5 trailer wires

[SkunkBoat]

my brand new trailer has a 5 pin plug. Truck is 4 pin. Trailer guy said 5th is for brakes but I dont have brakes so it doesnt go anywhere. They always wire them that way now. He said just plug the 5 pin into the four pin, the dead one will be on the end, not connected.

That being said, I think the fifth wire in your case is the second brown wire. They get tied together to connect to the same pin on the plug.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by SkunkBoat

my brand new trailer has a 5 pin plug. Truck is 4 pin. Trailer guy said 5th is for brakes but I dont have brakes so it doesnt go anywhere. They always wire them that way now. He said just plug the 5 pin into the four pin, the dead one will be on the end, not connected.

That being said, I think the fifth wire in your case is the second brown wire. They get tied together to connect to the same pin on the plug.

It's isn't for brakes directly, it is for your reverse lights. When in reverse you want the brakes locked out so you can back up(hrdraulic actuators get engaged by the trailer pushing against the tow vehicle and applying the hydraulic actuator, reversing does the same thing to it), so the reverse power goes to a solenoid in the brake system to keep them from activating.

[smokeonthewater]

That would be for a 5 TERMINAL plug... he stated that he only had 4 terminals and five WIRES.... it's two tail light wires for a split harness

[peiserma]

Yes, my trailer has two brown wires like the diagram. Only they aren't colored brown (see previous post). The problem took longer to find than anticipated. I have a Hopkins Power Tail Light Converter in the car. The wire that picks up the tail light signal wasn't installed properly and had come loose. Fixed that, and all the lights work now.

Thanks for the help.