New Trailer's almost done

[SSearchVT]

Make sure the wire harness from the truck lets the left blinker work. A test light using the hitch frame should work. Good Luck...

[lucentone]

Originally posted by LuckyATB
attempted some re-grounding last night...grounding to the frame didn't help. The bizarre thing is my right-side blinker works fine, it's just the left side that doesn't blink. Fuzzy memory tells me that last year I went the route of swapping sides and all that, and the left side consitantly didn't blink no matter which light was hooked up to it. So maybe it's a problem with the plug connection or something?

Have to tow the bike to a dealership tonight for some electronic work...I have plotted out the route and fortunately only have to take ONE left turn while on-road the entire trip, and that one will be on the way home so folks'll definately see the vehicle blinkers anyway.

Did you grind the paint off at the connection points and at the joints? That's my plan for the weekend - I hope it works!

[TLRMan]

Wire it like a boat.
Run ground wires to every light, not to the trailer frame.
Run those back to the connector, and terminate them on the vehicle.

Did this with my rig, and it worked fine.
Another note, body ground points can suck, go to the frame.

You can buy plastic wire sheaths for short change too.

[OreoGaborio]

Hey Mark, how bout ya just come do it for me

I'll be home this weekend workin on it... it'll give ya an excuse to get out on the tiller.

[lucentone]

Originally posted by TLRMan
Wire it like a boat.
Run ground wires to every light, not to the trailer frame.
Run those back to the connector, and terminate them on the vehicle.

Did this with my rig, and it worked fine.
Another note, body ground points can suck, go to the frame.

You can buy plastic wire sheaths for short change too.

thats exactly what I did at first. I have a separate ground wire running to all my lights and terminating at the harness connector. For some reason it doesn't work. There is something about how the ground attaches to the frame of the vehicle that requires the trailer frame to actually be grounded itself. It makes no sense to me, but then again I'm no electrician.

[lucentone]

Ok, I just fixed my grounding issue. The trailer lights work perfectly now.

To those of you having the same grounding problem, here's how you fix it. The paint is indeed the root of the problem.



A - Remove the left hinge point and grind off the paint underneath on both sections (front and rear) of the trailer. You do not have to do the right side, just the left.

B - Remove the center spanning frame rail and grind off the paint on the outside edges where the bolts holes are. Also grind off the paint inside each side frame rail so you get a good metal on metal connection.

C - Remove this side of the A arm and grind off the paint on the inside contact point. Also grind off the paint on the square hinge point. Be sure to tighten this bolt so the metal makes good contact.

D - Completely remove the red base plate that attaches the A arms together. The ball receiver should come off also. Grind the paint off the top of the left A arm, where the plate attaches. Just do the left side. Also grind the paint off the underside of the base plate where it attaches to the A arm. Again, just do the left side.

E - Take off the hitch receiver and grind the paint off the top of the base plate where it bolts to. Also grind off the paint on the underside of the receiver.

F - Remove the L brackets from the frame rails on both sides, and grind off the paint from the frame rail where it touches. Do this for both lights.

I connected my ground wire from the harness to one of the bolts in the front base plate by D. I had to grind the paint off a little to ensure I had a good connection.

I'm no electrician so there's probably a smarter way to do it. But this worked perfectly for me. Hope this helps!

[OreoGaborio]

yeah, i can see that being a solution but I'd rather lengthen that short ground wire & run it around the whole trailer & ground all the lights w/ that as opposed to just connect them all at the frame.

Right now i'm working on the wiring harness from my car... I got the harness & a tester at Autozone and started goin to work figuring out all the wires to the tail lights of my car.... Unfortunately i just realized i need an integrator to make the tail lights on the trailer work as running lights, brake lights & turn signals... it's the only thing i didn't get today when i was out gettin all my stuff... fuckin pissed I didn't think of that

Fuck it... i have an appointment w/ Uhaul on Wednesday to install the hitch on my car, i'll just have them do the fukin wiring, too.... I coulda saved like a hundred bucks by doing the wiring myself but I forgot about the integrator & it's startin to get dark out... oh well.

[lucentone]

Originally posted by OreoGaborio
yeah, i can see that being a solution but I'd rather lengthen that short ground wire & run it around the whole trailer & ground all the lights w/ that as opposed to just connect them all at the frame.

Originally that's exactly what I did (ran the ground wire all around the trailer). It didn't work. I had brake lights and turn signals but no running (parking) lights. Plus after hooking it up that way it blew a fuse in both my car and my gf's Xterra.

Both my car and my gf's Xterra had hitches and wiring done by UHaul. Originally we took her truck back thinking it was wired wrong but they tested it on their trailers and it worked fine. They told us the trailer hitch receiver and trailer frame must be grounded. I think they might be right, b/c my trailer works fine now.

Let me know how it turns out for you.

[need4speed]

Originally posted by OreoGaborio
Unfortunately i just realized i need an integrator to make the tail lights on the trailer work as running lights, brake lights & turn signals... it's the only thing i didn't get today when i was out gettin all my stuff... fuckin pissed I didn't think of that

I sent you a pm telling you about using the integrator remember ?

[OreoGaborio]

yeeeeah yeeeeah, shaaadaaaap... so i'm gettin forgetful in my old age, don't rub it in or you better watch yer back in LWSM

[LuckyATB]

Originally that's exactly what I did (ran the ground wire all around the trailer). It didn't work. I had brake lights and turn signals but no running (parking) lights. Plus after hooking it up that way it blew a fuse in both my car and my gf's Xterra.

I have it wired up that way (all grounded together in one long wire) and I have running lights and brake lights and one turn signal but not the other...but at this point I think my missing turn signal is due to a problem on the car's harness, not the trailer wiring. Same result whether I ground to the under-hitch plate or the car's frame. Never blue a fuse.

[KB]

I always run the ground to all the lights eff the trailer frame bs. That is just asking for crazy lights.

KB

[lucentone]

I guess I must have screwed something up then when I wired the ground. It seemed like it should have worked...

[OreoGaborio]

Since when do you have to fuking insure a 249 dollar trailer to get it registered? That's the gayest thing I've ever heard.

I'm now officially skrewed.

[McBiggity]

got to have basic liability on it.
how much do they want?

[OreoGaborio]

No idea... i just got back from the registry where I sat in line for 20 minutes just to walk out w/ no trailer for tomorrow.

[McBiggity]

that sucks!!! you can get it all done in one day though. The insurance will be cheap.
but you have to wait in line at the reg again when you get the proof of insurance.

[OreoGaborio]

yeah, i'm gonna get the number for my agent, fax a copy of the certificiate of origin, get the thing insured & register it tomorrow... just means i'll have no shot at testing my bike tomorrow since i gotta take care of this stuff in the morning and fix it when i get to the track.

i got a busy day tomorrow

[lucentone]

Just an FYI the registry requires a bill of sale to register the trailer. A certificate of origin isn't enough.

My insurance company allowed me to add the trailer to my coverage without any rate increase. Yours should do the same since the trailer is below a certain weight.

[daviid]

Originally posted by lucentone
Just an FYI the registry requires a bill of sale to register the trailer. A certificate of origin isn't enough.

My insurance company allowed me to add the trailer to my coverage without any rate increase. Yours should do the same since the trailer is below a certain weight.

how is he supposed to have a certificate of origin when its considered a home made trailer

[daviid]

How do I register my newly purchased trailer?
You’ll need a signed and completed RMV1 form from your insurance agent, proof of ownership* from the seller, and the applicable fees.

Along with the completed RMV1 application, you must submit one of the following documents:

A Certificate of Origin (new trailers only), or
The previous owner's title, if a titled trailer, or
A bill of sale, if a non-titled trailer

*An old registration or excise bill in the name of the seller may be used as proof of ownership or a Certificate of Title for the trailer may be used.

An acceptable Bill of Sale for a trailer must list the following information:

Name and address of buyer,
Name and address of seller,
Date of purchase,
Purchase price, and
Identification information (VIN, make, model, and year)

If the total gross weight of a trailer - the combined weight of the trailer and its cargo - is 3,000 lbs. or less, no title is required. If the total gross weight of a trailer is 3,001 lbs. or more, a title is required. The gross weight of a trailer is determined by the manufacturer and will appear on the trailer's Certificate of Origin and on the trailer itself.


http://www.mass.gov/rmv/faq/registration.htm#r3

[OreoGaborio]

It's not exactly "home made", it's a kit, purchased from Harbor Freight... included was the cert. of origin. I'm guessing my recipt is good enough for the bill of sale?

[lucentone]

Yea, I agree it doesn't make sense. The website says one of the following

A Certificate of Origin (new trailers only), or
The previous owner's title, if a titled trailer, or
A bill of sale, if a non-titled trailer

But, the Watertown RMV wouldn't register my trailer with a Cert of Origin alone. They required a Bill of Sale. I called Harbor Freight immediately and they said it would take 2-3 weeks for me to receive a bill of sale from them.

Unfortunately, the receipt isn't good enough for them. I tried that too hehe. They want a Bill of Sale signed by both the manufacturer and you.

I got my trailer registered that day anyway. PM me if you want to know how.

[Rye]

This trailer sucks. I've been fucking around with the grounding on this trailer all day and the lights are still whacked. I put the blinker on the left side and the right side faintly blinks. Step on the brakes and the trailer lights dim. I've been grinding paint all day and this fuck isn't working. How in the %^*$* did you guys get this thing to work right. Lucentone, I tried your explanation and the bitch doesn't work. How would these lights even be lighting up if the ground was shitty? I'm 2 minutes away from dowsing it in gas and ghosting it down the hill!

[OreoGaborio]

mine works beautifully

is your engine running? I think when i first plugged in my trailer & tested the lights they didn't work very well, but if the car was running it was great.