LED Trailer Light Frustration - Add Loading Resistors
- Thread starter Denver Tom
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autostaretx
Erratic Member
That 3rd band is kind'a hard to figure out .... is it yellow, orange or gold?
Yellow: 100,000 ohms
Orange: 10,000 ohms
Gold: 1 ohm
--dick
Yellow: 100,000 ohms
Orange: 10,000 ohms
Gold: 1 ohm
--dick
elemental
Wherever you go, there you are.
I think the monks are 1 (with the universe). So it must be gold.
Gold Silver are tolerance.That 3rd band is kind'a hard to figure out .... is it yellow, orange or gold?
Yellow: 100,000 ohms
Orange: 10,000 ohms
Gold: 1 ohm
--dick
"A gold tolerance band is 5% tolerance, silver is 10%, and no band at all would mean a 20% tolerance. For example: A 220 Ω resistor has a silver tolerance band."
https://learn.parallax.com/support/...tolerance band is,has a silver tolerance band.
vic
autostaretx
Erratic Member
True ... if they're in the 4th band position.
If you look at the cartoon, the 1st band is brown (1), the 2nd is black (0), the *third* (multiplier) is (perhaps) gold ... which is the 0.1 (one tenth) multiplier. The pictured object of worship doesn't have a tolerance-limiting band (all faiths are welcome).
I don't recall if it was a movement in the Canticle for Leibowitz
--dick (who has a Sprinter that measures conductance, and rarely resists moving)
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
(1.52 inches of rain so far today (2:45pm) ... severe cabin fever)
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But I do see the 4th band. Current data shows it spaced away from the 3 bands as expected, and is gold color. True believers band together in recognizing the gold. Maybe it isn't as welcoming to all afterall.
vicrollerbearing
Well-known member
It could be established as a branch... circuit.
? The best part of waking up is Kirchoff’s in your cup. ?
Not the Branch Dividians please.
vicPLEASE help me figure this one out!
I have a 2014 Sprinter with a 2014 Winnebago coach. Having a problem with the lights on the tow car.
Low voltage on the turn singles until you apply the brakes. Also low voltage on the tail light with and without the brake applied. It does have a factory installed module(A1695455632-00)
I have a 2014 Sprinter with a 2014 Winnebago coach. Having a problem with the lights on the tow car.
Low voltage on the turn singles until you apply the brakes. Also low voltage on the tail light with and without the brake applied. It does have a factory installed module(A1695455632-00)
Are you connecting to the tow car's tail lights or are these aux lights that are independent of the tow car's electrical system.
I have the later, and use standard incandescent bulbs. I use a 7 pin to 4 pin adaptor to drive the aux lights - no problems.
autostaretx
Erratic Member
On the MB hookup, they think that the brake lights and the directionals are the same bulbs ... it flashes one side's brake bulb for a turn signal, and turns on both sides' brake bulbs for STOP.
Your car doesn't think that way.
The "dim" can also be caused by a bad (or non-existent) ground connection .... the bulb current is being routed through two bulb filaments (in series, so each sees 6 volts) instead of through one filament directly to ground.
--dick
rollerbearing
Well-known member
Was looking for some load resistors for some other work - but noted an interesting feature in duckduckgo.com search.
Type in say - "4.7K ohm resistor"
and it will spit out the colour code.
Not really a necessity - but now I don't have to recite the "rude Navy limerick" in my head for odd ball values.
Type in say - "4.7K ohm resistor"
and it will spit out the colour code.
Not really a necessity - but now I don't have to recite the "rude Navy limerick" in my head for odd ball values.
I recently ran into a similar issue with LED tow dolly lights not working. I bought a used EZE Tow Dolly for taking my car along with my Navion. Brought the dolly home using a GMC pickup and the tow dolly lights worked fine. Went to leave on a trip with the dolly connected to my Navion and assumed the lights would be OK, but when checking them before leaving I could not get them to work. I was able to get the turn signal and regular lights to work by connecting a separate ground wire between the dolly and hitch receiver, but no brake lights. Found out a special adapter is needed for the seven wire to four wire conversion between the sprinter trailer lights socket (7 wire) and the tow dolly plug (4 wire). The adapter has built in load resistors to get the sprinter to recognize there is a trailer connected when the trailer (or tow dolly) has LED style lights. Ended up buying the adapter from a U-Haul dealer for about $20. Only the larger stores have them in stock and usually only one adapter. Good place to get the adapter on short notice. E-Trailer.com also has them in stock if you don't need it right away. Maybe this will help someone if you run into the same problem.
Well that explains the faint flashing I get when it's dark out, though it happens long after I shut it off. My hitch carrier box has LED lights, though I ordered incandescent units, and they flash faintly every so often. They seem to work normally otherwise, using a 7-blade RV connector to 4-flat adapter with LED indicators built into it. I just hope they work on the road, where I can't see them.
I'm actually considering replacing them with incandescent units, which are the same dimensions and use the same flush mount grommet, and which are only $8 each from etrailer.
Nic7320
Solera 24S on a 2011 NCV3 chassis
Dim lights often mean a floating ground or bad connection, so it ends up finding a longer pathway through other filaments before it completes the circuit.
A Voltmeter can be your friend, but they can also mislead you if you don't interpret the readings with a certain amount of suspicion. 12 volts through a bad connection into a voltmeter can appear fine, because a voltmeter doesn't draw much current. But a bad connection under load -- the voltage can droop if there's a highly resistive connection in the pathway.
I wouldn't rely on the lamp assembly studs to make proper connections to chassis ground, but rather -- hardwire all your grounds from each light with wire to your 4 pin or 7 pin feed cable. It's much more reliable that way.
Inevitably, those ground and mounting studs on lamp assemblies corrode or loosen up, because you can't apply enough torque on them to bite reliably into the frame. Double nut a ring terminal to them if neccessary.
A Voltmeter can be your friend, but they can also mislead you if you don't interpret the readings with a certain amount of suspicion. 12 volts through a bad connection into a voltmeter can appear fine, because a voltmeter doesn't draw much current. But a bad connection under load -- the voltage can droop if there's a highly resistive connection in the pathway.
I wouldn't rely on the lamp assembly studs to make proper connections to chassis ground, but rather -- hardwire all your grounds from each light with wire to your 4 pin or 7 pin feed cable. It's much more reliable that way.
Inevitably, those ground and mounting studs on lamp assemblies corrode or loosen up, because you can't apply enough torque on them to bite reliably into the frame. Double nut a ring terminal to them if neccessary.
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Nic7320
Solera 24S on a 2011 NCV3 chassis
It's common practice in aerospace and other jobs to derate components 50 percent to enhance reliability. Electrical components, such as resistors, should not be operated at the limit.
But rather than using a 5 watt resistor, you can parallel smaller (and much cheaper) 1/2 watt or 1 watt resistors to achieve the same result. For example, four 400 ohm, 1 watt resistors in parallel gives you 100 ohms at 4 watts, and they will be quite reliable only running 2 watts. Similarly, you can parallel eight 800 ohm, 1/2 watt resistors to get 100 ohms at 4 watts.
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Nic7320
Solera 24S on a 2011 NCV3 chassis
Look at etrailer.com for videos on how to add trailer lights or electric trailer brakes. You probably don't need original MB parts to do such a mundane task.
Here's an example:
Here's an example:
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landmobile
New member
This thread just saved me a ton of time and aggravation. Thank you!
The factory trailer light connector on my 2017 3500 stopped working (or so I thought) until I read about the bulb-current sensing "undocumented feature". I had already gone through this with LED's on the body but had no idea it applied to trailer lights as well.
Sorry for bringing back an old topic, but I'm really grateful.
The factory trailer light connector on my 2017 3500 stopped working (or so I thought) until I read about the bulb-current sensing "undocumented feature". I had already gone through this with LED's on the body but had no idea it applied to trailer lights as well.
Sorry for bringing back an old topic, but I'm really grateful.