Did I wire this right? (brake light)

[mrdorkdar]

Got this replacement housing but it had two lights instead of my old one that just had the lower one. Does this look right? The main question is the top light with the red wire....my old unit didn’t have this.

 

[RichR]

What does the lens have all red or, red and clear? Could it be for a backup light?

 

[JackandJanet]

I think the green wire is for the night time tail light. It should be present on both sides. The red wire in the trailer is for the left stop/turn light in later model trailers. There should be brown wire on the right side for that function. I'm seeing a black wire tied in to the reds, and I can't tell where it goes.

The mounting fixture has tabs for the license. I wonder if the upper light in the picture is the license plate light? If so, does the bottom light have two filaments? if so, it would need both the red and green wires connected to it.

- Jack

 

[mrdorkdar]

The original housing didn’t have the second light so I wasn’t sure where to plug the second light into. It had a red wire coming out of it. There is no brown wire in the trailer so I plugged it into the black wire. You think I should just not hook it up if the original hookup only has one light? The lens is all red but clear at the bottom for the license plate.

 

[JackandJanet]

OK, that bottom light then should be a combination tail/license plate light. I think the bulb would be a single filament 1156 bulb too. If so, the green wire would be correct for it. You would see a similar setup on the other side, but the light lens would not have a clear bottom.

What color wires do you have on the other side (right side?) You should definitely have green and white, but there should be a third.

If the other bulb in the holder shown has only one filament too, then it is a dedicated stop/turn light which is only on when the brake is applied or you are signaling a turn in that direction.

I'm puzzled by the black wire though. If it is the stop/turn for the other side, then it should not be connected to the red wires at all. Is there possibly a disconnected wire inside the trailer opening sort of hidden?

Also, what year is your HiLo?

 

[mrdorkdar]

OK, that bottom light then should be a combination tail/license plate light. I think the bulb would be a single filament 1156 bulb too. If so, the green wire would be correct for it. You would see a similar setup on the other side, but the light lens would not have a clear bottom.

What color wires do you have on the other side (right side?) You should definitely have green and white, but there should be a third.

If the other bulb in the holder shown has only one filament too, then it is a dedicated stop/turn light which is only on when the brake is applied or you are signaling a turn in that direction.

I'm puzzled by the black wire though. If it is the stop/turn for the other side, then it should not be connected to the red wires at all. Is there possibly a disconnected wire inside the trailer opening sort of hidden?

Also, what year is your HiLo?

Ok, 2003 Hilo. The only wires coming out of the trailer are green, red and white. I wired the white to the house which I assume is ground. The green wired to the green and the red to the black. This is how the original housing was wired. Everything worked before too, brake lights, and signals. I’m pretty sure there aren’t any other wires inside the trailer. And I don’t want to pop off the right housing because it is so old I’m pretty sure it will break. But I’m 99% there is only one bulb in it though. So my main question is: the new housing has the mysterious second bulb with a red wire. I was going to wire it to the black wire coming out of the trailer but not sure. Maybe I’m not even supposed to have the second bulb if the bottom bulb lights up the license plate, signals, and is the brake light...I dunno.

 

[JackandJanet]

OK, I suspect you might well have a brown wire at the right housing for the brake/turn signals.

Looking at your setup, I don't see how you would hurt anything by trying the lighting with your wires connected the way you have them. Just plug your tow vehicle into the trailer plug and turn on the headlights, to see if the taillights work, Then activate the turn signals and brakes to check the others.

If everything works, you're good to go.

- Jack