consumer's Report about fake but "Brand Name" tires. The tires were made from the same molds, with different rubber material, and sold by a fake distributor. richg99


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## MunkMaster (Nov 25, 2014)

i heard about that tire scam. Something about someone setting the factory on fire but stealing the molds of the tires. crazy stuff


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## huntinfool (Nov 26, 2014)

You're converter on your truck is bad.

Never mind I missed the light issue. I did have a converter go out on my truck one time. Front lights would work, backs ones wouldn't. Tore the enclosed trailer apart and traced all wires, Nothing. 
Out of desperation I tried another vehicle....bingo. My truck was the problem.


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## lovedr79 (Dec 7, 2014)

my 04 tacoma did that to me........ couldnt find anything online so i figured the factory harness died. then i put a hoppy kit in. it lasted about 3 years. then i started having problems with the turn signals staying on. so i started follwing the wires and low and behold in the "extra cab" under the rear seat wheere the jack is i cut the zip ties that were holding a "black box" to gain access to the harness there were several fuses there. and sure enough that is where the problem was the enitre time. pulled the hoppy kit off, replaced fuses and has been fine since, that was about 3 years ago. i do have extra fuses that go in the convereter box. you may want to check yours to see if that is the problem. i was embarassed that i didnt find it the first time they died.


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