trailer wiring - miswire?

Hello,

I have a 2005 Jetta Wagon to which I've just installed a trailer hitch.
I am trying to install the electrical wiring for the trailer but I am
running into a problem. - Nothing happens!

I'll let everyone know right off of the back that I have not installed
wiring for a trailer before. So this may be something rudimentary. I
purchased a '4-way flat piggyback plug with 3-to-2 taillight converter'
from UHaul. The first problem I ran into was splicing the correct
wires. Since the directions given to me didn't specify otherwise, I
spliced like-color wires from the wiring harness to the taillight
wiring. I matched colors as best as I could for the left taillight,
and connected the green right-signal wire to the green wire I found on
the right taillight wiring.

I also anchored the ground wire to one of the bolts that hold the
trailer hitch to the frame, which I did not do until all other wires
were spliced.

Converter box
http://static.flickr.com/75/214257789_c3a055463e_o.jpg

Left taillight wiring
http://static.flickr.com/66/214257814_e96510dbb1_o.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/83/214257857_11acf8f2af_o.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/70/214257886_d1f53ecded_o.jpg

Right taillight wiring
http://static.flickr.com/76/214257913_a8b39b28e6_o.jpg

Trailer wiring connector
http://static.flickr.com/98/214257933_44054ec886_o.jpg

Can anybody help? I need to get this working asap.

Hi,
Can you clarify "nothing happens"? Are any lights in the trailer
lighting up? Or are they lighting up for the wrong function--brake
lights blinking when you're signalling?

One approach is to confirm which wires are for what in the Jetta. Get
an inexpensive test light with probe from a hardware or auto shop. Or
fashion your own. The retail tester has a 12 V light bulb in a handle.
>From one end of the handle protrudes a metal probe with a sharp point.
>From the other end of the handle comes a length of wire with a clamp.
Attach the clamp to a ground point. Turn on or activate (e.g., signal)
the various lights on the Jetta. Go to where you're making the splices
and use the probe to either touch a connector if accessible or poke
into a wire. By process of elimination you'll figure out which wire in
your Jetta is for which lights and you can splice accordingly.

The other possibility is the 3-2 converter is not designed for your
vehicle, that the converter circuitry is assuming some other inputs for
brake-signal lights. If all else fails, it could be the converetr unit
is faulty. Just some possibilities.

Good luck.
-Tony

pexzor wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I have a 2005 Jetta Wagon to which I've just installed a trailer hitch.
> I am trying to install the electrical wiring for the trailer but I am
> running into a problem. - Nothing happens!

> Can anybody help? I need to get this working asap.

pexzor wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I have a 2005 Jetta Wagon to which I've just installed a trailer hitch.
> I am trying to install the electrical wiring for the trailer but I am
> running into a problem. - Nothing happens!
>
> I'll let everyone know right off of the back that I have not installed
> wiring for a trailer before. So this may be something rudimentary. I
> purchased a '4-way flat piggyback plug with 3-to-2 taillight converter'
> from UHaul. The first problem I ran into was splicing the correct
> wires. Since the directions given to me didn't specify otherwise, I
> spliced like-color wires from the wiring harness to the taillight
> wiring. I matched colors as best as I could for the left taillight,
> and connected the green right-signal wire to the green wire I found on
> the right taillight wiring.
>

This will almost never work. The wire colors are not standard, each car is
different. What you should have done is figure out which wire goes to
which light and splice accordingly. I have a Bentley repair manual and
according to the wiring diagram the wires are color coded as follows:
Right Turn Signal, black/green; Left Turn Signal, black/white; Left Tail
Light, green/black; and Left Brake Light, red/black.

Let me know if this works.

PHRED


>
> I also anchored the ground wire to one of the bolts that hold the
> trailer hitch to the frame, which I did not do until all other wires
> were spliced.
>

This should be ok.

>
> Converter box
> http://static.flickr.com/75/214257789_c3a055463e_o.jpg
>
> Left taillight wiring
> http://static.flickr.com/66/214257814_e96510dbb1_o.jpg
> http://static.flickr.com/83/214257857_11acf8f2af_o.jpg
> http://static.flickr.com/70/214257886_d1f53ecded_o.jpg
>
> Right taillight wiring
> http://static.flickr.com/76/214257913_a8b39b28e6_o.jpg
>
> Trailer wiring connector
> http://static.flickr.com/98/214257933_44054ec886_o.jpg
>
> Can anybody help? I need to get this working asap.

My free time is almost non-existant; this is the first chance I've had
to check back on my post since I posted it. I'll give it a try and let
you know how it works out.

Thanks!

In article .com>,
pexzor > wrote:
>My free time is almost non-existant; this is the first chance I've had
>to check back on my post since I posted it. I'll give it a try and let
>you know how it works out.
>
>Thanks!
>

Just like everyone else. Sunday is when I also have the most free time.
You need a multimeter to check your work or you could F*** up and you could
blow your blinker relay, fuses or worse.

See you next Sunday.
--
Jeeps and dubs and everything's nice...

After I posted I went to the local radio shack and purchased a
multimeter. I'd been meaning to do it for a long time but now I was
forced to get it. Of course after determining what was what, I found
that I had two wires mis-spliced.

For reference, my 2005 Jetta Wagon tail light wiring is as follows:

Left light
-Tail-light: Yellow/Black (Yellow was very light, almost looked
white)
-Left signal: Black/White
-Brake: Red/Black

Right light
-Right signal: Green/Black

I noticed that the right tail light had two Green/Black striped wires.
wtf? Don't know, don't care. Because as of now I receive 12V on each
pin on the trailer connector for each appropriate signal.

I'll follow up after I try it out on my friend's trailer.