taillight pin outs Options

[GaroldShaffer]

OK so now the AX trailer is done, but I still have a issue with the trailer lights being very dim to not on at all. I don't believe there is a ground problem with the trailer since the lights work when hooked up to my truck. So looking at my trusty haynes manual (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/unsure.gif) I am trying to figure out the pinouts for the taillights.

The both housing has three sets of pins Rf 54 58.

D side P side

Rf 54 58 58 54 Rf
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0

I took an old housing apart. To me it looks like pin 58 goes to both the turn signal and brake light.

Pins 54 upper & lower, upper goes to brake light and lower to turn signal.

Pins Rf upper & lower,upper goes to reverse light and lower to the gound bar of the light housing

So..... a standard flat 4 wire trailer plug you have white, brown, yellow, and green. White is ground, brown is running lights, yellow is Lt turn & brake, and green is Rt turn & brake.

Are you with me so far (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wacko.gif)

So how should I have the 4 wire plug wired into my taillights?

[ChicagoChris]

What are you using for a tow vehicle? So trucks/cars need an additional gadget. My Jeep needed a power boost. I got it at my local hitch store and it mounted in the car right next to the tail light assembly. Dim lights gone.

[lapuwali]

I haven't pulled apart a housing (need to though), but your diagram doesn't look right. There's no connection for the taillights, for one thing.

You need, in each housing, at least 5 connections: ground, reverse, tail, turn, brake. I'm too lazy to go outside to check, but I believe there are 5 terminals on each housing.

To go from this to your trailer wires, you'd connect the correct brake/turn wire for that side to both the turn and brake pins in that housing; the running lights wire to the taillight pin, the ground wire to the ground pin.

Both your turn and brake lights will come on when you hit the brakes, and both the turn and brake lights will blink with the turn signal, which is commonplace on older Merican cars. European cars have had separate turn and brake lamps since the 1960s, esp. since they've had different colored turn and brake lamps for about that long, too.

[john rogers]

It appears you will have to do what the previous owner of my race car did when he flat towed it for 15 years; Wire the turn and brake separate which means a larger plug. The brake light wires are the red/gray and gray/black and the turn are black/green and black/white. I would use some of those piggy back connectors and a 6 pin plug on both the car and trailer. That should cure the dimness problem.

[GaroldShaffer]

QUOTE (lapuwali @ Feb 21 2006, 08:02 PM)

I haven't pulled apart a housing (need to though), but your diagram doesn't look right. There's no connection for the taillights, for one thing. You need, in each housing, at least 5 connections: ground, reverse, tail, turn, brake. I'm too lazy to go outside to check, but I believe there are 5 terminals on each housing. To go from this to your trailer wires, you'd connect the correct brake/turn wire for that side to both the turn and brake pins in that housing; the running lights wire to the taillight pin, the ground wire to the ground pin. Both your turn and brake lights will come on when you hit the brakes, and both the turn and brake lights will blink with the turn signal, which is commonplace on older Merican cars. European cars have had separate turn and brake lamps since the 1960s, esp. since they've had different colored turn and brake lamps for about that long, too.

My diagram didn't turn out right, but I know what you are saying.

Ok here is what I got. The driver side housing Pin 58 Upper to white (tail lights), Pin 54 Upper to Red (brake), 54 lower yellow(lt turn). The pin 54 lower on the passenger side to green(rt turn). these go in to a housing then out of that Rt & Lt tail ights to brown, White to frame ground on the 914, yellow Lt turn & brake , Green Rt turn & brake.

Chris I am using my 914 to haul the AX trailer.

[GaroldShaffer]

Thanks John, I will give it a try.