LED lights in Original light sockets - tail lights

[ddayton]

<snip>When we were setting up our wiring on the Trillium and the Subaru, we initially wanted the separate amber turn signals on the Trillium to match the Subaru, but the place that installed the wiring in the Subaru talked us out of it saying that the separate wiring was 'non standard' and that we would be able to tow more trailers with the single set-up. What is the consensus of this blog? Do you have amber turn signals on your trailer? Was this guy just trying to sell us a converter?
The wipers/lights combination I have heard of. What states have this reg?<snip>

Also I thought that vehicles towing trailers were supposed to maintain a slower speed than vehicles without. Any states that have this law?

Your installer was speaking the truth. Most, probably almost all, small trailers do NOT have the separate turn (amber) brake (red) lights. That does not stop you from creating a turn signal circuit in addition to the standard wiring circuit. Then when you pull your trailer you can use the additional circuit. Of course that would mean that if your trailer was to be towed by a different vehicle the amber turn signals would not work.

Wipers/Lights? Some states that I know of include TX FL WV PA ME MD NC. Good idea to do it no matter what state you are in.

What speed to drive? Just check the road signs as you enter a state, and yes, many do have a lower limit for vehicles when towing. Would you believe 55 mph in CA – do it on a freeway and get dead quick!
Don

[Frederick L. Simson]

I gotta give a thumbs up to NY which has a [b]"Wipers ON= Lights ON" law because that means the tail lights are on too. If one needs the wipers to see where they are going, then it helps to make sure that others can see you better from both directions as well.

California recently passed that law as well. Unfortunately, it will take a LONG time for knowledge of it to trickle into the general consciousness. We have a ban on Hand-held cell phones AND text messaging while driving which is also being ignored.

What I really have to applaud New York (my home state) for is their annual multi-point vehicle inspection prior to registration, and basing license plate fees on vehicle weight, not price.

[Frederick L. Simson]

What speed to drive? Just check the road signs as you enter a state, and yes, many do have a lower limit for vehicles when towing. Would you believe 55 mph in CA – [b]do it on a freeway and get dead quick!
Don

My ectoplasm is still solidified.

I do [b]all of my towing at 55 mph.
Even on I-20 across Texas (80 mph speed limit) where I guess every homeowner has an oil well in the back yard.
I have an iDrive55 bumper sticker on the rear of the trailer...

[Raya]

Once when I was driving home to the Midwest from Oregon, I picked up a trailerable boat that a Wisconsin friend had bought in Portland. I had an errand to do in the Bay Area on my way home, so I drove through a good bunch of California on the way. I did drive 55mph, and did not get killed, but I was like a covered wagon with about forty million "Pony Express" drivers weaving in and around me.

I'm not against lower speed limits for towing, but it seemed a bit hazardous to have such a large gap between the towing speed and the speed everyone else was going.

I made it out alive though!

R.

[April Wilcox]

Well, we took our baby out camping for the last few days, and some where along the way, our left tail light stopped working. Now that we are home, I have changed the bulb and got nothing, I checked all the connections in the wiring, they seem to be solid, so could it be that the housing for the bulb (which is horribly rusted) has gone bad? We have 2 of the square led lights designed to plug into a single contact bulb so they don't fit our double contact housing (that was my error)



I am considering the idea of removing the old bulbs and housing all together since the bracket for the bulb just snapped clean off from the point that holds it to the backing, and hard wiring the led directly to the tail light wiring. Any thoughts about this before I start taking things apart? I also noticed the reverse lights don't come on either, I don't know if this has anything to do with being on a 4 prong connection, we plan to eventually upgrade to a 7 prong.

btw, I know this is off subject but we had a good time testing out our camper in temps in the 30's! We stayed warm enough using the wave 3, and had fun getting to use the other gear we have been collecting. The portable wood stove saved our butts, there was a burn ban on, and it was pretty cold out, it also made a good cooker and was way more conservative on wood than an open fire. We only used our coleman stove for the morning coffee. The shower tent and stainless pump sprayer worked well too

[Raya]

I also noticed the reverse lights don't come on either...

Do the Scamps have reverse lights? I don't think my boler does Just the red tail/turn signal/brake lights, and then a separate white fixture for the license plate light, that's mounted on the inside of the bumper (plus some separate red running lights on the bumper).

I've forgotten the detail of your wood stove, but it sounds neat. Glad you had a fun camping trip

Raya

[April Wilcox]

Ours has a center bulb for blinker/breaks and there is a second smaller bulb just to the side pionting down and the cap that goes over it has a clear portion at the bottom to allow the white light to show, so I assumed it was for reverse lights. I will take a picture tomorrow in the daylight. I hope it isn't the wiring that is bad.

[Raya]

I wonder if that's for lighting up the license plate instead of for "back up" lights? That would make sense to point down...

R.

[Coach George Jessup]

...that's for lighting up the license plate instead of for "back up" lights? That would make sense to point down...

Elcorrecto. that is the liscence plate illuminator

[Weinel, Alan]

Roy - you reminded me of another "lighting" / visibility issue... when travelling east or west near sunrise / sunset... if you have the sun AT YOUR BACK, turn on your lights. The folks driving INTO the sun REALLY need the extra visibility of headlamps to see you.

Raya,

I didn't mean to imply that you are bad driver. No offence intended. I hear you on the differences on lighting and standards. Initially I found the 3rd brake light to initially be annoying, now I appreciate it because I can read what is happening 2 or more vehicles ahead.

I seem to recall someone posting here that they actually got a ticket for installling amber signal lights on before they came the norm. Give it a decade and most the vehicles on the road will be LED. Then the regular bulbers will be as annoying as those who don't turn their headlights (and tail lights) on in adverse conditions because you can't see them as well.

I gotta give a thumbs up to NY which has a "Wipers ON= Lights ON" law because that means the tail lights are on too. If one needs the wipers to see where they are going, then it helps to make sure that others can see you better from both directions as well.

I'd like to suggest that when you get a bright sunny day you check the tailights on you boler for visibility. In some lighting angles you will find that they are barely visible. Even more so from a distance considering the inverse square proportionality of light.

[Weinel, Alan]

roger -

01/01/2008 (I think it was) Calif went to a wiper/lights law too.
and here if you tow, it is 55 mph (supposedly.... hehehehe)

[Frederick L. Simson]

I also noticed the reverse lights don't come on either, I don't know if this has anything to do with being on a [b]4 prong connection, we plan to eventually upgrade to a 7 prong.

With 4 "prong" you do not get back-up lights,







Back-up lights point straight back.
If there is a white or clear lens pointing down (not visible in photo above), it is for the license plate.
[b]Both trailers had that feature in the left fixture.

[ddayton]

Well, we took our baby out camping for the last few days, and some where along the way, our left tail light stopped working. Now that we are home, I have changed the bulb and got nothing, I checked all the connections in the wiring, they seem to be solid, so could it be that the housing for the bulb (which is horribly rusted) has gone bad? <snip> I also noticed the reverse lights don't come on either, I don't know if this has anything to do with being on a 4 prong connection, we plan to eventually upgrade to a 7 prong. <snip>

Glad you enjoyed your first trip out ... it will get even better each time!

My experience with 12v lights suggests the following procedure:
1. Check the ground.
2. Check the bulb.
3. Check the ground.
4. Check the 12v power.
5. Check the ground.
6. ..... well you get the idea.

With a standard 4 prong connection there is no provision for backup lights. The 4 wires provide for running (tail and clearance lights), left turn (includes stop), right turn (includes stop) and ground.

Does sound as if you are also ready to upgrade the housing - LEDs are nice.

Don

[Alan Weinel]

Frederick -

HOW did you manage to get a "Permanent trailer" license?? When I got back with our baby the DMV said it is a Coach, and has to get the regular license. MAN DID YOU SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!


Was that the "on time" fee of like $5 or something??!!??

Lucky dog!

With 4 "prong" you do not get back-up lights,
Attachment 17742



Attachment 17741


Back-up lights point straight back.
If there is a white or clear lens pointing down (not visible in photo above), it is for the license plate.
[b]Both trailers had that feature in the left fixture.

[April Wilcox]

Both of our tail lights have the bulb that points down, so I assumed it was for backing up, but I can see it would lite up the plate.




When I was installing the new bulb to the left side, after some movement to get the old bulb out, the bracket that holds the light socket to the backing snapped off in my fingers, and I was even trying to be gentle.




As you can see our light fixtures are horribly rusted. I was thinking of removing the main center bulb, and hard wiring the led light in it's place, and gluing it to the center of the backing. Has anyone else done this?




After thinking back on it, it was only the left blinker that stopped working, the break light did come on. I checked all of the connections in the line and could not find any bad spots. Could it be possible that the peg on the 4 way connection is not making contact?

[Greg A]

April,

Yours looks pretty much like mine did. As I said earlier it is the original sockets that cause most of the lighting malfunctions. The thing you don't see even when you think they are working is that they are erratically blinking on and off as you're hitting bumps going down the road. We figured this out on our way to the Grand Canyon late at night in a pitch black 60 mile stretch. You could see the lights winking on and off.
Came home and replaced them, never had an issue since. Only cost me $74 and about an hour to replace them with LED's from Lowes that are awesome and directly wired in which eliminates the socket issue.

[Frederick L. Simson]

Frederick -

HOW did you manage to get a "Permanent trailer" license?

Link to previous California PTI discussion

I think your Scamp 19' 5th wheel may not qualify.
The trailer must be no longer than 16' from ball socket to back wall, and my Fiber Stream qualified.
However, someone in that past thread DID get a 5th wheel Bigfoot into the program...

[Frederick L. Simson]

[quote]As you can see our light fixtures are horribly rusted. I was thinking of removing the main center bulb, and hard wiring the led light in it's place, and gluing it to the center of the backing. Has anyone else done this?

Attachment 17749

If it were me, I'd change out the entire fixture like Greg A did, and not try to retrofit components into the old housings.

[Weinel, Alan]

Thanx for the link.. read it ALL... VERY VERY interesting. And, no, I don't think the 19'er would qualify as 16' or less. UNLESS I could somehow work it as some kind of Metric Conversion.

Link to previous California PTI discussion

I think your Scamp 19' 5th wheel may not qualify.
The trailer must be no longer than 16' from ball socket to back wall, and my Fiber Stream qualified.
However, someone in that past thread DID get a 5th wheel Bigfoot into the program...

[Greg A]

On the 19 isn't the "ball Socket" set back in a couple of feet under the overhang and not out on a tongue. If you measured from the "ball socket to the back wall" you might be pretty close. Maybe that is how the one fella got it through.