Brake lights on toad don't light after wiring job.

[Letsgoagain]

Afternoon,
Recently purchased a new 4 door unlimited wrangler and had a local shop wire it for towing behind the motorhome. Got the wrangler home to test the lights and found out that the brake lights on the wrangler don't light when the brake is applied in the motorhmome. All other lights work as they are supposed to.
The motorhome has a six pin connector with individual pins for the left, right, brake, backup, taillight lights and of course the one for ground.
If what I'm understanding is correct then the jeep is wired in a americanized way combining the turn and brake signal wires with only a four wire system.
The local shop that wired the jeep says I will have to have a turn signal/break light convertor wired in for the lights on the jeep to work correctly.
Does anyone know if this is right and how to do it. I would just as soon do it myself as to drive the motorhome into and across town for a half hour job. I would appreciate any help or direction anyone can give.
Sorry so longwinded.

[GaryKD]

Hi Letsgoagain,
I think all you need is a converter plug. It all depends on what plug is on the coach and the jeep. Understand both plugs and their design (flat, round, square). Call RV Upgrades at 866-332-7881. Tell them what you have and they will let you know your converter plug choices. I do not think any are more than $30. Some are much less. It depends on what you need.

[Letsgoagain]

GaryKD,
Thanks for the reply. That thought crossed my mind about a plug in convertor but you know how it goes when you think it couldn't be that simple.
The plug on the jeep is a six pin plug also but they reduced it down to 4 wires running to the back plus a ground wire hooked to the frame at the plug.
I will look online at the RVupgrades site to see if indeed it is going to be that simple.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Keith

[chasfm11]

There are a number of ways that you could solve your problem. The easiest way, based on what has already been done, may be to open the wiring on the toad side where they spliced in the 4 wire connector and insert something that looks like http://www.buyersproducts.com/Towing...ht-Converters/

#5423205 looks like it might solve your problem. I looked at RVUpgrades but a similar device doesn't appear in their list. 3-2 converters are fairly common items in most trailer wiring places but these devices are normally put on the towing vehicle side and then a 4 wire connector used to the toad.

When I wired my Vue (which has different lights for brake and turn), I went the opposite route. I used the 6 wire connector to the toad, keeping the stop and turn signals separate. I wired into the toad's brake and turn signals separately, maintaining the configuration that it has without the MH. Personally, I prefer that.

[soonerdave]

All your need are four wires. Remove your six-way, splice in a flat four-way, and then put an adapter on your coach (available at any Wal-Mart) to change your coach plug to a flat four way. I assume the shop that wired your jeep used standard trailer wiring, make sure they installed diodes on your jeep or you will have problems with voltage being fed from your coach in to your jeep's wiring system, not good!

[Letsgoagain]

soonerdave,
First of all thanks for the reply. Sounds like this may be the best way for me to fix my brake light problem. Have a question or two though. Not sure on a couple of things.
The shop that did the work did install diodes but I guess they didn't understand what wiring plug I had on the motorhome and that it had the separate break and turn signals.
My 1st question concerns the four way plug that you suggested I should splice in. I crawled underneath to see how many wires the shop ran from the plug to the rear of the jeep. There are three wires to the back and a short ground wire thats bolted to the frame. Would this be right or should there be four to the back plus the ground wire? Hate to sound dumb here but wiring is not my cup of tea
2nd question is will the adapter plug that I purchase combine the separate turn and break lights on the motorhome into one signal for the connection to the toad.
Appreciate the help.
Letsgoagain

[RV Wizard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Letsgoagain soonerdave, First of all thanks for the reply. Sounds like this may be the best way for me to fix my brake light problem. Have a question or two though. Not sure on a couple of things. The shop that did the work did install diodes but I guess they didn't understand what wiring plug I had on the motorhome and that it had the separate break and turn signals. My 1st question concerns the four way plug that you suggested I should splice in. I crawled underneath to see how many wires the shop ran from the plug to the rear of the jeep. There are three wires to the back and a short ground wire thats bolted to the frame. Would this be right or should there be four to the back plus the ground wire? Hate to sound dumb here but wiring is not my cup of tea 2nd question is will the adapter plug that I purchase combine the separate turn and break lights on the motorhome into one signal for the connection to the toad. Appreciate the help. Letsgoagain

It sounds as though the wiring on the Jeep has been done correctly. If you had mentioned that you have amber turn signals they would have probably told you that you might have to have a converter up front. Some coaches have the towing connection wired with a converter in place and some do not; it just depends on the coach builder. When you get into the higher end like Prevost you can select what type of connection you need by a simple switch.

I am not sure as to the receptacle you have. You said a 6 wire. If this is correct, it is round and the plug that fits it is about 1" in diameter. And it is wired with separate turn signals and brake lights? If so the converter needs to be on the coach side as I am not sure if an adapter will do what you need. I will do a little research to see what is available and edit my post if need be.

[soonerdave]

It sounds like your Jeep is wired correctly. Yes, there are four wires, green, yellow, brown, and white for ground. My coach also has seperate brake and turn signals, when you plug in the adapter it will give you the correct signals for tail, brake and turn signals. The adapter I have converts to four and six pin plugs. If you change the plug on your Jeep to a flat 4 and then plug it in to your coach with the adapter you should have the correct lights. In the fuse box under the hood of your Jeep there are two fuses you need to pull while towing. One fuse is the IOD, it has a white plastic surround with two ears, pull straight up until it stops. The other is the brake light fuse, it is a blue 15 amp right next to the IOD, you only need to pull this one if you have supplemental braking, which I sincerely hope you have for safety. Hope this helps! Happy RVing!

[Letsgoagain]

RV Wizard and soonerdave,
First of all thanks for the replies.
RV Wizard, I do have the six pin receptacle on the motorhome and a six pin umbilical to connect between the motorhome and jeep. The umbilical ends are approximately 1 inch radius.
Soonerdave, I looked all over town for an adapter that would convert the six pin receptacle on the motorhome to a 4 pin umbilical. My 4 pin umbilical plug came from roadmaster and is round. Saw all kinds of adapters that were 4 flat but not round.
At this point I'm taking it back to the shop and have a convertor wired in on the motorhome.
Thanks for all your attempts to help me.
Letsgoagain