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nandez678's avatar
nandez678
Explorer
Jan 05, 2017

I need help wiring get this trailer

I have a standard 4 way plug from coming from my vehicle with yellow, green, white and brown wires. The trailer has
Black, green, and white wires. They are inside an orange sleeve while a blueish green one is outside the orange sleeve. So 4 wires total. It had a 6 prong plug but I wanted to change it to a standard 4 way. I've tried all combinations and it's not working. I am using white as ground but I'm starting to think white might be something else and black might be ground.

3 Replies

  • Get out your jumper pack or a 12V battery. It's easier with a jumper pack because you can use the clamps to your advantage. With a 12V battery you have to supply your own jumper wires and make up some sort of probe.

    Attach the - to the trailer frame.

    If you're using a jumper pack, put a nail in the + clamp to use as a probe.

    Poke each connection with the probe and see what lights up.
  • Black, green, and white in an orange sleeve sounds like someone used an extension cord and cut it up to wire the trailer. Those colors are not standard for a 4 pin connection.
    Those 3 wires are likely the left and right signals and the running lights. Ground was likely just the frame. I would suspect the blue wire as being electric brakes, blue is the standard color for that. In order to have electric brakes you must have at least a 6 pin connector (like you removed). However, most large trailers use the 7 pin. The 7th connection usually adds back-up lights.
    Assuming your trailer has brakes it likely needs them to be highway legal. I strongly suggest you wire it for a 6 or 7 pin connection and add the proper wiring and brake controller to your tow vehicle.
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    If your trailer has the ELECTRIC BRAKES Installed then you will need the standard 7-Way wiring... 4-way wiring is usually only for small utility type trailers for just DOT safety lights...

    Wire colors differ for different manufatures

    google image

    Check with ETRAILER.com on-line for wiring diagrams for the trailers including the RV types...

    Roy Ken

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