I stumbled on this video after hours of trying to figure out what my issue was. In 4 minutes i was able to figure out what was wrong and fix it! Great video, thank you!
Super helpful. Most helpful CZcams video I've seen regarding this issue. I assembled a Harbor Freight Haul Master 4 x 8 folding Utility Trailer last weekend and the lights they packaged had a separate ground wire for each light while the instructions assumed I had been sent self grounding lights. There was also no screw hole on the tongue for that ground wire which the instructions indicated there was. My first time wiring up a trailer and this video has given me confidence to just roll with the lights I have and ground each one to the frame of the trailer. Seems to me that having a grounding wire for each light might be safer in the long terms than having self grounding lights anyway(?).
THANK YOU!!!! I have been struggling with what was wrong for a week with my wiring for new lights. Grounding the poles on the trailer was it! You saved my sanity!!
Wow! 4 1/2 years later this is still the best video out on youtube. I have a folding trailer and had no idea that could cause my grounding problem. thanks for putting that in your video.
This is me right now. I wanted to do a quick test with it folded up after installing some new lights. Brake and turns worked fine but not running lights. Hopefully it's just the grounding issue while it's folded. Will try again with it unfolded to see if it's all working.
Update: It wasn't just the folding. The running lights still don't work, so I think it's an issue with the vehicle wiring. I'll have to take a closer look at that.
Best video I've seen on CZcams about this issue... You're an excellent teacher. All the info you provided was succinct, therefore easy to understand. I feel confident I'll be able to troubleshoot and fix the malfunctioning lights on my trailer. 👍
Fighting with my trailer lights for about two hours today. At my whits end, finally decided to give CZcams a try. Thankfully I found your video and fixed my problem in short order.
I've spent far too much time troubleshooting my "sometimes they work fine, other times not" touchy boat trailer lights. Never before had I been told about the light ground via the bolts. I scraped off the paint around the holes where those attachment bolts fit, and problem solved! Same as Scott below. Thank-you.
Can't thank you enough for the video. I have a folding trailer and spent more time than I'd like to admit trying to get the lights to work. Your video helped me solve the problem! Thanks
This video saved me a bunch of time. Grounding issue at the light. It was driving my crazy trying to fix it. Just had to clean the bolts and reattach the light and back in business!
Same! No one is talking about how to ground everything properly! It's like everyone assumes you know what you're doing, which is so stupid because this is why we're looking for help - because we don't know what we're doing!
Excellent video! Just this past weekend we assembled a kit trailer from Norther Tool. It came pre-painted in black and of course all of the holes are painted as well. None of the lights work and I've already determined that there is power to the connection on the back of the tow vehicle. Time to do some sanding and reconnecting the ground wires! Thanks!
Follow the rust. A month ago I had a truck bed to frame rail, that connects the 2 because the bed mount rubber isolates the bed, completely gone. I fixed it (added 2 clips and braided brass wire to connect them, ground down to bare metal first, clipped the braid to the 2 bare spots) and the trailer brakes worked again on my dump trailer. This week, no brakes again, ended up being on the trailer ground, where the run away trailer cable box grounds, sharing a bolt with the ground that comes up from the wire bundle for all the trailer's lights and brakes. I ground all fresh metal and then coated around the edges, leaving bare metal and used a new bolt to tighten it all and used more di-electric grease to coat it. Should be good for a few months, then re grease to try and prevent water from entering and rusting. I will put it on my calendar to pop up monthly, and I can ignore it, or eyeball it.
Awesome video! Helped a bunch. Didn’t realize that the tail lights without the ground wire uses the bolts as the ground. Cleaned where the bolts contact the trailer, problem fixed. This is also a tilt trailer I’m working on and if you shook the trailer the lights would go in and out. Put a ground wire where it tilts. No flickering of the lights. Thanks for your help!
Yes sir this video gave some insight as to what the problem was... which I would have never thought to look for... I have a fair new 2017 F-250 that recently was having no trailer tail lights didn't know what happen was working when I got the truck, anyway watched your video and "BAM" check out the truck not the trailer by the way I ran new lights on my boat trailer...so I figured that's where the problem was.. anyway it wasn't, truck had no ground (WHAT!!!) ok grabbed my manual and looked up my fuse location and found out it was not blown but missing... problem solved! Thanks 😊
Excellent video thanks, solved my lighting issue on a new trailer, i had the lights that ground through the bolts and the paint was blocking the connection, after cleaning the metal and reinstalling all works perfectly now.
Thank you for this video, very informative. I just bought a boat trailer and I am seeing a strange problem, the lights work when I stand on the trailer, as soon as I get off the trailer the lights go out, what should I look for, please help me troubleshoot this. Each fixture has a ground wire connected to the trailer.
Tilt Trailers must be grounded on the bed not the tongue! if you ground on the tongue your going through the hinges and the lights will cut out when you drive, if you ground through the bed where the lights are bolted to, your good.
Why cant you run the white wire all the way to each light fixture ( if it has the separate wire) it would make for far less connection issues down the road, would it not?
I have newly wired an enclosed trailer and cleaned all the grounding points and checked all the connections with a meter and I only have super dim side markers. Nothing I do changes anything. All the lights work when tested on a battery and all the pins from the truck test good. Even my LED taillight bar works perfect but the trailer lights just won't work
One thing that ended up being my problem was the ball hitch. My trailer was setting for some time and the inside of the coupler was rusty and not making a good grounding connection with ball.
Will you read voltage if it isnt grounded? I read 12 v at the light, but it wont work. I tested the light separately on a battery and it works. I has the confuse...
Also newly painted brackets that doesn't come with your lights need to be sanded down for metal to be seen for good contact each light has to be grounded if not having the white wire included! Hope this helps!
Everything works properly on mine except when trucks' lights are on. My brake lights go out on the trailer when I hit the brake pedal. With truck lights off everything works normally. I have the stud type of light mounted to PVC pipe and I ran wires from lights directly to the ground wire on the harness. Does anyone know how to correct this? Or what I may have done wrong?
Nobody answered you yet so hopefully you figured it out. Aluminum is a better conductor than steel. The problem with aluminum is dissimilar metals corrode. I would recommend cleaning aluminum and connector and apply die electric grease during assembly to prevent corrosion. He should have mentioned this as its a good idea even on steel trailers.
Thank you for the video. I'm not sure this is my problem with trailer running lights, but it give me a good place to start. Does the trailer hitch need to be in contact with the truck ball in order for the lights to work on the trailer, particularly the running lights?
Just curious....couldn't the ground cables at the lights be mounted to one of bolts holding the light? They're going thru the frame. I am putting a set of these on right now and was wondering if this would work instead of drilling thru the trailer?
I realize its been a while so this may not actually help you any, but for others... Yes, I've done this dozens of times and as long as you have a nice clean spot to seat the eyelet it should work great. Sometimes I double nut the stud where I choose to install the eyelet, putting it between the two nuts.
Mine signal n break light works fine but when i turn on my truck lights the ones from the trailer supposed to turn on too but they wont like i said on ly break n signal works what can i do
I have a weird one. Just purchased a 5x8 utility trailer. Left signal, both tail lights, and brake lights are working fine. The right one blinks at normal speed exactly two times then goes to a fast blink as well as the right blinker on the truck. As soon as I disconnect the plug, truck right signal goes back to normal speed. When I connect the same truck to my boat trailer, everything works fine. Anyone have any ideas ?
So let me get this right. Old school lights don’t need a ground to operate. New LED lights need to be grounded at both the tongue and each light terminal in order to operate?
Thank you. This video was thorough, systematic, and easy to follow. You not only answered my question, but I learned quite a bit. Much appreciated.
I stumbled on this video after hours of trying to figure out what my issue was. In 4 minutes i was able to figure out what was wrong and fix it! Great video, thank you!
Super helpful. Most helpful CZcams video I've seen regarding this issue. I assembled a Harbor Freight Haul Master 4 x 8 folding Utility Trailer last weekend and the lights they packaged had a separate ground wire for each light while the instructions assumed I had been sent self grounding lights. There was also no screw hole on the tongue for that ground wire which the instructions indicated there was. My first time wiring up a trailer and this video has given me confidence to just roll with the lights I have and ground each one to the frame of the trailer. Seems to me that having a grounding wire for each light might be safer in the long terms than having self grounding lights anyway(?).
THANK YOU!!!!
I have been struggling with what was wrong for a week with my wiring for new lights. Grounding the poles on the trailer was it!
You saved my sanity!!
Wow! 4 1/2 years later this is still the best video out on youtube. I have a folding trailer and had no idea that could cause my grounding problem. thanks for putting that in your video.
This is me right now. I wanted to do a quick test with it folded up after installing some new lights. Brake and turns worked fine but not running lights. Hopefully it's just the grounding issue while it's folded. Will try again with it unfolded to see if it's all working.
Agree!
Update: It wasn't just the folding. The running lights still don't work, so I think it's an issue with the vehicle wiring. I'll have to take a closer look at that.
Trailer lights for newbies! Thank you so much for all the details. My hubby used to do this and now I am up to bat. Learning something new every day.
Best video I've seen on CZcams about this issue... You're an excellent teacher. All the info you provided was succinct, therefore easy to understand. I feel confident I'll be able to troubleshoot and fix the malfunctioning lights on my trailer. 👍
Fighting with my trailer lights for about two hours today. At my whits end, finally decided to give CZcams a try. Thankfully I found your video and fixed my problem in short order.
I've spent far too much time troubleshooting my "sometimes they work fine, other times not" touchy boat trailer lights. Never before had I been told about the light ground via the bolts. I scraped off the paint around the holes where those attachment bolts fit, and problem solved! Same as Scott below. Thank-you.
Can't thank you enough for the video. I have a folding trailer and spent more time than I'd like to admit trying to get the lights to work. Your video helped me solve the problem! Thanks
This video saved me a bunch of time. Grounding issue at the light. It was driving my crazy trying to fix it. Just had to clean the bolts and reattach the light and back in business!
I have been searching for a long time for just such a video. Finally found this. Thank you!
Same! No one is talking about how to ground everything properly! It's like everyone assumes you know what you're doing, which is so stupid because this is why we're looking for help - because we don't know what we're doing!
Excellent video! Just this past weekend we assembled a kit trailer from Norther Tool. It came pre-painted in black and of course all of the holes are painted as well. None of the lights work and I've already determined that there is power to the connection on the back of the tow vehicle. Time to do some sanding and reconnecting the ground wires! Thanks!
the music for this is solid.
Its likes a positive saving grace 👍
Thank you. Best video I've watched on trailer light troubleshooting.
Follow the rust. A month ago I had a truck bed to frame rail, that connects the 2 because the bed mount rubber isolates the bed, completely gone. I fixed it (added 2 clips and braided brass wire to connect them, ground down to bare metal first, clipped the braid to the 2 bare spots) and the trailer brakes worked again on my dump trailer. This week, no brakes again, ended up being on the trailer ground, where the run away trailer cable box grounds, sharing a bolt with the ground that comes up from the wire bundle for all the trailer's lights and brakes. I ground all fresh metal and then coated around the edges, leaving bare metal and used a new bolt to tighten it all and used more di-electric grease to coat it. Should be good for a few months, then re grease to try and prevent water from entering and rusting. I will put it on my calendar to pop up monthly, and I can ignore it, or eyeball it.
Awesome video! Helped a bunch. Didn’t realize that the tail lights without the ground wire uses the bolts as the ground. Cleaned where the bolts contact the trailer, problem fixed. This is also a tilt trailer I’m working on and if you shook the trailer the lights would go in and out. Put a ground wire where it tilts. No flickering of the lights. Thanks for your help!
My problem as well. His and your mention of the tilting of my golf trailer solved my problem with the intermittent lights.
Best video on the internet for this issue.
Thank you so much! Saved me a big headache. Wish I watched this 2 hours ago!!
Thank you very much. I'm having issues with my boat trailer and I've done everything except grounding the lights. Now I know why they're not working.
Thanks for posting. Going to tackle a ground issue on my trailer this weekend.
Yes sir this video gave some insight as to what the problem was... which I would have never thought to look for... I have a fair new 2017 F-250 that recently was having no trailer tail lights didn't know what happen was working when I got the truck, anyway watched your video and "BAM" check out the truck not the trailer by the way I ran new lights on my boat trailer...so I figured that's where the problem was.. anyway it wasn't, truck had no ground (WHAT!!!) ok grabbed my manual and looked up my fuse location and found out it was not blown but missing... problem solved! Thanks 😊
Excellent video thanks, solved my lighting issue on a new trailer, i had the lights that ground through the bolts and the paint was blocking the connection, after cleaning the metal and reinstalling all works perfectly now.
Great video. Most trailer light problems are due to poor grounding.
Thank you so much your video help me solve the simplest issue I was overlooking..
Thank you for this video, very informative. I just bought a boat trailer and I am seeing a strange problem, the lights work when I stand on the trailer, as soon as I get off the trailer the lights go out, what should I look for, please help me troubleshoot this. Each fixture has a ground wire connected to the trailer.
Tilt Trailers must be grounded on the bed not the tongue! if you ground on the tongue your going through the hinges and the lights will cut out when you drive, if you ground through the bed where the lights are bolted to, your good.
THIS WAS THE FIX!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! ❤️❤️❤️💪💪💪💪👍👍👍👍
Why cant you run the white wire all the way to each light fixture ( if it has the separate wire) it would make for far less connection issues down the road, would it not?
My question too!! Did you ever get an answer?
I have newly wired an enclosed trailer and cleaned all the grounding points and checked all the connections with a meter and I only have super dim side markers. Nothing I do changes anything. All the lights work when tested on a battery and all the pins from the truck test good. Even my LED taillight bar works perfect but the trailer lights just won't work
One thing that ended up being my problem was the ball hitch. My trailer was setting for some time and the inside of the coupler was rusty and not making a good grounding connection with ball.
Thanks 🙏🏾 a lot!!! I know this stuff but sometimes my brain 🧠 can make the simplest issue super hard.
I have a brand new trailer both of my back running lights work but my right hand brake light and blinker does not work. Left side works great ?
Thanks a lot! Could not figure out why they weren’t working
Thanks, the vedo was well explained and very educational.
Will you read voltage if it isnt grounded?
I read 12 v at the light, but it wont work. I tested the light separately on a battery and it works.
I has the confuse...
Thank u finally a well done video on this subject
Also newly painted brackets that doesn't come with your lights need to be sanded down for metal to be seen for good contact each light has to be grounded if not having the white wire included!
Hope this helps!
thank you I bought one and found out it was my vehicle that was not working properly I can't figure out what is wrong with it
I bought new trailer dump trailer the white wire on trailer started to melt why ??thank-you ...nice video keep it up
Well presented, nice job. Stay well, Joe Z
Everything works properly on mine except when trucks' lights are on. My brake lights go out on the trailer when I hit the brake pedal. With truck lights off everything works normally. I have the stud type of light mounted to PVC pipe and I ran wires from lights directly to the ground wire on the harness. Does anyone know how to correct this? Or what I may have done wrong?
Does a trailer's aluminum frame conduct the ground just as well as a trailer's steel frame?
Nobody answered you yet so hopefully you figured it out. Aluminum is a better conductor than steel. The problem with aluminum is dissimilar metals corrode. I would recommend cleaning aluminum and connector and apply die electric grease during assembly to prevent corrosion. He should have mentioned this as its a good idea even on steel trailers.
what is wrong if we put the tool in the truck and only one of the three light up and two light doesn't light up what is wrong?
Well done, sir! Thanks!
Thank you for the video. I'm not sure this is my problem with trailer running lights, but it give me a good place to start. Does the trailer hitch need to be in contact with the truck ball in order for the lights to work on the trailer, particularly the running lights?
Jay Monroe I
Good question, did you ever get an answer?,
@@lauriepcampbell795 Yes I believe so.
Just curious....couldn't the ground cables at the lights be mounted to one of bolts holding the light? They're going thru the frame. I am putting a set of these on right now and was wondering if this would work instead of drilling thru the trailer?
I realize its been a while so this may not actually help you any, but for others... Yes, I've done this dozens of times and as long as you have a nice clean spot to seat the eyelet it should work great. Sometimes I double nut the stud where I choose to install the eyelet, putting it between the two nuts.
Mine signal n break light works fine but when i turn on my truck lights the ones from the trailer supposed to turn on too but they wont like i said on ly break n signal works what can i do
Here is a problem. Why does my trailer running lights stay on with vehicle off?
Thanks for the help
I have a weird one. Just purchased a 5x8 utility trailer. Left signal, both tail lights, and brake lights are working fine. The right one blinks at normal speed exactly two times then goes to a fast blink as well as the right blinker on the truck. As soon as I disconnect the plug, truck right signal goes back to normal speed. When I connect the same truck to my boat trailer, everything works fine. Anyone have any ideas ?
@Vstar5
It’s not the truck, when I connect my other two trailers it works
Dear uploaded, thank you so much
Thanks man very helpful video
What all the thumbs up people said. Thanks so much for a great presentations.
I spent 4 hrs last night trying to ground the self grounding lights... pain in the ass, I returned those and got different ones
Needle nose fixed my blinking lights. ......Excellent video thanks
i think you just solved my problem....thank you!!
If your trailer light stays on what is the problem can you help me
Thank you
Thanks. This helped me out.
Great video!
Thank you!!
Great video, well explained, thank you
spectacular video wtf
So let me get this right. Old school lights don’t need a ground to operate. New LED lights need to be grounded at both the tongue and each light terminal in order to operate?
My brake and turns work, but my running lights aren't
So i need to fix now and dont have special tester......
Solid!!!
Great info
Thank you very helpful
Thankyou
Very informative awesome video!
I appreciate the info thanx
Thanks
Very helpful
thanks that was great help ......................
Great video but the music does not add value! Why not pure information without the 'entertainment' ?
who cares..
I had to watch 10 videos to get the answer I wanted
the music suxx
That cheap ass Chinese lights don't work no matter what you do my only solution was to get LED lights that was the solved to the problem