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Date:         Sun, 6 May 2007 08:39:04 -0700
Reply-To:     neil <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         neil <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Help identifying part (image provided)
Comments: To: Matt Roberds <mattroberds@cox.net>
In-Reply-To:  <Pine.LNX.4.64.0705060130390.19263@birdbird.example.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Interesting Matt.

That explains why it was there. I figured one would just tap into exsisting wiring w/o a need for this magic box. Not so.

Fortunately the lights already worked fine. Originally I had seen the rats nest of wires and cleaned up a little then left it. When I realized the side markers weren't working, then I removed the "magic box" while doing the other work.

This begs a question. Or two. -- ;^)

I used shrink tubing and electrical tape to fix where PO had removed casing to tap into wiring.

Is there a specific type of electrical tape that will withstand heat generated in engine compartment?

Tape that was there was starting to unravel. I figure due to, in part, the heat.

Also, I used #14 wire to extend #20 (?) gauge that connects to side marker light lamp bases. Some of the #20 wire casing was in poor shape.

I know the light will draw what it draws, but is the use of larger gauge wire going to cause any problems?

Regards,

Neil.

On 5/6/07, Matt Roberds <mattroberds@cox.net> wrote: > > From: neil <musomuso@GMAIL.COM> > > Date: Sat, 5 May 2007 11:37:57 -0700 > > > > http://web.mac.com/tubaneil/iWeb/Site%205/Mystery%20part.html > > I know this part has already been identified and excised, but I figured > I'd add a little... > > Most small trailers in the US and Canada have one lamp on each side that > serves as both the turn signal and brake lamp. Historically, most US > cars had a similar arrangement for their rear lamps, so hooking up > trailer lights was pretty simple - the left trailer lamp hooked to the > same wire as the left rear car lamp, and the right trailer lamp hooked > to the same wire as the right rear car lamp. > > Most European and Japanese cars, as well as more recent US cars, have > two rear lamps on each side - one with a red lens for the brake lamp, > and one with a yellow (usually) or red (sometimes) lens for the turn > signal lamp. You've got two wires on each side of the car, but only > one wire on each side of the trailer. You can't just hook all three > wire ends together, because that would make the lamps on the car operate > incorrectly. Using two diodes would sort of work - the car lamps would > operate correctly, but the trailer lamps would only flash with the car > turn signals until you stepped on the brakes - then the trailer lamps > would come on solid no matter what the turn signals on the car were > doing. > > That box does the magic to make the trailer lamps behave correctly when > connected to a car with separate rear turn and brake lamps. They come > in various flavors - some are a box with wires on both the "car" and > "trailer" ends; some have wires on the "car" end and a built-in > connector on the "trailer" end; some fancy ones have connectors to match > the factory wiring harness on the "car" end and a built-in connector on > the "trailer" end so they can be installed without any splicing at all. > > The "trailer" end of the wiring is usually (not always!) four wires: > white (ground), brown (running lights), green (right turn/stop), and > yellow (left turn/stop). If you see a harness of white-brown-green- > yellow or brown-green-yellow wires hanging out near the rear bumper of a > car, it's quite often someone's attempt at a trailer wiring connection. > You can usually get 14 and 16 gauge four-wire "ribbon cable" (four > insulated wires bonded together) at the FLAPS. > > The "car" end of the wiring varies more, but on the converter boxes, a > common configuration is five wires: white (ground), brown (running > lights), green (right turn only), yellow (left turn only), red (stop). > Some converter boxes omit the white (ground) wires on both the "car" > and "trailer" sides, so there are only four wires on the "car" side and > three on the "trailer" side. > > Mini rant: The ground wire is NOT OPTIONAL! No, it won't ground through > the hitch ball - at least not after you hit the first bump! Both the > trailer and the car need ground wires. Even a wire that runs from the > trailer half of the connector to a sheet metal screw on the trailer > frame, and a wire that runs from the car half of the connector to a sheet > metal screw into the car body, is better than hoping it will ground > through the hitch ball. The Syncro Deluxe version is to make the ground > wire one or two gauges thicker than the other wires, and to replace the > sheet metal screw with a bolt, flat washer, ring terminal, toothed washer, > (car or trailer metal), flat washer, and self-locking nut in that order. > Hitch-ball grounding and/or broken ground wires are the leading cause of > flickering trailer lights. End of mini rant. > > In general, one of the few things that will drive you crazier than DPO > stereo wiring is DPO trailer wiring. If you have a car, truck, or van > that's new to you and the outside lights are acting weird, run, don't > walk to the back of the car and inspect carefully for signs of trailer > wiring. This applies even if no sane person would attempt to tow a > trailer with that kind of vehicle (i.e., Geo Metro or similar). If > there are strange wires dangling around that are connected to the rear > lights, and you can't convince yourself that they are stock, get rid > of them. This can help your sanity immensely. > > Matt Roberds > >

-- Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia.

http://web.mac.com/tubaneil


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