wes0778 Posted August 16, 2011 Share #1 Posted August 16, 2011 (edited) The 5 wire to 4 wire adapter that I installed has been working fine with the H/F LED light kit I put on the H/F tag along, earlier this year. This week end I added red LEDs high on the rear of the trailer for additional tail/turn/brake lights. I also added red and amber LEDs on the corners. They are hooked up with the tail light circuit and work fine. My problem is with the brake/turn circuit. The new red tail/brake/turn LEDs are wired in parallel to the original tail lights. When I turn the ignition on, the low intensity for the original tail lights and the new addition tail lights come on low intensity as they should. If I press either brake pedal, the existing tail lights go to high intensity and the new ones do to. If I turn on either turn signal the proper original turn signal blinks as it is suppose to, but the "added" light does not. If while the turn signal is blinking I press either brake, both original brake lights go to high intensity and the blinking stops, although there is a slight intensity oscillation in both sides. The converter I have is not a "Hoppy" brand. I'm wonder if The additional LEDs have exceeded the capacity of the adapter? I got this one at Ace Hardware. Where have any of you found a "Hoppy"? I need to get this fixed BEFORE Thursday, as that is when we need to head out for Vogel. And if this wasn't enough, while changing the oil this afternoon I noticed an oil drop on the bottom of the rear shock!!! Edited August 16, 2011 by wes0778 spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidnightSpook Posted August 16, 2011 Share #2 Posted August 16, 2011 You can find Hopkins converters at Advanced Auto Parts.. I just installed one on my bike and think I purchased a faulty one because the blinkers are really dim until I hit the brake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
painterman67 Posted August 16, 2011 Share #3 Posted August 16, 2011 I ended up wireing the trailer to 5 pin to get rid of these same problems. I had the 5 pin to 4 blade adaptor and never could get it to work wright. rewired bike and trailer to 5 pin and all has been well since then. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes0778 Posted August 16, 2011 Author Share #4 Posted August 16, 2011 Just another thought... Has anyone let the "Hoppy" control relays which in turn sends power directly from the battery to the appropriate circuit on the trailer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyinfool Posted August 16, 2011 Share #5 Posted August 16, 2011 Are the new added lights made to be dual intensity for brake and running (there will be 3 wires per light) or are you just making them do that? If they are made to be dual intensity, then go thru all of your wiring again, you have something miswired. If the new lights are truly in parallel with the existing lights then they will work the same as the existing. Post some pics of your setup, that may help us spot the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes0778 Posted August 16, 2011 Author Share #6 Posted August 16, 2011 Are the new added lights made to be dual intensity for brake and running (there will be 3 wires per light) or are you just making them do that? If they are made to be dual intensity, then go thru all of your wiring again, you have something miswired. If the new lights are truly in parallel with the existing lights then they will work the same as the existing. Post some pics of your setup, that may help us spot the issue. Jeff, Thanks!!! Yes the red ones on the rear are dual intensity. The two amber ones on the front are single intensity and are wired to the low intensity tail/run circuit only. Using a battery charger and putting 12V to each pin on the trailer plug, all lights light properly. Trailer plug Brown Wire=low intensity ALL lights Green Wire=High intensity RIGHT side Red lights Yellow Wire=High Intensity LEFT side Red lights An insufficient ground connection for the lights I added to the top shell may be a factor, but I fixed that I'm in the process of installing a Hoppy brand converter, but in the mean time, I think the battery is trying to roll over and die. DOES IT EVER END?????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyinfool Posted August 16, 2011 Share #7 Posted August 16, 2011 Bad grounds can make all kinds of weird things happen, as the power tries to find other ways to ground thru other circuits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamue Posted August 16, 2011 Share #8 Posted August 16, 2011 if all is in parallel, sounds like it might be a bad ground or bad connection going to ground. easy to check and correct. The 5 wire to 4 wire adapter that I installed has been working fine with the H/F LED light kit I put on the H/F tag along, earlier this year. This week end I added red LEDs high on the rear of the trailer for additional tail/turn/brake lights. I also added red and amber LEDs on the corners. They are hooked up with the tail light circuit and work fine. My problem is with the brake/turn circuit. The new red tail/brake/turn LEDs are wired in parallel to the original tail lights. When I turn the ignition on, the low intensity for the original tail lights and the new addition tail lights come on low intensity as they should. If I press either brake pedal, the existing tail lights go to high intensity and the new ones do to. If I turn on either turn signal the proper original turn signal blinks as it is suppose to, but the "added" light does not. If while the turn signal is blinking I press either brake, both original brake lights go to high intensity and the blinking stops, although there is a slight intensity oscillation in both sides. The converter I have is not a "Hoppy" brand. I'm wonder if The additional LEDs have exceeded the capacity of the adapter? I got this one at Ace Hardware. Where have any of you found a "Hoppy"? I need to get this fixed BEFORE Thursday, as that is when we need to head out for Vogel. And if this wasn't enough, while changing the oil this afternoon I noticed an oil drop on the bottom of the rear shock!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubber Posted August 16, 2011 Share #9 Posted August 16, 2011 On trailer "IT IS ALWAYS THE GROUND"..... you can take that to the bank. Irecently sold a trailer and could not get the lights to work for the new owner. I spent 1 hour trying everthing I could, finally I drove the trailer around the parking lot and turned real sharpe as to put a little pressure on the ball. Sure as heck they all worked just fine. :rotf: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiCarl Posted August 16, 2011 Share #10 Posted August 16, 2011 I'm feeling pretty crappy, and in a fog, but thought I'd share this. Recently I had a customer that had added saddle bags to her Vulcan. When I wired the (dual intensity) lights for her they acted strangely. They were wired to the running/brake light, not the signals. Turns out there was enough back feed through the tail light bulb to allow the wrong LEDs to light. I ended up having to put diodes on the new lights to prevent that. I wonder if you have something similar happening. You can test by removing either hot lead and verifying that the light works correctly as either running or turn/brake. If it does you probably have the same problem. I don't think your motorcycle will tow enough weight to have sufficient LEDs to overload any converter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidnightSpook Posted August 17, 2011 Share #11 Posted August 17, 2011 I received an email back from Hopkins today and of course they just said that it could be a bad converter causing "my" problems. They said to take it back and get a new one.....go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes0778 Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share #12 Posted August 17, 2011 Well, I think a bad battery is gonna be the cause of some of the difficulties. I changed it out then put the "hoppy" back in. Everything is working as advertised except the 4-way flashers. When I turn them on, the lights on the bike flash, although a little faster, but the LEDs just "quiver". Oh well gotta change the rear end oil and I think the bike will be ready for the trip to Vogel...:dancefool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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