Upgrading Incandescent Tail Lights on 1991 Terry Resort to LED Lights with 3-Wire Design

Updated 09/24/2019 | Published 09/22/2019

Products Featured in This Question

Thinline LED Trailer Tail Light - Stop, Tail, Turn - Submersible - 9 Diodes - Red Lens

(1610)

$15.30

Cordless Circuit Tester

(15)

$20.91

Question:

Good morning, I recently bought a 1991 Terry resort 19foot trailer. I want/need to replace the taillights. The original incandescent light is approximately 3"x8.5"x1" with a single halogen bulb inside and 4 wires coming out of the trailer on each side. 2 green/1 black/1 white. All the new LED replacements I can find are only 3 wire. 1 ground and 2 functional wires. How can I hook up these new lights to the 4 wires trailer? I can imagine the 4 wires are white=ground, black=running?, 1 green=turn?, 1 green=brake? Thank you in advance!

asked by: Sean

Expert Reply:

I recommend the Optronics Low Profile RV Combination Tail Lights # RVSTL61 and # RVSTL60 to replace the old incandescent lights. These are LED like you wanted and match the dimensions of your existing tail lights (8-1/2" x 3") making them a perfect replacement. I recommend upgrading your clearance lights to LED as well to maintain an even amperage draw since LED lights draw only a fraction of the amperage when compared to incandescent. I have attached a link to our selection that will allow you to choose based on dimensions.

It looks like the original incandescent tail lights on your 1991 Terry Resort have 5 or 6 wires coming out of the tail light housing which could mean they had a separated and/or additional functions or the light featured multiple ground wires. On the trailer side the extra wire may be just a jumper wire from another light but the only way to know for sure is to test the wire functions with a circuit tester like # PTW2979 either by plugging the trailer to a vehicle or connecting it to a direct 12V supply like a battery.

You may want to consider just rewiring your trailer using the etrailer # 99010 cable and Junction Box # e99009 so all you have to do is run your trailer wires to the junction box, making the process simpler and less time consuming. It may seem like more work right now but it will save you a lot of time when troubleshooting wiring issues going forward.

I recommend checking out the Trailer Wiring help article I attached below.

expert reply by: Carla M