All Trucks, Campers, Trailers, RV's and Motor Homes - brake lights not coming on

i have two trailers i pull with my stratus, a jet ski trailer and a 5x8 general use trailer and i'm confused about my brake lights. They don't work on either trailer but did work for a long time. BUT my turn signals do work, as well as my tail lights. How is this even possible? Its just a standard 4 prong connector.

you probably have ground problem. try running a ground wire from a known good ground on your vehicle to the lights on the trailer and also check your sockets for corrosion.
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Some systems have a separate brake lamp from the turn signal - usually the turn signals are amber in this case.
A special wiring adapter must be used.
If this fits your case, that part may be defective.

get a test light and first check the plug on tyhe truck to make sure you are getting power tothe trailer since you have 2 trailers doing the same thing i would guess the problem lies in the tow vehicle have some one press the brake and seeif you are getting power if not trace to vehicle wiring back to the conection if you do have power than trace wiring on trailer now you know which one to folow since you had power on the to vehicle
good luck

i only have three words: GROUND-GROUND-GROUND! 99.9% of trailer light problems are GROUND related. do as has been stated; run a GOOD ground and i think you will solve the problem!

check the ground and the bulbs inside the tailights, i have a trailer where the lights and brakes have worked for 7 years, never a problem. Recently it has not been getting used as much, the lights and brakes stopped working, i think i may have the brake lights working, the bulbs were very corroded inside the housings since its been sitting. I cleaned the housing connector off with a wire brush and got some new 1157 bulbs and they are working, my elec brakes are not working. Still trying to figure it out, i suspect a ground or a short somewhere.. Its weird, i have elec brake power to the brakes, if i use a test light and touch the ground wire they work. I checked the only ground the trailer and it is really clean and looks fine, replaced the ring terminal and still nothing. However the ground is right on the frame where the breakaway battery wires all come together, it actually sparks while i am hooking it back up, not sure why this is happening. I also suspect that the breakway battery is the problem, it states they only last 5-6 years so maybe thats causing it.. I havent been able to figure it out yet.. ANy ideas..

check the ground and the bulbs inside the tailights, i have a trailer where the lights and brakes have worked for 7 years, never a problem. Recently it has not been getting used as much, the lights and brakes stopped working, i think i may have the brake lights working, the bulbs were very corroded inside the housings since its been sitting. I cleaned the housing connector off with a wire brush and got some new 1157 bulbs and they are working, my elec brakes are not working. Still trying to figure it out, i suspect a ground or a short somewhere.. Its weird, i have elec brake power to the brakes, if i use a test light and touch the ground wire they work. I checked the only ground the trailer and it is really clean and looks fine, replaced the ring terminal and still nothing. However the ground is right on the frame where the breakaway battery wires all come together, it actually sparks while i am hooking it back up, not sure why this is happening. I also suspect that the breakway battery is the problem, it states they only last 5-6 years so maybe thats causing it.. I havent been able to figure it out yet.. ANy ideas..

if you touched the ground wire and they work, what does that say? GROUND PROBLEM??? if you had a short(pos. to grnd.) you would probably be replacing wires. because a ground LOOKS good doesn' t mean it is good!!

make sure you have a ground to the trailer connector, don't plan on grounding thru the ball, it will be intermittant. rust, grease just bouncing around will affect it. the best ground will run from a engine ground lug to the trailer connector. do not use scotch lock connectors ever in wiring trailers or accesories they always corrode sooner or later. use water proof crimps or solder connections then heat shrink. most trailer light or brake problems are ground related!!!

make sure you have a ground to the trailer connector, don't plan on grounding thru the ball, it will be intermittant. rust, grease just bouncing around will affect it. the best ground will run from a engine ground lug to the trailer connector. do not use scotch lock connectors ever in wiring trailers or accesories they always corrode sooner or later. use water proof crimps or solder connections then heat shrink. most trailer light or brake problems are ground related!!!

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finally got around to working on my lights today. The grounds were fine, mike :rolleyes:. Its a different problem that i've discovered, couldn't understand what the deal was until i looked a little deeper into my car's wiring. My brake lights must not have ever worked, the couldn't have, the wiring isn't right. Come to find out my car has a seperate bulb for turn signal and a seperate bulb for brake. so by tying on to my turn signals, obviously my brake light couldn't have been working.

So then both bulbs on my car (per side) have dual filaments, one is turn signal/taillights, the other is brakes/taillights. So how am i going to wire this up with just a 4 wire plug? Or do i need to go to a 7-wire?

i would run the 7 wire as so you do not start blowing fuses and causing problems with your tow vehicle