Taillight converter

[swagn]

I am towing a 2004 Jeep Rubicon. I have a 6-pin on RV and 4-flat on light kit. No brake lights, turn signal (both) work, tail light and emergency blinkers work...Curt mfg said there is a 3 wire to 2 wire converter in motorhome...can't find it ...any suggestions? Followed wires underneath of m/h and looked inside by fuse panel, inverter, and up front where fuse blocks etc are located. 1999 Thor 37' m/h

[BFlinn181]

Often a converter is located near the rear bumper, close to the plug. I'd check the back of the plug for the 12 v brake light signal, it could be a bad connection.

[Lt Dan]

Look for something similar to below in the wiring harness, usually near the rear.

[dpinvidic]

Originally Posted by swagn

I am towing a 2004 Jeep Rubicon. I have a 6-pin on RV and 4-flat on light kit. No brake lights, turn signal (both) work, tail light and emergency blinkers work...Curt mfg said there is a 3 wire to 2 wire converter in motorhome...can't find it ...any suggestions? Followed wires underneath of m/h and looked inside by fuse panel, inverter, and up front where fuse blocks etc are located. 1999 Thor 37' m/h

Just to confirm, you have separate turn and brake lights on the coach.
Could be yellow for turn, or just a different bulb (one for brake and one for turn).

To find the converter, follow the wires back, starting from your 6-ping connector.

Dan

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by swagn

I am towing a 2004 Jeep Rubicon. I have a 6-pin on RV and 4-flat on light kit. No brake lights, turn signal (both) work, tail light and emergency blinkers work...Curt mfg said there is a 3 wire to 2 wire converter in motorhome...can't find it ...any suggestions? Followed wires underneath of m/h and looked inside by fuse panel, inverter, and up front where fuse blocks etc are located. 1999 Thor 37' m/h

swagn,
About 99.9999% of the time, it doesn't matter whether or not you have Amber turn signals on the coach or not. The reason is, yes, they (the coach manufacturer) will install a tail light converter in the system, BEFORE it enters the trailer plug on the coach. In that plug, again, about 99.9999% of the time, you will see the pins pinout as:

1. Tail/Marker (used to be known as "Running lights")
2. Left Turn/Brake wire/pin
3. Right Turn/Brake wire/pin
4. Ground
5. Hot (for running a charge wire to the toad or, other applications ona trailer etc.)
6. Back up lights
7. Trailer Brakes (for electric trailer brakes)

Now, you say you have a 6 pin, correct, well, you should be able to find the first four of the list above. At least two of those pins, in your trailer plug, should equal numbers 2 and 3, above. If you haven't done them, some simple tests will show what I mean. A test light is all that's needed.

You turn the left turn signal on in the coach and, verify it by probing any of the pins in that trailer plug. Note the findings.
Then, do the same for the right turn. Note the position of the pin.

Now, have a helper apply the brakes, BOTH OF THOSE PINS will light up the test light. Now, that means that, you should be sending a solid signal (brake light signal) through both the right and left signal wires for the tail lights on the Jeep. If not, then maybe you've got a break in the wiring or, one of the plugs or, the pig tail or, it was simply not installed correctly. I've towed 8 different Jeeps in the past 30 years and, each and everyone of them, has been wired for towing, in the exact same fashion. And that is, to utilize the stock tail lights/bulbs for toad lights. I have NEVER, EVER had any issues doing it this way. If you need help further, PM me and I'd be glad to assist.
Scott

P.S., I almost forgot, if you check the pins in your trailer plug and, you DO FIND a right turn/brake and, a left turn/brake but, NO SOLID brake lights when the brakes are applied, then yes, you may have a problem with the converter, maybe. But, you need to do the tests I suggested to narrow the problem down. Let us know what you find out.
Scott

[Darrel]

Many stores sell 7pin to 4pin adapters. Mine even has indicator lites that prove that the correct connector pins are activated. I think that I found mine in a farm supply store.

Have a nice day - Darrel

[vsheetz]

Originally Posted by Darrel

Many stores sell 7pin to 4pin adapters. Mine even has indicator lites that prove that the correct connector pins are activated. I think that I found mine in a farm supply store.

Have a nice day - Darrel

X2, I bought mine at Walmart.

[swagn]

Thank you...I did test and have ALL except brake lights...I traced back under M/H and found connection with "many wires" spliced but no converter. I agree it is converter but can't find...I do have blue wire brake light in 6 pin connector that works I assume for trailer brakes) but the signal lights do not show braking when brake depressed. Can I rewire just for 4-flat and forget the 6 pin?

[l1v3fr33ord1]

swagn-

Is your coach built on a Ford F53 chassis?

[swagn]

Originally Posted by l1v3fr33ord1

swagn-

Is your coach built on a Ford F53 chassis?

YES

[swagn]

[QUOTE=l1v3fr33ord1;3156756]swagn-

Is your coach built on a Ford F53 chassis?[/QUOTE

I found splicing of wires about 8" before plug (6-pin)
Red to Blue
green
brown
yellow
black
white
Could I install new converter there? If I have one (which i haven't found), will it interfere with new one? I want to get to 4-flat for TOAD 2004 Jeep Wrangler...

[l1v3fr33ord1]

swagn-

Let me start with a caveat: I don't have your coach. Anything insight I have should be bounced against what you see, and, secondarily, what your manuals say.

OK, you have a Ford F53 chassis. Let's assume that you have a 1999 chassis. You may not; the label on your coach will tell you when Ford made the chassis, and the tenth character of your VIN tells you what the chassis model year is, too. Ford doesn't change a lot on their chassis from year-to-year, so going with the 1999 is a reasonable place to begin.

Start by looking at the Body Builders Layout Book pages for your year chassis, available at this link. The Body Builders Layout Book is what the coach manufacturers use to integrate their coach bodies with the Ford-provided chassis. Dig down to the F53 pages using this link. Finally, click on "Body and Special Equipment Installation Precautions," at this link.

On sheet 4 of that PDF file, there is circuit information listed for "Brake Lamp Feeds." On the right-hand side of that chart, it lists a 20A fuse in position 9 of the interior fuse box ("F/P #9"), which is usually found above the driver's left foot, mounted to the rear of the firewall. The first thing I would check is that fuse.

Second, if you look at the chart for "LH Turn" and "RH Turn" you will see that Ford provides them both with and without a superimposed brake signal. This is done at the multifunction (turn signal) switch in the steering column, using separate pairs of contacts in the switch. What this means practically to you is that Thor had no reason to install a converter to supply the trailer connections with combined turn-and-brake signals.

Now, a prior owner may have modified the wiring ...

Or, Thor may not have used what Ford gave them ...

... which is why it's so helpful to have actual factory wiring diagrams. For the moment, we'll assume that Thor used the Ford-provided signals.

Under your coach, about six to ten feet in front of the rear bumper and usually inside the left frame rail, are two Ford connectors. They carry all the signals to the rear of the coach, both for the coach lights and for the trailer lights. About six inches aft of those connectors Thor spliced onto the wires in Ford-provided pigtails and extended them to the rear of the coach (lights and bumper). Ordinarily, Thor would have installed wires long enough to reach the trailer connector.

The splices you find 8 inches from the connector were installed by whom? We don't know. But the wire colors appear to match these signals:

yellow- left turn and brake
green- right turn and brake
brown- "park" or marker lamps
white - ground
black- probably 12V
red/blue- probably electric trailer brake signal (do not confuse this with the coach brake signal)

Here is a link that shows signal pinouts for standard connectors.

To boil all this down: If your 6-pin plug is wired to the standard, and Thor or a prior owner has not monkeyed with what Ford provided, then the reasons for the absence of a brake signal on the combined left-hand and right-hand turn signal wires is due to:

1) a blown fuse
2) a failed multifunction switch in the dash

... and probably three other causes I can't think of, one of which will be the true cause and will make a fool of me (has happened before).

[l1v3fr33ord1]

swagn-

Rather than edit my post above to correct errors, here's an addendum.

(Note to self: Before posting, look at your own diagrams. Sigh.)

Attached find three pages detailing the multifunction switch on our 2008 coach. Note that F9 feeds brake signals for the coach and trailer. If it was blown, you'd have no brake lights on either. Obviously, it's not blown (or you haven't told us the coach brake lights are out, too.)

Also attached is a single page showing the Ford connector pinouts at the rear of the coach.

I've gotta run, but will think on this some more.

In the meantime, finding the Ford connectors and looking at the wiring harnesses from there on back is worthwhile.

[swagn]

Wow that is good stuff...I will check fuse first...red wire going to blue is hot when brake is used...I'm thinking if fuse is good, installing a converter at the splices about 8" from 6-pin plug...any reason that won't work? a 3-2 converter