2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission trailer harness wiring screwed up!! help

[Bandit1]

well i have been pulling trailers for years and the entire time i have had my 98 ram. however it is mostly a bass boat or mowing trailer nothing with any visible marker lights, until i pulled a 14' trailer the other day and noticed i didnt have any running lights period, this concerned me since that means no red running lights in the rear of the trailer, also my trailer brake wont work. so i got a new plug and wiring diagram from a tdr mag and wired it up, it didnt work and also the way the pic showed to wire the plug was completely different than the way it came from the factory. well somewhere in the rewire job i lost brake lights and 2 hrs later i still couldnt figure it out (check fuses 2 times, and all connections) so i took it to the dealer to have them fix the lights and rewire the plug. brought it home and hooked it up to a brand new travel trailer and it still doesnt work. when i plug in the trailer the reverse lights come on and the marker lights work with the brake pedal. any help on this is appreciated, the dealer is getting a call on monday morning to fix this problem. in the diagrams it says that the black wire is 12v hot, well not on this truck, and it doesnt matter if i bring back a hot wire from the battery, still nothing. i have gotten the wires hooked up to work but still no trailer brake and no marker lights. this "dealer" has never thrilled me with service but i am between a rock and a hard place since this is the only one close and a dodge tech should know the wireing of these trucks inside and out, obviously not.

 

[KWentling]

On my "98. 4" this is the wire color/function:

running lights (BK/OR)

stop/ left turn (DG/RD)

ground (BK)

battery (RD/TN)

back up (VT/BK)

stop/right turn (BK/PK)

electric brake (LB)

Hope this helps you.



Kim

 

[Bandit1]

this is a crock of you know what bc on my truck i dont even have half of those colored wires. well i guess the wonderful dealer will get even more of an ear full on mon. thanks for the info, bc i will have to end up rewireing this thing myself if i want it done right. thanks

 

[KWentling]

I find it hard to believe that you're wires would be different, unless someone has done some "custom" wiring. When I replaced my plug the wires that had been exposed to the elements were hard to distinguish the color on but peeling back the protective wrap revealed the colors. Even if they are different, they should not be too hard to identify with a test light or an ohm meter. Since the brake/turn signals are the easiest to confirm, I'd start there. On the others, just make sure you only have one function (such as running lights OR back up lights) on a time and isolate each one as to function.



Kim

 

[Cryppie]

Running this problem to ground

I've had to rewire several older trailers, and one thing that has always come up to bite me in the a$$ is a poor ground connection. If you have a multimeter, check the resistance in your ground connection on the truck, wiggling the wires, then also on the trailer at each light. I've chased more gremlins because of grounds, and I think it's worth the extra time to make sure there isn't a problem there first. Then I would check to make sure the correct wire is in the right spot on the truck connector (again verifying good ground at the connector), and work back from there. Best of luck, it's not a fun or very quick job... but necessary.

 

[Bandit1]

how do i test the resistance with a multimeter. nothing has been done to the wiring on the truck, this is how it came from the factory. the wires that i have are yellow, black, brown, light green, light blue, white, red. all the wireing diagrams that ihave seen for the dodge call for a violet wire, i dont have that wire anywhere, or they call for an orange wire and that one is mia also. this is a mexican built truck and i wonder if there is a problem where the wires tie into the connectors from the taillights. thanks for all your replys, all info is appreciated.

 

[Cryppie]

First, find out which is the 12V constant with your meter, make sure you go to a good ground with your meter. Then finding the ground is fairly easy, with the key off, and avoiding the 12V hot terminal, the only other one that has connectivity should be ground. Set your meter to read Ohms, and measure resistance, should be a very low number, like . something. Once you have determined good ground, you can find what the other pins do with a test light or meter. The brake wire is the other heavy gauge that's not the constant, should be blue, but it sounds like you shouldn't trust color Good luck!

 

[AC]

I'm suspicious of your trailer wiring. Get a test light and verify that the truck is wired correctly. Don't worry so much about what color wires you have. Turn on your running lights and then go back to the hitch and check it with the test light. My guess is that the truck is wired correctly and the trailer will need to be modified to match. If you can get someone to help it goes pretty fast. Also, check the spring loaded cover at the 7 pin connector and see if the wiring diagram is stamped into the cover. I know mine is that way. Good luck, AC

 

[KWentling]

I understood you were having problems with the truck wiring. From you're colors on the trailer it is probably a standard 7-way.

This is what it should be:



7-way: 12v (black), right turn (brown), auxillary (orange), brakes (blue), tail lights (green), left turn (red), ground (white).



Kim