Trailer tail lights

[tigi]

I have a 1999 Goldwing with a CSC kit on it, and I picked up a little trailer to pull behind it. After hooking it up and checking the operation of the lights, I seen that the turn signals on the trailer just give a little flicker and don't blink like they should. The brake and tail lights work like they are suppose to. It is not the trailer wiring, because I plugged it into my truck, and everything works normal. Could it be my flasher relay on my trike ? or is it possibly wired wrong? Any help will be appreciated.

 

[Marc H]

First off I have no personal experience with wiring on that kit but done my share of trailer wiring.Does the trailer use the same light for turn and stoplight like most?If it does you probably a taillight converter to get them working correctly.Someone with more experience may chime in soon to help further.

 

[mhgoldwing]

Weak turn signal probably due to being wired directly and not with an isolator like it should be. If you didn't use an isolator circuit then you are tied directly to the bikes electrical system. Any fault in the trailer could then wipe out the bike's electrics.

With an isolator ciruit employed, the bike's turn signal voltage is only used to trigger a relay which then it turns uses power directly from the battery to flash the turn signal. Several suppliers offer trailer wiring kits for the gold wings.

 

[tigi]

Thanks for the reply, not sure how it is wired, it was already wired when I purchased the trike.
I do know that there is a converter wired in the system.

 

[1dn5up]

Thanks for the reply, not sure how it is wired, it was already wired when I purchased the trike.
I do know that there is a converter wired in the system.

Just a shot in the dark :Shrug: but if the lights work but are dim or other unwanted lights come on also, usually means a bad or no ground .

 

[GoldWingrGreg]

I have a 1999 Goldwing with a CSC kit on it, and I picked up a little trailer to pull behind it. After hooking it up and checking the operation of the lights, I seen that the turn signals on the trailer just give a little flicker and don't blink like they should. The brake and tail lights work like they are suppose to. It is not the trailer wiring, because I plugged it into my truck, and everything works normal. Could it be my flasher relay on my trike ? or is it possibly wired wrong? Any help will be appreciated.

You might want to contact CSC. They probably have an electrical kit with an isolator that interfaces with your trike's wiring. Another option is this http://electricalconnection.com/index.php/product/isolator-honda-gl1500/

 

[pwhoever]

What kind of lights are on the trailer? If they are LED, it's possible that the converter won't work right. The converter has to be rated for LED lights or it won't work right. Found that out when I had wired my old bike for my trailer.

 

[tigi]

I have checked all the grounds, they are clean and tight. All the other lights do not go dim or flash when the turn signals are on. Neither the trailer or the trike lights are LED. Next weekend when I get some time, I'm going to take the seat and trunk off to see how the trailer light plug is wired. Thanks again for all of your replys

 

[1dn5up]

You might have a 5 wire to 4 wire converter :Shrug: If so then ck the terminal on the 5 for output comparison . I have seen them go coput.

 

[GoldWingrGreg]

All the other lights do not go dim or flash when the turn signals are on. Neither the trailer or the trike lights are LED.

Sorry ... don't know nothing about 1500s, but I'm sure your turn signals are nothing more then a common turn signal circuit. If so, you may need a different flasher that's able to flash correctly with add'l bulbs in the circuit.

 

[CrystalPistol]

I have a 1999 Goldwing with a CSC kit on it, and I picked up a little trailer to pull behind it. After hooking it up and checking the operation of the lights, I seen that the turn signals on the trailer just give a little flicker and don't blink like they should. The brake and tail lights work like they are suppose to. It is not the trailer wiring, because I plugged it into my truck, and everything works normal. Could it be my flasher relay on my trike ? or is it possibly wired wrong? Any help will be appreciated.

How many pins in the trailer - bike plug?

Are the trailer signal lights separate from brake lights (like the GL1500) or are they sharing the same lights?

 

[jredman]

I have a 1999 Goldwing with a CSC kit on it, and I picked up a little trailer to pull behind it. After hooking it up and checking the operation of the lights, I seen that the turn signals on the trailer just give a little flicker and don't blink like they should. The brake and tail lights work like they are suppose to. It is not the trailer wiring, because I plugged it into my truck, and everything works normal. Could it be my flasher relay on my trike ? or is it possibly wired wrong? Any help will be appreciated.

You did not mention anything about how many wires on on your trailer. If you have 4 wires in your trailer, you will need a 5 wire to 4 wire converter. I bought one for a Honda Goldwing and had a terrible time getting everything to work correctly and actually never did. I went to Walmart and just bought another 5 wire to 4 wire converter and it worked perfectly. That told me the original one I bought was no good.

 

[cjmitch]

What kind of lights are on the trailer? If they are LED, it's possible that the converter won't work right. The converter has to be rated for LED lights or it won't work right. Found that out when I had wired my old bike for my trailer.

Thanks for the reply, not sure how it is wired, it was already wired when I purchased the trike.
I do know that there is a converter wired in the system.

The first thing to ask, is if you mean isolater or converter.
Converters convert the 5 wire (Stop, running, lturn, rturn, ground) to 4 wire trailers (stop-lturn / stop-rturn, running, ground).
That is its only purpose
Isolater connects to the bike at certain points, (usually the white connectors under the seat or the top trunk hood) and uses relays to activate the functions of the turn signals, and pulls ground, and running lights directly from the battery of the bike and NOT through the bikes circuitry
That is its only purpose
The isolater will not care about leds or incandescent bulbs.
here is why...
The flasher under the cowl is what makes the turn signals flash.
If there is an isolater installed then isolater does not use a blinker, it uses the bikes blinker to activate a relay to activate the turn signal.
If the bikes turn signals are working then the bike flasher will not care because the trailers blinker does not grab power to activate through the flasher.

In most cases you should use an BOTH units.
ISOLATER to get off the bikes wiring AND a converter wired after it to convert the 5 wire to 4 wire (if necessary)

 

[cjmitch]

If you have 4 wires in your trailer, you will need a 5 wire to 4 wire converter.

And he should STILL get an isolater
In fact you should add an additional isloater to your bike if you plan to add any aux lighting to your bike.

run all of your lighting through that instead of the bike wiring.

 

[tigi]

Thank guys for all the great information. First of all the trailer has a 4 wire plug, and the turn signal lights share the same bulb for the brake lights, and they are not LED. The trike has separate turn signals from the brake lights, and they are not LED. Yes there is a 5 to 4 wire converter wired in the system. I do not know if there is a isolator wired in the system. My trike has a lot of show lights on it, and I know they are not wired through a isolator. I will check it this weekend to see how it is wired.

 

[tigi]

Just a question for cjmitch, or anybody else that wants to chime in. Will running my show lights through a isolator take some strain of my charging system. I already have a upgraded alternator with a AGM battery.

 

[cjmitch]

Just a question for cjmitch, or anybody else that wants to chime in. Will running my show lights through a isolator take some strain of my charging system. I already have a upgraded alternator with a AGM battery.

Under normal circumstances NO, it will not because it will all go back t the battery for power.

Theoretically though you could add an additional battery somewhere t o run your lights from, and as long as both batteries shared a common groung that would work...

But if you are running LED's the this is a moot point because their current draw is so low that it wont matter.