Trailer lights and 2000 Jeep Wrangler

Ok. I am hoping someone here has used a trailer with their Jeep
Wrangler and can share their wisdom...


I wired up the lights on my trailer to my 2000 Jeep Wrangler and they
are acting kind of funny. I used a Make/Model specific kit that plugs
in behind each taillight. There is a Male and Female plug for each
side, with the trailer lights branching off between.

Blinking, running lights, hazards and braking lights all work
separately. But when I have the running lights on, hitting the brakes
makes the lights go very, very dim. Any ideas why this may be?

Andrew
'00 TJ Sahara

First thing to check is that you have a good ground all the way through
from trailer light to vehicle electrical. Usual culprits are poor ground
connections at the lights themselves, next is trying to ground through
the hitch ball. The white wire needs to be firmly bonded to the trailer
frame, preferably on the same assembly as the lights and not just to the
tongue on a tilt trailer. The vehicle pigtail needs to be grounded to
the frame or trailer hitch assembly.

BTW: I have a hunch that if you turn the running lights on and try the
turn signals, the trailer lights may flash alternate sides like a cop
car. It's quite easy with a bum ground.

wrote:
> Ok. I am hoping someone here has used a trailer with their Jeep
> Wrangler and can share their wisdom...
>
>
> I wired up the lights on my trailer to my 2000 Jeep Wrangler and they
> are acting kind of funny. I used a Make/Model specific kit that plugs
> in behind each taillight. There is a Male and Female plug for each
> side, with the trailer lights branching off between.
>
> Blinking, running lights, hazards and braking lights all work
> separately. But when I have the running lights on, hitting the brakes
> makes the lights go very, very dim. Any ideas why this may be?
>
> Andrew
> '00 TJ Sahara
>

poor ground is a biggy
and fyi putnam makes a class3 hitch for the wrangler

RoyJ wrote:

> First thing to check is that you have a good ground all the way through
> from trailer light to vehicle electrical. Usual culprits are poor ground
> connections at the lights themselves, next is trying to ground through
> the hitch ball. The white wire needs to be firmly bonded to the trailer
> frame, preferably on the same assembly as the lights and not just to the
> tongue on a tilt trailer. The vehicle pigtail needs to be grounded to
> the frame or trailer hitch assembly.
>
> BTW: I have a hunch that if you turn the running lights on and try the
> turn signals, the trailer lights may flash alternate sides like a cop
> car. It's quite easy with a bum ground.
>
> wrote:
> > Ok. I am hoping someone here has used a trailer with their Jeep
> > Wrangler and can share their wisdom...
> >
> >
> > I wired up the lights on my trailer to my 2000 Jeep Wrangler and they
> > are acting kind of funny. I used a Make/Model specific kit that plugs
> > in behind each taillight. There is a Male and Female plug for each
> > side, with the trailer lights branching off between.
> >
> > Blinking, running lights, hazards and braking lights all work
> > separately. But when I have the running lights on, hitting the brakes
> > makes the lights go very, very dim. Any ideas why this may be?
> >
> > Andrew
> > '00 TJ Sahara
> >

"tim bur" > wrote in message
...
> poor ground is a biggy
> and fyi putnam makes a class3 hitch for the wrangler

I bought a Putnam hitch and was not pleased... loose
receiver fit, and weld splatter under the powder coat.
You get what you pay for! Buy a Reese...
__
Steve
..

but reese does not offer a class 3

Stephen Cowell wrote:

> "tim bur" > wrote in message
> ...
> > poor ground is a biggy
> > and fyi putnam makes a class3 hitch for the wrangler
>
> I bought a Putnam hitch and was not pleased... loose
> receiver fit, and weld splatter under the powder coat.
> You get what you pay for! Buy a Reese...
> __
> Steve
> .

Hey Andrew,
My 2000 did the same thing when I got my trailer. The bulbs on the trailer
are either in upside down for the wiring or the wiring is backwards.
Basically the bulbs are on bright as if you have the brakes on when you
don't and when you hit the brakes they go dim like they should be with the
brakes off. I don't remember if I flipped the bulb or pulled the wires and
flipped them. It was just on one side of my trailer cause guys that wired
it were in a hurry, it did not get to there shop till closing and I was
there waiting on it so they did a rush job wiring it. I hope this helps.
Tom

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Ok. I am hoping someone here has used a trailer with their Jeep
> Wrangler and can share their wisdom...
>
>
> I wired up the lights on my trailer to my 2000 Jeep Wrangler and they
> are acting kind of funny. I used a Make/Model specific kit that plugs
> in behind each taillight. There is a Male and Female plug for each
> side, with the trailer lights branching off between.
>
> Blinking, running lights, hazards and braking lights all work
> separately. But when I have the running lights on, hitting the brakes
> makes the lights go very, very dim. Any ideas why this may be?
>
> Andrew
> '00 TJ Sahara
>

You have a hosed up ground on the trailer.





> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Ok. I am hoping someone here has used a trailer with their Jeep
> Wrangler and can share their wisdom...
>
>
> I wired up the lights on my trailer to my 2000 Jeep Wrangler and they
> are acting kind of funny. I used a Make/Model specific kit that plugs
> in behind each taillight. There is a Male and Female plug for each
> side, with the trailer lights branching off between.
>
> Blinking, running lights, hazards and braking lights all work
> separately. But when I have the running lights on, hitting the brakes
> makes the lights go very, very dim. Any ideas why this may be?
>
> Andrew
> '00 TJ Sahara
>

That means the brake light bulb fixtures are not grounded.

The brake lights ground through the fixtures. The running lights ground
through the wiring harness. If the brake lights don't have a good
ground, they steal it through the running lights giving dim light when
all the filaments are lit up.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

wrote:
>
> Ok. I am hoping someone here has used a trailer with their Jeep
> Wrangler and can share their wisdom...
>
> I wired up the lights on my trailer to my 2000 Jeep Wrangler and they
> are acting kind of funny. I used a Make/Model specific kit that plugs
> in behind each taillight. There is a Male and Female plug for each
> side, with the trailer lights branching off between.
>
> Blinking, running lights, hazards and braking lights all work
> separately. But when I have the running lights on, hitting the brakes
> makes the lights go very, very dim. Any ideas why this may be?
>
> Andrew
> '00 TJ Sahara

Andrew,
Wiring could be upside down and backwards (which would be a double /
double and I'm not talking cribbage), but grounds can be so deceptive.
I have not monkey around with any of the wiring in the area you are
working so I do not know what I am going to suggest is possible.
Most will say a ground is a ground is a ground - but not always. In
other words, if you ground a wire to the frame in the front of the
Jeep, it should be the same ground at the frame at the rear of the
Jeep. But now add to the equation a loose footed ground such as a
trailer.
There is such a thing as a 'differance in potential' in the matter of
grounds. To make a long discription short, if you are able to directly
wire a ground lead from your trailer lights to the ground lead used AT
the brake lights (if possible). Of course leave these both grounded
but this would eliminate the crazy ground issue. This may take a bit
of jury rigging or adding several feet of a similar conductor wire
(extra grounds will not hurt as long as the positives are not
grounded).

For those unfamiliar with the term a 'differance in potential' in
grounds it basically came from my 30 years of installing on premis
communications systems for the defunct Ma Bell. The service (dial tone
or data circuts) coming into a building often used an earthen ground at
the building POP (point of penetration). Next, if the electroic
equipment installed inside the building used a cold water ground, for
certain types of equipment an obsucre problem would occure.
Now the deflugulty above took place in high tech state of the art
electronic equipment which is not what we are talking about here.
However, wiring the darn grounds directly to each other will cut down /
out the time of resolving the mystery of the trailer lights. My guess
is upside down and bacwards, which of course would include a ground
problem.
Steve