Led Trailer lights

[Leapy]

Originally Posted by mister p

What happened to the chap from Ireland that was making braided waterproof modular unbreakable LED lighting systems for trailers to spec?
Guaranteed waterproof and unbreakable.
or have I missed something?

Originally Posted by mister p

Or was he illegally promoting his wares without being a trade member?

I made some comment about it and next I knew my comments and his comments were deleted. Willk knows

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by 9D280

...........to where to store the 2m manky plank on arrival at the slip.......

I made up a pair of individual clusters that fit to the trailer board arms on my SBS trailer, no more manky planky for Mrs PD when she's doing her slip duties. The clusters are connected with a curly cable that spans the trailer.

[Bigmuz7]

My conclusion was that (For BMW anyway) a resitor would need to be on each bulb or circuit for it to work.

There is ofcourse this option, if its just LED's you have the hots for

What is new Can-bus led light ? | Supplier of HID xenon kit,Daytime running lights,xenon headlight,Auto LED light,Parking sensor

I know its a yank site .. but it proves the point that you can get LED replacement bulbs with built in resistance .. so they are can-bus proof

[9D280]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

I made up a pair of individual clusters that fit to the trailer board arms on my SBS trailer, no more manky planky for Mrs PD when she's doing her slip duties. The clusters are connected with a curly cable that spans the trailer.

My board arms rattle like a bag of spanners.... hence replacing them with a couple of bits of timber bolted in using the two bolts that the bars slide along & making use of the 1m overhang rule.....

I think we are thinking along broadly similar lines - but the other manky bit is the 7m of cable that will inevitbaly tie itself into a knot in your boot - which is why I am thinking Bulgin Buccaneer connectors! (well, that and it's a relatively small change If the LEDs fail miserably)

[tehguy]

Most manufacturer fitted towbar systems will have wiring which disables the fog light on the car if a trailer is connected and it has one, you can get this for aftermarket towbar systems too but it normally costs extra. Also manufacturer fitted wiring will either activate extra indicator lights on the dash, or make the indicators on one side flash faster if a trailer indicator bulb is out. Some cars have a buzzer which makes a noise as the trailer indicators flash. It doesn't matter what one you have, there just has to (legally) be a way for you to tell that one of the trailer indicators has failed whilst you are inside the car.

[j.i.wilson]

I have a similar problem.

It occurs to me that putting the resistor in the common return (white cable on 7 core) would mean I only need one.

Any dissenting voices?

Ian Wilson

[cptsideways]

I just bought a set of magnetic ones from Scats about £32, they seem to work pretty well & they just mount on the back of the trailer. Nice & bright & they look well sealed though obviously not submersible.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by j.i.wilson

Any dissenting voices?

Aye, one here, it needs to be in parallel with the lights that are giving you problems (indicators?) so you can't just drop one in series with the lot.

[j.i.wilson]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Aye, one here, it needs to be in parallel with the lights that are giving you problems (indicators?) so you can't just drop one in series with the lot.

Ahhh, once again the advantage of Ribnet.

The light dawns (see what I did there?)

So, more questions.

Can I just get a suitable resistor (6k ohms ?) and "bang" it in the cable somewhere out of harms way. Or should I buy a dedicated box at greatly inflated cost?

Any experience anyone?

Thanks as always

Ian Wilson

[Bigmuz7]

Whats the car/tow vehicle more importantly ?

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by j.i.wilson

Ahhh, once again the advantage of Ribnet.

The light dawns (see what I did there?)

So, more questions.

Can I just get a suitable resistor (6k ohms ?) and "bang" it in the cable somewhere out of harms way. Or should I buy a dedicated box at greatly inflated cost?

Any experience anyone?

Thanks as always

Ian Wilson

If you read through the thread, there are links to suitable resistors & how to fit them. As Bigmuz says, the make & model of vehicle is very relevant.

[j.i.wilson]

Volvo XC70 2007 model

Fitted with Volvo wiring harness.

Currently when I plug it in the indicators come on dull, only 2 or 3 less on rh side light, nothing on left. Brakes and fog are fine.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by j.i.wilson

Volvo XC70 2007 model

Fitted with Volvo wiring harness.

Currently when I plug it in the indicators come on dull, only 2 or 3 less on rh side light, nothing on left. Brakes and fog are fine.

That sounds more like a bad connection rather than an electronics issue, Try putting 12v +ve directly to pins 1&4 (yellow & green) & -ve to pin 3 (white)

[j.i.wilson]

Agreed.

However I have tested everything with a little test rig I made. All is well with no cross connection between indicators and side lights.

RH side light is definitely faulty and I have requested a replacement from the seller.

But why the indicators come on when plugged in is still a mystery.

Intend to strip car side plug and investigate.

The reason I am interested in resistors is because the tell tale on the Volvo dash does not operate with the indicators and, annoyingly, the reversing sensors still operate when the led's are pugged in. This doesn't happen with caravan with ordinary bulbs.

Don't you just love trailer electrics (and brakes!).

Ian Wilson

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by j.i.wilson

But why the indicators come on when plugged in is still a mystery.

Ahh! tell me more do the LED indicator lights come on as soon as you plug them in, but only very dim?

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by j.i.wilson

Agreed.

However I have tested everything with a little test rig I made. All is well with no cross connection between indicators and side lights.

RH side light is definitely faulty and I have requested a replacement from the seller.

But why the indicators come on when plugged in is still a mystery.

Intend to strip car side plug and investigate.

The reason I am interested in resistors is because the tell tale on the Volvo dash does not operate with the indicators and, annoyingly, the reversing sensors still operate when the led's are pugged in. This doesn't happen with caravan with ordinary bulbs.

Don't you just love trailer electrics (and brakes!).

Ian Wilson

They might be ok .. its just some cars react differently to them, which makes a single solution all the more difficult, and yes the plugging in of a trailer causes many things to change, disconnecting a fog light is basic .. now were into giving the rear suspension extra air pressure and altering the gearbox shift pattern, which is why LED's may not be good if the car doesent know something is connected to the tow hitch

[j.i.wilson]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Ahh! tell me more do the LED indicator lights come on as soon as you plug them in, but only very dim?

Yes - exactly like that

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by j.i.wilson

Yes - exactly like that

Sounds like a bulb failure system, the car puts out a low voltage to "hunt" for the indicators, the voltage isn't high enough to illuminate a conventional filament bulb, but the car detects the resistance & "sees" the bulb. This tells the car that the trailer is connected, & car goes into "trailer mode". The LEDs present a higher resistance than a filament bulb so the car doesn't see the trailer, however the search voltage is sufficient to cause the LEDs to glow. I think its worth trying resistors in // with the indicators if you're determined/capable enough to have a go.

[j.i.wilson]

Thanks for that.

Going to check trailer socket on car just to be sure. Then will fit resistors to trailer side.

Also thinking about having a chat with the Main Stealer, but that may be a frustrating experience.

Thanks again for the insights.

Ian W

Sent from my HTC One X using Rib.net

[john noon]

I have been told some cars have to go to the dealer and they reprogram the computer for trailer harness use