Peter has been with Peterson Manufacturing as Publications Specialist since July of 2004. His involvement in the automotive aftermarket goes back over twenty years. Since putting himself through college as an automotive parts clerk, he has gained a wide range of technical and marketing experience with OE and aftermarket automotive, powersports, heavy equipment and aviation parts. Skilled at explaining complex technical subjects clearly and accurately, he has contributed to a number of technical articles to motorcycle and automotive publications over the past decade.
Peter is happy to answer your questions about all aspects vehicle safety lighting, from today's rapidly-advancing new technology to the increasingly complicated web of legal requirements in the US, North America, and Europe.
I have a utility trailer and a horse trailer. My main truck in pulling these is a 1994 Chev C1500. It has a 7pin connection, but 1 pin is missing…ever since I acquired the truck. The stop lights and turn signal lights work with the utility trailer, but not with the horse trailer. I plugged the horse trailer into my Nissan Titan’s connection, and all lights work. The Titan has a different connection type, but I use an adapter. Does the Chev truck connection need the missing pin?
A.
Without seeing your vehicles, it is impossible for me to say for sure. However, your Chevy has separate turn signals and taillight circuits; the Nissan does not. Depending on how the lights on your two trailers are wired, this could be why some truck-trailer combinations work, and others don’t. You might need to rewire your connections on the Chevy, and an adaptor may be required. See my earlier post to a Chevy owner with this problem.
Answer posted by Peter Zilliox — June 12, 2006 @ 1:22 pm
I recently bought an old 25’ flat bed trailer. The old wiring had missing insulation here and there, so I replaced the wiring with new 16ga 4-wire, 25’ kit. 16ga was the biggest I could find. I tied this into 6’ 12 ga whip that has the trailer plug. This is the only part of the old wiring I kept. It looked like it was replaced recently. Max distance from plug to LED is about 32′. While I was at it I replaced the taillights with LEDs. I double-checked all connections, colors, and wiring of plug. (I did not tie in the clearance lights yet, thought I better test it.) When I plugged it into my 1997 Dodge pickup, the LED lights barely lit for braking, hazard and turning. Absolutely no taillights. Should I have used 12ga wiring, or could it be the ground?
A.
With LED taillights and no running lights connected, I seriously doubt that amp draw would be so great as to cause what you describe. I would look for a short, not only in the ground, but at all the connections—lights to harness, harness to plug, plug to vehicle, and within the vehicle itself.
Answer posted by Peter Zilliox — June 12, 2006 @ 12:57 pm
Can you suggest a system for add-on lights for inside a over-the-road reefer trailer?
A.
White LED interior lamps are a new innovation that are ideal for your situation. They withstand road vibration and a wide range of temperatures while drawing very few amps. The easiest to retrofit are surface-mount lights such as Peterson’s new Great White M423W-4.
Answer posted by Peter Zilliox — June 12, 2006 @ 12:50 pm
HI, I have a Chevy Silverado 2005 work truck, to which I installed a 4 wire flat plug to match my boat. My truck has 2 different lights for the blinkers and the brake lights. If I install the plug with the blinker lights and the brake lights like it says to, it just back feeds though and the blinker light come on when you hit the brakes on the truck and vice versa. My question is, do I need a 5-way plug to install on my truck and my trailer and run the brake circuit though the other prong? Or is there something else I’m missing?
A.
A 5-way connector will not solve your issue. What you need is a taillight adaptor, sometimes called a “logic box.” This inexpensive accessory is available at most auto parts stores as well as trailer and RV dealers. The adaptor is an electronic “black box” usually has five input wires from the vehicle, and four output wires to the trailer.
Answer posted by Peter Zilliox — June 12, 2006 @ 12:45 pm
I am looking for a manufacturer that produces both a red and amber 4″ pedestal mount LED light with a standard 3 wire pigtail that will allow grounding at or near the point of installation. The lamp we are currenlty using is designed as a housing ground device. Unfortunately our application does not allow the housing to create an adequate ground. Consiquently we have had to add a groud wire to each lamp prior to installation. Do you know of a manufacturer that we can contact that produces such a lamp.
Any input you can provied will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
A.
Peterson does not currently offer an LED pedestal-mount light, and I do not know of a 3-wire version available from other manufacturers. Properly sealing an LED light is crucial to long life, and sealing of the electronics in the pedestal-mount form factor has been problematic. This may be why you find few LED pedestal mounts on the market.
Answer posted by Peter Zilliox — June 12, 2006 @ 11:59 am
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