1.3.1.3 Check on Trailer Tail Light Hookup
Confirm that the towing vehicle has an electric receptacle that matches the electric plug and wiring for the trailer taillights.
There
are possibly as many variations in trailer and car taillight wiring as there are
stores that sell them. A tail light
assembly on a trailer will need wires to control the tail lamps, the turn
signals, and the brake lights. This can
be accomplished using 3, 4, or 5 wires.
Any vehicle equipped for towing could have a 3-wire, 4-wire, or 5-wire
receptacle. In order for the hook-up to
work, the wires going to the receptacle from the vehicle need to match the
wires in the plug on the trailer, both in number and in purpose. In my case, we had the right number of wires
in the towing vehicle and trailer receptacles, but they didn’t quite match,
because the vehicle’s left turn signal activated the right turn signal bulb on
the trailer, and the right activated the left.
The brake lights worked with this hook-up, however, and we were planning
on traveling in very light traffic, so we didn’t worry about it too much.