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No brake lights to trailer ?


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Hi i have a 96 ch700-713 dump truck that i bought from a widow was a one owner etc.. It was set up for air brakes and a semi plugh in back . I switched it to the 6 pin round plug also put in the brake controller.. My problem is we have tried EVERYTHING i have singles 4 ways and marker lights . And even the brake controlers works perfect .. the problem is we can not get brake lights on the trailer !! The trailer i 1 yr old econoline trailer and it has a 5 wires the truck has 6going to it.. Does anyone have an idea what the heck i am doing wrong? Is there a brake switch we should be hooking into on the truck? Thats what i think is wrong ? Any help would be great thanks jerel

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The trailer has 5 wires...what are they? Most likely:

Ground

Tail

Left turn/brake

Right turn/brake

Electric brakes

The truck has 6 wires...typically those are going to be:

Ground

Tail

Left turn/brake

Right turn/brake

Electric brakes

Aux. power

A 7-round "RV" style plug would have

Ground

Tail

Left turn/brake

Right turn/brake

Electric brakes

Aux. power

Reverse

Now on a commercial vehicle, the 7 round plug has:

Ground

Left Turn

Right Turn

Tail

Marker

Brake

ABS

If you want you turn signals to operate the brake lights, your best option is to tap into the rear tractor light circuit to get the power to your 6-round plug for the turn signals, since the tail lights on the tractor operate in the same dual-function manner (turn/brake lights).

When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way!
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Did you connect the brake controller "brake wire" to your vehicle brake light circuit?

That isn't a very good idea, since the brake controller is supposed to translate brake pressure into an electrical signal which tells the brakes how hard they need to apply. If you wire the brake lights into that same circuit, the brightness of the brake lights will vary...the harder you apply the brakes, the brighter the lights will be. It would be better to tap into the proper circuit in the truck to control the turn/brake lights.

When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way!
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That isn't a very good idea, since the brake controller is supposed to translate brake pressure into an electrical signal which tells the brakes how hard they need to apply. If you wire the brake lights into that same circuit, the brightness of the brake lights will vary...the harder you apply the brakes, the brighter the lights will be. It would be better to tap into the proper circuit in the truck to control the turn/brake lights.

I remember connecting a wire to the brake switch at the pedal. But this was a pickup not a semi.

Ken

PRR Country and Charter member of the "Mack Pack"

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