| Trailer / Car electrics... #28883 02/02/04 12:15 PM 02/02/04 12:15 PM |
Joined: Jan 2004 Posts: 152 Central Texas yoh OP
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Posts: 152 Central Texas | O.K. this is not exactly a H16 problem... but it is related to the transportation of Hobies. I tow my Hobie on a trailer with the standard US illumination kit (rear light - blinker combo all red). The towing vehicle is a VW van with the European style lights (amber turn signals, rear lights, stop lights - all separate). I got one of those hoppy(?) conversion kits that suggest that they would convert a European style vehicle to a common bulb system found on US trailers. The kit is installed but I have only running light function. The turn signal functions on the trailer is only visible if I remove the trailer’s lens covers and look at the light bulbs themselves (just a very dim gleaming light). What do I do wrong??? Any other converters that might work better than the one I am using???
Thanks, Patrick
Patrick, Hobie 16 '85
| | | Re: Trailer / Car electrics...
[Re: sail7seas]
#28886 02/02/04 02:45 PM 02/02/04 02:45 PM |
Joined: Jan 2004 Posts: 152 Central Texas yoh OP
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Posts: 152 Central Texas | Hi,
Thanks for the responses so far. The trailers wiring harness is new. I installed it by soldering the cables and I used heat shrink tubing instead of the crimp on junk. When I test the trailers electrics, by running 12 volt to the individual pins on the plug /connector the whole system seems to work fine. I can basically simulate all the light functions the trailer should have. This is why I think the trailer is O.K.. Ground... I had the same concerns with bad ground connections, especially since I have on of those tilting style trailers, where the tongue is hinged to the rest. I decided to run the ground wire past the tongue to a permanently mounted piece of frame.
In the next days I might try to find someone who lets me hock up my car to a properly functioning trailer... will see if the problem is caused by my car!? Does someone know about those converter modules (I currently use a Hoppy brand black box style module converter is integrated in the connector) ? Are there good and crappy ones? Which types should I avoid?
Thanks,
Patrick
Patrick, Hobie 16 '85
| | | Re: Trailer / Car electrics...
[Re: PSAILOR]
#28889 02/02/04 09:55 PM 02/02/04 09:55 PM |
Joined: Jan 2004 Posts: 152 Central Texas yoh OP
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Posts: 152 Central Texas | Hi, I stoped at the friendly local home improvement store, and they let me hock up my van to one of their new trailers. Same problem as with my hobie trailer at home - running lights - but no signl or brake light. So I guess it is the coverter - or the person who installed it (me)...
Patrick
Patrick, Hobie 16 '85
| | | Re: Trailer / Car electrics...
[Re: yoh]
#28892 02/14/04 01:13 AM 02/14/04 01:13 AM |
Joined: Jul 2001 Posts: 851 US Western Continental Shelf hobiegary
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Posts: 851 US Western Continental Shelf | I am glad that the problem was found and corrected. For those who are, or who may (in future times) follow this thread, I'd like to share a related anecdote.
A fellow cat sailor bought a used cat and trailer. He hooked up new lights on the trailer and did the wiring on the truck. Everything worked well when 12 volts was applied to the trailer.
When the trailer was hooked up to the truck, things were not working correctly. I troubleshot the system and here is what I found: The ground wire was securely screwed into the bottom of the steel bed of the truck. [color:"orange"]The bed of the truck was sitting on vibration isolators, resembling motor mounts which, did not allow an electrical connection between the bed and the chassis of the vehicle! [/color]
On a side note, this dielectric isolation of the bed of the truck makes me wonder about static electricy implications.
The lesson learned is that the trailer needs to be connected, via ground wire, to the same hunk of metal that the battery is connected to, not to the electrically isolated bed of some trucks.
GARY (IBEW)
Santa Monica Bay Mystere 6.0 "Whisk" <--- R.I.P. | | | Re: Trailer / Car electrics...
[Re: hobiegary]
#28893 03/08/04 12:03 PM 03/08/04 12:03 PM |
Joined: Jan 2004 Posts: 152 Central Texas yoh OP
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Posts: 152 Central Texas | Damon... Yop! I used an other Hoppy converter... the new one did the job!
Patrick
Patrick, Hobie 16 '85
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