LED Trailer Light Problems

I have read several forums on trailer lights and am still stumped here. Bought a new LED light kit for the trailer and was going to wait till this winter to install them after refurbishing my #2 trailer, but the old ones were not worth a flip and burned bulbs like they were 93 octane.

Here are the details:
2001 Plymouth Voyager- yes that is a mini van but it works

New LED kit including 2 tail lights, 2 side markers and middle 3 light strip, new wires and connector.

I know the lights are wired on the trailer correctly because Marty hooked it up to his truck and everything worked as it should.

When connected to my van the turn signals and hazards work and that is about it. When I apply the brakes it shuts down the blinkers and the brake lights do not come on.

When I put the van in reverse all of the running lights come on and the tail lights are full on like I am braking.

All of the lights in the van work just fine but somewhere between the van and trailer there is a problem. The wiring harness can only be installed one way and I figured the kit I put on there last year had gone bad somehow so I went and bought another $60 wiring kit, installed it and same symptoms!

Trying to tow the Skier down to Lake Norman this weekend so I have 5 days to figure it out before I make the 2 hour interstate journey.

Any ideas? I am at a total loss here!

Thanks
Keegan

8122pbrainard wrote: Keegan, With your vehical, you may need one of these Modulite converters or somethings up with the tow vehical wiring. Did it work before you went with the LED's?

Thanks Pete
The wiring kit for the van has a converter like that already wired into the system.(Thats why it is $60) It is supposed to be plug and play. I thought that all the lights worked before but now I am not so sure. I used to pull over in front of my house and turn on the hazards to make sure everything was hooked up after pulling out of the driveway. The brake lights may have never worked! A guy driving behind me last Sunday waved me down at a stop light and told me I had no brake lights. That is when I decided to go ahead and put on the new lights and wires right away. The old wires were in terrible shape so I just figured something had come loose and caused the problem.

I know the trailer is wired right because it all worked plugged up to Marty's truck. Has to be something to do with the wiring, but there is no way to wire it wrong. Everything is connected with clips that can only go on one way. I was certain the converter was fried and was shocked when that did not fix the problem. I don't know what else it could be.

Still scratching my head!

Keegan,
Make sure the module you purchased just isn't the 2/3 lamp "converter". The Modulite is different. I also seem to remember that the Mopar vans do need the fancy modules. Some Jeeps too!

It must be the module, but the wiring kit and module I have are specific to my van so you would think that it would work.. Will look over on the other website and see if I can learn anything.

As for the fuses, wouldn't I be having problems with the lights on my van if I had a blown fuse?

Keeganino wrote: As for the fuses, wouldn't I be having problems with the lights on my van if I had a blown fuse?

Keegan,

Only if your van has a towing package option. I do not know what you have. My fuse for Trailer lights are what have blown in the past.

I hope this helps,

Donald

The module is used when you have seperate stop, and turn signals ( like amber turn and red stop and red running lights) thus the 3/2 0r 2/3.

Some vans have a seperate fuse for trailer lights so if the trailer blows a fues you still have lights working on the van. Location of this will require a trip through the owners manual.

I had a Ford Aerostar once and it was hidden in a rear panel with no easy access at least until I had to change a fuse then I add an access port.

The 5 wire plug is usually used if you want back up lights on the trailer. A flat 5 trailer plug will plug into a truck 4 and a flat 4 trailer will fit a flat 5truck and work but the 5th wire option will not.

So assuming you have the right module lets start at the beginning.

Where does the ground from the trailer terminate (to the trailer frame or into the 4 pin plug

Was the trailer actually hitched to the van when you tested the lights.

What I'm thinking is a ground problem either on the trailers end or the way the plug-n-play system is grounded. Thoughts??

Keeg,

What some of the guys are talking about 'fuses' being blown for the trailer hookup. I was looking under your hood when we killed the battery, and I think the harness behind the battery is for a 'tow' package-- or what the guys are saying the fuses, hookup for a trailer. Look some more under your hood for a fuse box or something labeled trailer lights. This might be where the problem lies, but as I was saying ,some of these 'newer' cars, the computer handles everything, thus the smaller wires you see throughout the vehicle. Check your manual to see if there is a trailer fuse box under the hood, and then you could go the other option with the U-Haul folks.

The 'new' converter you got, did it also hook up over to the right side too? Looking at all the ones on-line and they just have the one harness hookup on the driver's side tailight. Keep me posted.

This looks just like the one that I have and the new one that I bought
Wiring Kit

Thanks Monty great website

The one you had Keeg, remember it had a plug to snake over to the right side tail light too. If all the wires were indeed in that one harness behind the driver's side tail light, the pic doesn't show that 'right' side harness. But then again some of those pics are 'universal' pics.

Keeganino wrote: After looking at the box for the kit my wife bought on Sunday it clearly said on the box that it was for a 2000 Voyager,

Man I can't believe your dropping the dime on the wife for this deboggle.

Really I am blaming the guy at Napa who sold it to her. She was just the messenger and knew what year the van was when I asked her. I think they just said "close enough" and gave her the 2000 kit. What are ya gonna do? I should have studied the box before I wasted my time.

Marty I have it all going on now! I used a cinder block to hold down the brake pedal. Since there are no holes to bolt the side markers to I am thinking about screwing a 90 degree metal bracket to the front of my bunks and mounting them there. That is about as close as I am going to get to half way between the hitch and axle without drilling into the trailer somewhere.

Theses things are at least 3X as bright as the original incandescent lights. Definitely safer and more visible, and I am not going to miss replacing bulbs all the time either! I am a very happy camper!