• Welcome to the Checkmate Community Forums forums.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions, articles and access to our other FREE features.
    By joining our free community you will be able to:

    » Interact with over 10,000 Checkmate Fanatics from around the world!
    » Post topics and messages
    » Post and view photos
    » Communicate privately with other members
    » Access our extensive gallery of old Checkmate brochures located in our Media Gallery
    » Browse the various pictures in our Checkmate photo gallery

    Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact support by clicking here or by using the"contact us" link at the bottom of the page.

trailer lights issue ?

M

MR.DETERMINATION

Well-known member
When I originally hooked up the 4 wire trailer plug wiring harness to my 2011 Kia Sedona I used the standard 4 wire trailer harness taped into the running lights, directional and ground. When we hooked it up to the Trailer running lights worked, directionals worked but no brake lights. The previous owner told me i need a harness with a converter Went to advanced and bought one with a converter. Okay it worked then the next time i went to use it no running lights but the hazzards worked. Went to use it again and now No lights. A guy at Uhaul told me something about a low volt system on the Vehicle and I would need a converter that you would have to add power to So I bought installed it and it worked Next time as soon as I pluged the trailer in the running lights came on with out the running lights being turned on in the car. Only one directional and no brake lights. Is the tow vehicle damaging these converters ? Anyone had these experiences. Not sure what to do or is there a better place to buy the harness from


Thank you
 
im sorry to hear your having issues ive installed countless controllers usually without issue. advance autozone and orileys all sell the same part as well as most places. western may change the box but its the same part. that being said all trailers should be wired the same
white wire is ground
brown wire is the marker
yellow is the left stop and turn
green is the right stop and turn
your kia should be really straight forward western supplies instructions that are simple to follow I would check your trailer sounds to me like something is screwie there. a simple test light is all you need. check your kia as you hooked it up. use the white wire as your ground and see where your issue is. follow the path of the power and youll find your problem my money is the trailer. those lights are cheep at best 90% of the time and generally get messed with every year.
 
I was about to say the same as Neil. Unplug trailer, test voltages at the 3 pins on the plug using the ground wire on the plug, if all is good it's in the trailer, if not then try hooking to a known good ground and do it again. A whole new light kit from Walmart or AutoZone is cheap. It's not worth dicking around with old ones. I always like to take the bulbs out of a new light setup and put a coating of marine grease on the base of all the bulbs. It helps stop corrosion and future headaches.

John
 
I have a set of temporary magnetic trailer lights in the towvehicle so if I notice a problem with the trailer lights I can fit the magnetic set to the trailer in 5minutes and head off. I have 2 trailers, so found that if it wasn't one trailer giving me problems it was the other.

I swapped the older lights on my boat trailer last year for a smaller set I picked up on eBay. Have luckily had no issues since with the boat trailer, but the spare magnetic set are always in the car just in case.
 
I always run a ground wire from the plug to the lights so the plug grounds the trailer. I can make my lights work by just plugging it up. the trailer doesn't even have to be on the trailer ball.
 
Thanks guys I have a built in tester on the plug coming out of the car and they are lit up when there not supposed to be leads me to believe a bad unit? Good idea Kris I also bought a magnetic set from Harbor Freight as a Back up will hook them up and see what happens
 
according to alldata (for those that do not know alldata is an information program we pros use it covers every nut bolt and wire on every car mine covers 1966 to present and I go back to 1913 in hardback books. its what we use to seem so smart) anyway your kia supplies a 12volt pos to every light in the stop/turn/marker system and switches on the ground side. its become the normal and can be a challenge to trouble shoot. that said the p/n western shows for your kia is plug and play. there should only be a pos and neg wire to hook up. use a test light and probe the ground to see if it lights it. if it does the ground is bad clean reconnect and all should be well. :banana::banana:
however if it does not your "adaptor" is incorrect return it and get the rite one.:pissed::pissed::pissed:
adding the mag lights will not solve your issues sorry but the are a grate back up also ALWAYS remove the bulbs and coat them in anything to stop them fro rusting. very good point thank you for mentioning it, my bad for missing it.
 
some vehicles do some pretty dumb stuff when comes to simple wiring, mostly imports, ck into what Kia requires for trailer wiring, sometimes you have to use their parts...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top