Wiring Wishbone Connector To Trailer With 4 Wires

Updated 03/04/2014 | Published 02/28/2014

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Pollak Black Plastic, 7-Pole, RV-Style Trailer Connector - Trailer End

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LCD Digital Circuit Tester

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Question:

im tryin to connect a wishbone thas has five wires into my trailer that only has 4. the wishbone is green. black, yellow, brown, and white, and my trailer is red green, brown and white, how do i connect them

asked by: Brian

Expert Reply:

The reason for four wires on your trailer is that one of the wires will normally be spliced toward the rear of the trailer and will run to both sides of the trailer for the running lights. I have attached a photo of a wishbone connector. You can see that the two wires highlighted with arrows are sharing the same pin on the connector. The green wire will connect to the right turn signal, the yellow wire to the left turn signal and the white wire will be the ground.

Typical trailer wiring will be a yellow wire for the left turn signal, green for the right turn signal, brown for the running lights, and white is for the ground on the trailer. Since you said the wires on your trailer are not the colors I mentioned, you will want to find out what each wire is used for. If you can visually check the wiring on the trailer back to the taillights, you might be able to determine what each wire is. If you are unable to see the wires and how they are run on the trailer, you will want to test the wires by function using a circuit tester like part # PTW2992. You will need a 12V power source to help you identify the functions of each of the four wires you have on your trailer.

I have attached a couple of helpful articles about wiring and how to troubleshoot.

expert reply by: Jeffrey L