no brake lights at trailer plug

[jtjj1958]

I have a 2000 Seabreeze with a 6 pin trailer plug. I bought a 6 pin to a 4 flat pin converter for my boat trailer. Checking the pins at the motorhome, I have running and left & right turn signals but no brake light (I do have brake lights on the coach). Could I have a blown fuse or is this something to do with having a seperate turn signal and seprate brake light on the coach and a brake turn signal combinined on the trailer? Thanks for any help.

[kennersonf]

The turn signals and brake lights are probably on the same circuit. When you apply the brakes, both turn signal bulbs light up. If the brakes are on and you turn on one of the turn signals, then that bulb is flash. To test this, have someone apply the brakes in the coach and test the both of the turn signal pins in the trailer connector. I bet they'll both be hot.

[gknott]

You hit the nail on the head with your last sentence. When you have turn signals seperate from the brakes on the coach I think you need a 5 wire to 4 wire adapter( think that's what it's called) to make your trailer lights work when brake and turn are on the same bulb.
Check with a hitch shop and they can probably get you the adapter.

[Mr_D]

RoadMaster lists an adapter for this on their website and any RoadMaster dealer should have or be able to get it.

[jtjj1958]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gknott You hit the nail on the head with your last sentence. When you have turn signals seperate from the brakes on the coach I think you need a 5 wire to 4 wire adapter( think that's what it's called) to make your trailer lights work when brake and turn are on the same bulb. Check with a hitch shop and they can probably get you the adapter.

That is what the problem was. I picked up a 5 wire to 4 wire tail light adapter and that should do the trick. Thanks for the helpful replies.

[HeapBigEngin]

Sounds like you are on the right track with what you purchased, normally known as a converter.

These things burn out all too frequently, mainly from overload. All of these have a certain total amperage load limitation....too many lights, too many amps, and pooof. The heavier-duty ones handle more amps, hence more lights...but are very expensive. The real cheap ones will burn out easily if your trailer has multiple lights. A middle-of-the road converter ($30 or so) may work for you if you keep an eye on total amps. The instructions will tell you how many total amps a given converter can handle. Believe me, there is no room here for error. Exceed the total amperage for the converter, and it's gone. That easy!

Please let us know how it works out for you....thanks!

[jtjj1958]

Quote:

Originally Posted by heapbigengin Sounds like you are on the right track with what you purchased, normally known as a converter. These things burn out all too frequently, mainly from overload. All of these have a certain total amperage load limitation....too many lights, too many amps, and pooof. The heavier-duty ones handle more amps, hence more lights...but are very expensive. The real cheap ones will burn out easily if your trailer has multiple lights. A middle-of-the road converter ($30 or so) may work for you if you keep an eye on total amps. The instructions will tell you how many total amps a given converter can handle. Believe me, there is no room here for error. Exceed the total amperage for the converter, and it's gone. That easy! Please let us know how it works out for you....thanks!

Would I be better off just hard wiring in a new 7 pin connecter and adding the brake light to it? This is what my truck has, and I use a 7 pin to 4 pin adapter.

[HeapBigEngin]

Electricity and I have a love/hate relationship. Love it when it works....hate it when it doesn't. I am no electrical wizard, that's for sure. Someone else would be much better than I in answering your question. The situation is that you are taking independent brake and turn signal circuits on the coach and funneling them into a common brake/turn signal bulb on your trailer....hence the use of a converter. This seems to be pretty common on Class A coaches. Maybe your truck already has one built into it....I dunno'. I hope we are talking about the same thing here. The converter that I am talking about is not just "adapting" one plug to another plug. It is a device wired between the coach circuitry and the female receptacle at the hitch....if that makes sense.

Installing the converter is not difficult. One just has to be sure not to exceed the amperage rating of the converter with too many bulbs. My problem was having 4 seperate brake/turn bulbs on my tow dolly (2 mounted on each fender, front and rear) AND using magnetic lights up on top of my toad....a total of 6 seperate brake/turn bulbs. At 1.5 to 2.0 amps per bulb, I was drawing between 9 and 12 amps total. My first converter was rated at maximum of 7....in a few days out on the road, poof! I then disabled the 2 bulbs on the front of each tow dolly fender and bought a medium-priced converter rated at 9 amps....my total amp draw now being between 6 and 8 amps. So far, no further problem.

I hope this helps. If someone else can help with your question, I would also like to hear the answer. Might save me from buying another converter some day.....