Awesome! Thanks for the comment! KPO.

Glad that it helped out, KPO.

Jerry, thanks so much for the kind comment. I hope you have been fixing trailer lights like a pro! KPO.

Glad it was helpful!

You are welcome. Thanks for the feed back, KPO.

Glad it was helpful!

Thanks Ken. The plan is for more trailer light vids to come. Thanks for watching, KPO.

You are welcome. Thanks for the feedback, KPO.

You are too kind, KPO.

see other reply

Glad it was helpful!

You are welcome, KPO.

You are welcome, KPO.

Thanks for the comment Knucklehead. I hope it helps, KPO.

Awesome, thank you! This video may work for you too kzfaq.info/get/bejne/f-BhnbFksKfUnqc.html

Thanks as always Richard, KPO.

Thanks for the feed back. I'm always trying to improve the videos.

thanks Dave for a quick response.........sitting here on my last vid of yours lol.........with all my trailer stuff trying out different scenarios ......... a question for you if I may............ truck lights working ok to trailer connection when I connect up to the trailer I put my foot on truck break and lights come on truck ok but lights go out on trailer........???? any thoughts please.........and thank you

the trailer lights are direct to lights from socket not through the frame.......

@@cozydram1 I assume we are talking about the running lights going out when you apply the brake. This sounds like your fixtures on the trailer aren't grounded properly and they may be back feeding through the brake circuit. When you apply the brake, you remove the back feed path. Make sure all the fixtures have a good ground and also that the trailer is grounded good to the truck when connected. That's where I would start.

awesome I'll check that ........totally appreciate your time .......thank you..........have a great weekend.....🤗

Great point!

Yes I'm always trying to get better at making these videos. The battery example is just to show how the circuit works but yes, I am by-passing keys on, switches on and relays being activated. Thanks for the feed back, KPO.

Thanks so much!

You are welcome!

Great question. Well you can use a longer piece of wire attached to the meter lead kind of like an extension of the meter lead. Also you can use the trailer frame as an extension of the meter lead by temporarily grounding the wire you're checking to the trailer frame. Then at the other end of the wire check continuity from the wire to trailer frame. If continuity comes and goes as the wire is grounded and ungrounded the wire should be good. Won't work with the white or ground wire itself (because it's already grounded) KPO.

Knetters Practical Outdoors Thanks...I thought I could use the frame but wasn’t sure

With old filament bulbs you should read through the bulb if I'm understanding you right. But with LEDs it's hard to say. The electronics resistant with LED fixtures can vary from brand to brand so there isn't really any hard rules there.

No problem!

Yes voltage drop is a common issue. I should cover it in an up coming video. Thanks for the feed back, KPO.

To cover the whole length of a trailer you may have to attach a wire electrically to one end and use it like a big jumper. Essentially making one of your lead really long, KPO.

Also it is new wiring the right one works just fine when the running lights are on

When stuff goes off when others get turned on (when they shouldn't) it is almost always a ground problem. Fixtures and even the trailers need to be grounded properly. When strange things happen it is usually one circuit back feeding through another because something isn't grounded properly. Check this video out for more kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fdWcjK-a37XHn6s.html

Blue is usually trailer brakes, but the rest I've seen many different combinations. I hate to comment on colors with 7 pin because they seem to vary from manufactures. Sorry I'm not more help, KPO.

@@KnettersPracticalOutdoors no I’m right there with ya, I’m gonna give it one more try and if it doesn’t work I’m just gonna take it to someone. It’s just frustrating I’ve worked on aircraft, cars and bikes but this knuckle head has me stumped…

Yes! Awesome to hear it! KPO.

A short length of wire should read near 0 ohms end to end. If a wire reads high ohms on a trailer it is a problem (broken wire, bad splice, poor connection at plug, ect.) A short circuit would read low ohms from the wire to trailer frame. This is a problem if it is any wire other than the ground wire or negative. From end to end a shorted wire may or may not read low ohms. Example - if a wire's insulation is worn through and grounded to the trailer frame, the wire may read fine end to end, but if voltage is applied it may short out and blow fuses. Check out this other video also if you haven't already - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/f-BhnbFksKfUnqc.html I hope this helps, KPO.

Welcome!

Follow the truck plug back and look and see if it is spliced in or does it have a plug in "T" splice device. Often the problem will be there (corrosion or bad connection) Newer vehicles sometimes have separate towing light fuses. Check the owners manual and check those fuses. Let me know how it goes.

I think you found your answer in the PART 5 video right? You just measure it one short portion at a time, KPO.

@@KnettersPracticalOutdoors I see that you can test one portion at a time but is it true you can use a long jumper to test from the plug to the fixture s one people say or does it weaken the signal on the meter?

Cool, KPO.

Thanks for the feedback!

This is a great question and I should address it in a future video. But for now you will need to check for continuity. OK, you have your trailer and you have a plug at the hitch and you're not sure which pin is which wire. I will assume the lights aren't working or you probably wouldn't be concerned with this. You may be able to tell which pin is the ground by looking at it. It should be connected to trailer frame pretty close to the plug. Often the ground pin will also look different than the other pins on the plug. Next you may need to disconnect the wires at the light to keep this from getting confusing. So you take one of the wires you disconnected from the light and check if it is grounded (low ohms to trailer frame). If it is grounded it may be your ground. Some fixtures are grounded by wires and some by being bolted to the trailer. If the wire isn't grounded then we will find what pin it goes to. If your meter leads are long enough to go from the plug to the other end of the wire you can put your meter to ohms, one lead on the wire at the light and the other at the plug pins. Check each pin to see which one has continuity to the wire your other lead is on. If your leads aren't long enough, ground or attach the wire at the light to the trailer frame. Now at the plug pins see which pin is grounded. Now you are just using the trailer frame as a temporary meter lead extension. Do this with each wire. Double check by attaching and disconnecting the wire to trailer frame and check that the continuity comes and goes accordingly. This might be a bit much for a reply but like I said I will try to do a vid on this subject also. I hope this helps, KPO.

@@KnettersPracticalOutdoors perfect I will get to work thank you very much.....

It's hard to say, but if you need the controller, it usually is powered separately. So there should be a wire that powers it up from the battery. It might not be easy to see. If the controller is powered up, you may need a new one.

@@KnettersPracticalOutdoors Thanks. I finally figured out, they originally used the nearby lighter jack for + and the ground for -. But I moved both to the lighter jack, and now all three ports show ~12.65 volts even when all lights are off. I assume this means a bad controller, but would appreciate your input. Many thanks.

@@mariacombe If the converter module (controller) has a neg. - input I wouldn't connect power to it. I really can't comment to your particular converter as many have slightly different wiring as do the cars themselves. But it sounds like it's still possible the converter is fine and it is just wired wrong. KPO

@@KnettersPracticalOutdoors I am surprised you say not to connect power to the negative. Everything I have read says you need the ground because that provides the negative. But, 'never say never', especially when it's inop and I've already ordered a replacement controller. So I will disconnect the negative and let you know. Thanks again.

@@adriancombe Yes you need a ground (neg or -) connected. But anything labeled as such I wouldn't connect power (12vdc) to. I guess I thought you said you also connected power (12vdc) to the negative.

If you can't unhook the lights near the fixture they can be checked from the plug. Maybe run a jumper wire for the white may help, KPO.

Check all grounds for good connections. Sounds like the circuit is back feeding.

Yes, I should have expanded on that. You can just take a piece of wire (check it for good continuity first) and use it as a big jumper. Use smaller alligator clips to attach the wire to the spots you are checking. It's kind of like having longer meter leads.

see first reply

Do the brake lights work on the car? If you have the turn signal on the trailer the wiring should be good for both turn signal and brakes. It's the same wire but the car toggles it for the brake. Let me know what you find, KPO.

@@KnettersPracticalOutdoors The fix was a little box called a combiner. The dodge Caravan we were working on has 3 bulbs and circuits in the tail light. This device safely combines the brake light and turn signal circuits. The standard trailer wiring harness does not have this device.

Generally 12 volts is a good reading. I've since shortened the intro. Thanks for the feed back! KPO

Yes, I have moved on to LEDS on all my trailers.

Brown should go to brown on the vehicle, but the white with brown stripe not sure, KPO.

Sounds like you have some fixtures that aren't grounded properly. Some of your lights may be back feeding through each other instead of going to ground. This video may help kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fdWcjK-a37XHn6s.html

@@KnettersPracticalOutdoors thank you!

I think mine is a 3200, rubber cover pulls off, screws on back and battery compartment is at bottom.

That's the brown wire on most color schemes. Follow that brown wire and make sure the plug is clean, KPO.

Top Flight, no typically the meter doesn't serve as a power source. But I have a video that shows you how to test the fixtures. Here is the link kzfaq.info/get/bejne/f7R5aMWL0NWphqs.html . Also, I think you get what you pay for. The cheaper the plugs and fixtures are the less quality they are. Thanks for watching, KPO.

You don't have to, but adding fishing to anything makes it better, LOL. Thanks for watching, KPO.

@@KnettersPracticalOutdoors i know how to fish, i didn't know how to fix my trailer lights and the video didn't help me. But thanks for the video lol.

@@jeffcope7388 This video is very specific to just learning the basics of using a multimeter to troubleshoot trailer lights. If you have a specific problem it might be covered in one of my other trailer light videos, LINK - kzfaq.info/sun/PLksX0m4wrQHxmTQj8rk3Sazefa3uITFe4 Hopefully one of the videos in this playlist will help, KPO.

@@KnettersPracticalOutdoors i found my problem, thanks for trying to help. My trailer tilts and the ground had to be run to the back of the trailer, to make a good ground.

@@jeffcope7388 Glad to hear it, KPO.

yes

Sorry, I'm trying to stop that.

I hope this helps, KPO.

I know, I know. Thanks for watching, KPO.

Hope it helps, KPO.

see other reply

Thanks for the feedback. This video is a few years old, hopefully I'm getting better at it. Always trying to improve.

@@KnettersPracticalOutdoors Thanks for the reply. I have only watched a few of the trailer videos and they are helpful and easy to follow. I like the fact that you have planned ahead and have "props" ready on a table, edit in close-ups, etc. I have a specific problem with a utility trailer my friend has loaned me - the lights never seem to work reliably, and I assume it is a ground problem, hence I have turned to your videos for help. I haven't watched them all, only those that seem relevant to my problem. However, I did notice something and want to ask you a question: The trailer lights are connected to a "4-flat" connector which has the 3 LED test lights on it. When I plug it into my car (2022 Outback), only the running light LED comes on, the LT and RT LED's remain off. However, when I plug it into my wife's car (2012 Volvo XC70), the running light LED is a solid red while the other two LED's are fast blinking. Any thoughts or suggestions? I want to be sure the power at the vehicle is sound before I spot check the connections on the trailer (which has three lights on each side plus the two tail lights). Thanks.

You can use a length of wire like a long jumper and then check. Kind of like extending the meter leads.

Well at least I got there eventually sorry it took so long.

I'll try to do better going forward.

Cool, yes I am trying to teach in this vid, so I do repeat stuff. Thanks

If someone has a little knowledge of circuits and electricity you could probably just jump right to using the meter, but not everybody does. If someone had no knowledge of trailer circuits I wanted to recommend my other video so we could be on the same page going forward. I also wanted them to not be intimidated be all the settings on the meter before we started. But I understand the beginning could be boring for some. Entire books have been written on using multimeters. It's hard to know where to start because you don't know the skill level of your audience. I tried to make a video for beginners. But I understand what you're saying, KPO.

Sorry about that. I will try to do better in the future. But if it makes you feel any better I've had college courses that I couldn't understand the professor because of the broken English they spoke and I had to pay good money for those courses. Thanks for the feedback. Always trying to make the videos better.

@@KnettersPracticalOutdoors Nice. Everyone has word whiskers. At least you don't say 'Go ahead and...' every 5 seconds. Keep it up, my man. Your videos are extremely helpful and they matter. Thank you!

Sorry this didn't work for you Keith. I'll try to do better in the future.

Sorry to catch you off guard and I do respect your personal choice to not kill animals directly. But I do think it's a little off to assume there is something "wrong" with me. I do hunt and fish partially for sport, but my family also eats everything we harvest. Do I need to do this to survive? No. But let's be honest here. Even if you don't eat or kill animals directly, your existence has killed and displaced animals. The desire to have and use a car, live in a house or apartment, have a computer and internet, use electricity, having any of these things kills and displaces animals. It's not even debatable. Even the vegetables we eat, if it came from a farmers field, animals were killed and displaced to have those veggies. If you are running around naked, foraging nuts and berries, and that's how you live all the time, then maybe your existence doesn't kill or displace animals. But otherwise, you need to ease up with all the judgement stuff.

Sorry it wasn't what you were looking for Samuel. My channel is mostly outdoor related so the intro reflects that. But as far as saying that you might have to read the manual to use a specific meter, I totally stand by that statement. The symbols for the settings and the symbols for meter lead placement vary a lot from meter to meter. Then some meters will have different symbols for the scaling also. I did give some common examples of "Ohms" and "DC volts" as far as the symbols, but some meters may vary. You could select "DC volts" but you may also have to have the leads in a specific sockets to actually measure "DC volts" depending on your specific meter. Most meter manuals aren't intended to teach you how to measure volts, amps or ohms. Most meter manuals assume you are very familiar with how to measure these things. They only instruct you about the specifics of their particuliar meter. I see a lot of videos that say "put your selector here, put your leads here and measure DC volts". And that may help if you have the exact same meter, but it can be confusing if you don't. Especially if you are new to using multimeters. I have been using multimeters for over 40 years. If I bought a new, basic multimeter today, I probably wouldn't need to read the manual. But if I bought a new, higher end multimeter, I would most likely read up on it a little. So if you are totally new to multimeters you definetly should read the manual. This video wasn't meant to replace the meter's specific manual especially for new users. This video was meant to be a basic overview of measuring Ohms and DV volts. Again, sorry it wasn't what you were looking for, KPO.

Your in luck I did both! KPO

Yes you can run a ground to each fixture. I would also ground the trailer too. That way if a loose or broken wire grounds to the trailer it will blow a fuse as it should.

@@KnettersPracticalOutdoors thank you for the reply!!