# LED Lights



## Hanr3 (Jun 16, 2011)

I bought a set of LED lights on Ebay last week and they arrived the other day. First thing I noticed is how thin the wire is compared to incandescent lights. I realize they draw less amps, but wow is it thin. However that's not the reason for the thread. I hear that the LED will give you trouble if you don't run a seperate ground wire to each light. Any body have input on that? 

This is my first set of LED's and I'm hoping the marketing is true, last 100,000 hours.


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## Captain Ahab (Jun 17, 2011)

I just ordered a set for eTrailer - I will let you know about mine


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## lucescoflathead (Jun 17, 2011)

I ran Blue Water LEDs in my boat.I wired them in series. When I got to the bus bar, I only had one ground wire for 6 light strips. They seem to work . I haven't had it on the water yet though. I was also surprised how thin the wires were.


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## optaylor823 (Jun 17, 2011)

Never heard of that before. What I have found best to do is the first sign of trailer light problems is to just run the ground from the trailer plug to the trailer lights and it seems to keep my trailer light problems down.


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## Hanr3 (Jun 17, 2011)

Oh yea, I'm grounding them alright. To me its worth the extra couple of minutes to run the wire now while I am running the new trailer wiring. That way I don't have to worry about it, hopefully for 100,000 hours of use. :mrgreen: 

This all started becuase of a little trip to Wisconsin next weekend. I dont want to give the boys in blue a reason to pull me over. :mrgreen:


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## batman (Jun 17, 2011)

My trailer is still wired like it was when I bought it.Near the plug on the wires coming from the trailer is a loose unconnected white wire.I've looked for a spot to connect it but haven't seen one.Could this be a ground wire? The lights all work as they should but I wonder if this white wire needs to be connected to something?What do you think? 
Thanks 
DanD


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## crazymanme2 (Jun 17, 2011)

On my trailer white is ground.


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## Hanr3 (Jun 17, 2011)

Yes, that white wire is the ground. No doubt your trailer is grounding through your ball/receiver.


I finished hooking up my brand new in the box LED lights only to discover that neither side marker, nor the liscense plate light work. I tested for power, and there is power to the lights. Lights are defective. Really pisses me off. I bought them on ebay from a reputable seller, at least he had a 100% positive rating and over 650 sales. I sent him a message telling him of the problem. 

He has till Wednesday to get me a new working unit. If I dont receive them by Wednesday, I'll have to buy a set locally. Then I want my money back from him, and he can pay for the shipping charge to return defective product. 

One very dissatisfied customer. :evil:


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## T-MAN (Jun 17, 2011)

i had led's on my last tin. If im not mistaking each light had 3 wires, 1 for running lights, 1 for turn sgnals, and 1 for a ground. Then after i grounded each individual light i also had a ground at the front of the trailer which went from the plug to the toung of the trailer. After the wiring was completed correctly i wouldnt trade them for anything.


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## nomowork (Jun 18, 2011)

I recently bought my second set of LED trailer lights from Harbor Freight and installed them on my old/new to me trailer. They worked great on my first trailer (sold last year) but I did notice that on this newest setup. the packaging says that it fits most boat trailers, etc. but on the paper work inside, it says not submersible. :shock: Soooooo, I guess it's back to the old practice of disconnecting trailer plug before dunking.

As far as grounds, I grounded all the LED lights via the white wire and not the trailer frame.


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## Captain Ahab (Jun 18, 2011)

Hanr3 said:


> Yes, that white wire is the ground. No doubt your trailer is grounding through your ball/receiver.
> 
> 
> I finished hooking up my brand new in the box LED lights only to discover that neither side marker, nor the liscense plate light work. I tested for power, and there is power to the lights. Lights are defective. Really pisses me off. I bought them on ebay from a reputable seller, at least he had a 100% positive rating and over 650 sales. I sent him a message telling him of the problem.
> ...




Are you certain that you have the positive and negative hooked up correctly? Unlike "normal" light bulbs, LED are polarity sensitive - you have to have them correct or they will not work.

Been there, done that myself


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## Hanr3 (Jun 19, 2011)

Yep, positive I had them hooked up correctly. 
The brake, running, and turn lights worked on both sides. I even put my volt meter to the wiring to confirm polarity, plus I took the lights apart to check for broken wires or loose connections.

I did get a prompt response and a full refund from the seller. Seller said this is the third set that had the same problem, the side marker lights and liscense plate light didn't work. 

Yesterday I did some internet shopping for stores located in my area. Found the best price at TSC (Tractor Supply) $39. Wal-Mart has them for $49. Just goes to show, Wal-Mart isn't always the lowest price, and in this case not by a long shot. I swung by while out doing errands and bought a new set. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get them installed.


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## optaylor823 (Jun 19, 2011)

Glad you were able to get it straight with the ebay seller. Also sometimes you can find LED lights like they run on tractor trailers that are sealed and work great for boat trailers. If one does go bad all you have to do is unplug the old light and plug in the new one, five minutes top to have new good lights.


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