Trailer Light Taillight Converter Installation

The installation instructions listed below are for a taillight converter with a power isolation circuit. Power is taken from the car, truck, suv, van, etc. tow vehicle battery to power the trailer lights. If you are hooking up a standard taillight converter, disregard the battery connection on the diagram and instructions.

Instructions

1.) Determine a suitable location for mounting the circuit protected converter in an out of the way spot near the left tail lights in the trunk or on the frame rail, if mounted under the towing vehicle.

2.) Ground the white ground wire by placing the ring terminal under an existing screw attached to a clean metal surface or by drilling another 3/32" hole and using one of the self tapping screws provided.

3.) Disconnect the tow vehicle's negative (-) battery cable.

4.) Cut the in-line fuse holder loop wiring.

5.) Using a ring terminal (3/8” for top terminal or 1/2” for side terminal), attach an in-line fuse holder (with fuse removed) to the positive (+) terminal of the battery.

6.) Route black 12 gauge wire from the fuse holder to the converter passing under or through the vehicle. Note: When passing the wire through sheet metal always go through an existing grommet, add a grommet or use silicone rubber to insulate the wire from the hole.

7.) Attach the 12 gauge wire to the fuse holder with the yellow butt connector provided.

8.) Reconnect the tow vehicle’s (-) negative battery cable. Note: See tow vehicle’s owners manual for any special battery reconnection instructions.

9.) Determine if the towing vehicle has a 2 wire or 3 wire system.

2 Wire System

• Has same bulb for stop and turn signals.
• Some vehicles have a separate bulb for stoplights but also have a combination bulb for turn and stop. These cars should be wired as 2 wire systems, using the wires going to the common bulbs.
• Note: Attach the crimp on spade terminal provided to the red stop wire and ground it along with the white wire.

3 Wire System

• Has amber turn signals, separate.
• Has separate bulbs for stop and turn signals (both red).
• Note: Attach red wire to tow vehicles brake light circuit.

10.) Using a circuit tester or volt ohm meter (VOM), determine which wire attached to the left taillight assembly is the left turn wire. Attach the units yellow left turn wire to this wire using one of the blue wire taps provided. Determine which wire is the taillight circuit and attach the module's brown tail / license wire to it with a wire tap. Determine which wire is the stop circuit and attach the module's red stop wire to it with a wire tap (for 3 wire systems only, see step 9).

11.) Route the units green right turn wire to the right side of the vehicle. Determine which wire is the right turn circuit and attach the green wire to it with a wire tap.

12.) Install the fuse into fuse holder and test the installation with a circuit light or trailer.

13.) Secure all loose wiring with cable ties.

Testing Procedure

With the ground wire connected and all of the other circuits attached, attach the ground lead of a circuit tester to the exposed ground terminal of the 4-flat end. Activate the tow vehicle’s left turn, right turn, tail and stop lights one at a time. Probe the three receptacles of the 4-flat end to confirm proper functions. If testing with a trailer, make the proper connections and do the same test as the circuit tester using the trailer lights. If a function on the trailer lights does not work properly, disconnect the trailer lights, turn functions on vehicle off and recheck function with the unit with a circuit tester. Then check the trailer wiring for potential circuit problems. Courtesy of Cequent Towing.

Estimating Trailer Amperage Per Circuit

NOTE: For estimating use only. Amperage is rounded to the nearest whole value. May not apply in all cases. Always check with your tow vehicles owners manual about adding additional loads to your electrical system. Some 12 volt batteries produce up to 14.5 volts. Use a VOM (volt ohm meter) to test.

If you know the wattage of the bulbs on your trailer you can use the formula P = I X E

P = watts
I = amps
E = 12 (volts)

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