Wiring for dummies - again

[Ian-Vicki]

Am I correct in thinking that on my Burro 17 widebody the brake light/turn singnals run off the same wire? The tail lights work fine so I assume the ground is OK and the problem must lie with the turn/brake wire. Does that sound reasonable. Sorry to be so thick, but wiring is a bit of a mystery to me.
cheers
Ian

[Steve Hilby]

Am I correct in thinking that on my Burro 17 widebody the brake light/turn singnals run off the same wire? The tail lights work fine so I assume the ground is OK and the problem must lie with the turn/brake wire. Does that sound reasonable. Sorry to be so thick, but wiring is a bit of a mystery to me.
cheers
Ian

Your trailer wiring is almost certainly like American cars used to be: The taillight probably uses a single 1157 bulb, which has two filaments inside. One filament (the dimmer one) is the taillight, and the other filament (the brighter one) is a combined brake and turn signal light. (The taillight might also use two single-filament 1156 bulbs, one being the taillight and one being the brake/turn--same general principle.)

But most modern cars, no matter what country of origin, use three bulbs: One for taillights, one for brake, and one for turn signals. Getting a "command" for the trailer's taillight is easy; you just run a wire from the car's taillight wiring direct to the trailer's. But the brake and turn aren't so easy; to get the car's separate brake and turn "commands" combined into a single "command" for the single trailer filament, one needs an electronic miracle box. if your tow vehicle came with a factory trailer hitch (towing package), it's probably already in place. If not, you need to get one of those electronic boxes. Otherwise, the trailer's brake/turn lights won't work right.

[John Perry]

Am I correct in thinking that on my Burro 17 widebody the brake light/turn singnals run off the same wire? The tail lights work fine so I assume the ground is OK and the problem must lie with the turn/brake wire. Does that sound reasonable. Sorry to be so thick, but wiring is a bit of a mystery to me.
cheers
Ian

Your Ford Ranger is a rebadged Mazda. Asian and some European manufacturers use individual left and right turn circuits circuits and a seperate circuit for the brakes.
Easy solution, the electronic convertor is about $15.00 and easily installed. I bought mine at Pep Boys. Most any parts store will have your convertor.
John

[Brian B-P]

I assume that the Burro uses combined stop/turn lamps, as Steve described, like my Boler and most trailers. In that system, there are only four wires to run the trailer lights:

• left brake/turn
• right brake/turn
• running (tail and marker)
• common return (negative, ground, whatever you want to call it)

The Wiring Schematic - Scamp Trailer in the FiberglassRV Document Center shows how those four wires typically connect to the lights; their wiring follows this system:

• red = left brake/turn (or just left turn if separate stop used)
• brown = right brake/turn (or just right turn if separate stop used)
• green = running (tail and marker)
• white (shows as grey in diagram) = common return (negative, ground, whatever you want to call it)
• yellow = reverse or separate stop (not in four-wire standard)

The same colour coding used in the Scamp is used with most 7-pin (but not four-pin) plug connections, and within Bolers.

Your Ford Ranger is a rebadged Mazda.

This is a common misconception... after offering Mazda trucks under the Ford name long ago, Ford switched in the 1980's to their own Ranger, which is now sold in North America as a Mazda as well - so a Mazda truck (here) is a rebadged Ford (with some Mazda parts, with either name badge), rather than the other way around.

It doesn't matter much... except that the vehicle is probably more typically North American than Japanese, and some North American vehicles do use combined stop/turn lights, like most of our trailers. What a Ranger does... I dunno.

I would get a converter anyway (whichever is right for the truck), because the trailer lights should be isolated from the trucks lights, if only so a trailer light wiring fault doesn't kill the truck's lights.

[Bobbie Mayer]

I think you guys are making this harder than it is.

The turn signal and brake are on the same wire. For some reason, that wire doesn't work.

You can get a simple tester that plugs into your car plug to check if it works.

http://www.ontheball.com/electrical_testing_equip.htm

Or a 7-way if you have an RV plug.

(Mine has that feature built in, which is nice.)

If that works, then trace the wire back, checking all connections you can find. On my trailer, one of the connections wasn't connected. Luckily for me, it was the second one I checked.

Bobbie

[Brian B-P]

Ian, exactly what lights don't work? The stop (brake)? Left signal? Right signal? Both signals? If the only thing working is the running lights, then it's more than one bad connection.

When testing, it helps to know what to expect... hopefully the explanations have helped with that.

[Doug Mager]

Hay Ian!!!
It looks like I'll have to bring my 'tester' an jumper wire IF you make it to our Glass Egg Meet this week(end). The tire shop, where your new spare tire is going to be TOMORROW is only a short walk away from Canadian Junk, where we/you can get things in order in a hurry kinda hard troubleshooting a trailer wiring issue from The Fort when you are at Canadian Tyre!!!!

[Ian-Vicki]

Thanks for all your help. It's the left turn/brake light that doesn't work — the stop light on that side is fine. I think what Bobbie said is right and thast it will be a bum connection since all the other light functions work just fine. And Doug, I'll be there, — possibly Thursday night — even if I have to use hand signals.
cheers
Ian

[Doug Mager]

Ian, we'll save your site, we leave here tomorrow A hemm hoping to at least drop off the egg and 'do' whatever. There is a 'super' market (and whatever else) in town and all sorts of touristy shops to while away the hours till all the 'late comers' arrive.

Talk about Floodipeg is uppermost in my mind, LOL!!!

[Brian B-P]

It's the left turn/brake light that doesn't work — the stop light on that side is fine.

If this is a combined stop/turn system (which I think we're all assuming), then there's nothing wrong in the trailer.

I think what Bobbie said is right and that it will be a bum connection since all the other light functions work just fine.

The connection would have to be into the converter from the tug's left turn light signal, or in the converter itself, because anywhere further down the line would affect both stop and turn on that side.

[Pete Dumbleton]

Brian, you're right that a Mazda is a rebadged Ranger, but the Ranger retains its Mazda roots. Everything is metric, the battery terminals are Japanese-style, etc. And the brake lights are red and the turn signals yellow (however, the towing option equips the truck with relays that split the signals properly AND puts them on separate fuses from the truck lights).

[Doug Mager]

Thanks for all your help. It's the left turn/brake light that doesn't work — the stop light on that side is fine. I think what Bobbie said is right and thast it will be a bum connection since all the other light functions work just fine. And Doug, I'll be there, — possibly Thursday night — even if I have to use hand signals.
cheers
Ian

Well, I saw you leaving The Fort on the same ferry we were on, hope our little 'fix' did the trick. As I told you this morning, I thought you'd tidied up those loose ends yesterday, otherwise I'da been over there before the Vancouver Sunshine set in, LOL!!!!!!

THANKS again for the 'gift'. It was a VERY nice thought and un-necessary too, but each usage of it will remind me of the four of us' time spent 'round the fire!!!!

[Ian-Vicki]

Well, I saw you leaving The Fort on the same ferry we were on, hope our little 'fix' did the trick. As I told you this morning, I thought you'd tidied up those loose ends yesterday, otherwise I'da been over there before the Vancouver Sunshine set in, LOL!!!!!!

THANKS again for the 'gift'. It was a VERY nice thought and un-necessary too, but each usage of it will remind me of the four of us' time spent 'round the fire!!!!

Doug, your diagnostic (and hands-on) help worked a treat and there was not a flicker of a problem on our loop up to cache creek and back through Merritt. And I'm sure we'll swap a lot of lies over campfires to come.
cheers
Ian

[Doug Mager]

...any chance I might get a (finished/edited ) copy of what Vicki n Bunni were talkin bout over vittles at the cookshack Sunday??

I just know thats gunna make for an interesting read, LOL!!!!

Can you return in the spring?