Trailer lights

[danielcasey01]

Hi Everyone--
My SX230 trailer has a 5 pin/prong connector for the lights. My car has a 4 pin/prong connector. I bought a 5 pin to 4 pin adaptor but still can't get the lights to work. There is an extra blue wire which I think is my problem but don't know where to connect.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dan

 

[Neutron]

That blue wire gets tapped into your reverse light signal
It is to activate the reverse lockout solenoid so you can back up without the brakes being applied

 

[danielcasey01]

would that prevent all the other lights from working?

 

[Neutron]

Nope doesn't affect any lighting

 

[danielcasey01]

Thanks. None of my lights on the trailer work. Had the car tested this morning and that test was good. Any other ideas?

 

[Neutron]

Start with checking the ground wire because if nothing is working that alone can cause everything to be out

 

[danielcasey01]

Thank you. Do you happen to know the color of the ground?

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

1. Brown wire to the tail or parking lights.
2. Green wire to right turn signal/brake light.
3. Yellow wire to the left turn signal/brake light.
4. White wire to common or chassis ground.

Odds are the connections are shot. Buy some LED replacements off amazon and hooked them up with heatshrink butt connectors.

 

[danielcasey01]

Thank you very much!!

 

[Ronnie]

Hi Everyone--
My SX230 trailer has a 5 pin/prong connector for the lights. My car has a 4 pin/prong connector. I bought a 5 pin to 4 pin adaptor but still can't get the lights to work. There is an extra blue wire which I think is my problem but don't know where to connect.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dan

Dan the adapter you bought may be a 5 (tow vehicle) to 4 (trailer) not a 4 to 5 pin connector. I’ve had to buy many 7 pin round (tow vehicle) to 5 pin flat (trailer connectors) but never seen a 4 to 5.

if your trailer lights don’t work it’s not likely that the 5 lead (reverse light to surge brake lockout) is operating either. So the surge brake will still be operating even if you put the tow vehicle in reverse. You can use the D key or tape a nickel in place to mechanically stop the surge brake from working.

 

[danielcasey01]

Thanks, Ronnie. I don't want to sound like an idiot here (haha, maybe too late!) but what is a D key and/or where would i tape the nickel?

 

[AZMark]

Try driving it with someone following. If it’s the ground the lights should still flash once in a while as it grounds through the hitch & chassis.

Also not sure what your trailer is like but I’ve had trailers that were bolted together vs welded where rust and things can interfere with the grounding through the trailer frame itself where the bolted sections meet. Driving can sometimes loosen that up too if it’s just been sitting a long time.

 

[biffdotorg]

I realize this has nothing to do with your lights working or not, but if all you have is a flat 4 on your vehicle, you may also want to be sure you are within it's tow rating. That's why we don't see folks adapting from 4-5, but more from 7-5.

As the capacity of the vehicle helps the MFGs determine what light connector they add to the vehicle. I noted this when I moved from a 2004 Colorado to a 2008 colorado. The tow capacity went up quite a bit, and they added the 7 pin connector.

Again, this has nothing to do with your lights working or not, just check it. On the other side, connect that trailer up to a friends vehicle to assure you the trailer is at fault. Not many times it's all or nothing, usually something works. But the buys above are right, if nothing works, then the ground is the first place to check.

 

[danielcasey01]

Thank you very much. The trailer has 5 and the car has 4. I used it once, at the beginning of the season, and it worked but was on a different car which was wrecked this past summer. Old car was a Jeep Grand Cherokee (2013) and the new one is a Nissan Pathfinder (2018)

 

[Dave burke]

Hmmm… so the Pathfinder only a 4 pin outlet? Is it possible you have another outlet? What’s your SUVs tow rating?

My 2018 X5 has a 4 pin outlet but also a round 7 pin outlet. I use the 4 pin for my small utility trailer and I have a 7 to 5 pin adapter for my Shorelandr

 

[proplessdancer]

Thanks, Ronnie. I don't want to sound like an idiot here (haha, maybe too late!) but what is a D key and/or where would i tape the nickel?

you should have a string with a "D Key" hanging off of it on the tip of trailer tongue. there is a slide on the drivers side of the tongue that the hitch slides back and forth on when the surge brakes activate (thats the clunking/jerking noise/feeling you get when coming to our pulling away from a dead stop). if you put that D Key in the slide it will deactivate the surge brakes and allow you to backup without locking up the wheels. i can get pics of mine later if needed

 

[danielcasey01]

Pathfinder has 4 (trailer has 5) and the tow package was put on after I bought the car. Rated for 6000 lbs.

Proplessdancer-- a picture would be great if not too much trouble.

 

[AZMark]

 

[danielcasey01]

Thanks! So i put a nickel in there to stop it from moving backwards?

 

[proplessdancer]

here you are. i wouldnt put a nickel there permanently tho or you wont have brakes at all!!