LED Strip Recommendation for a Trailer for Additional Stop/Turn/Tail Function Visibility

Published 08/06/2014

Question:

hi, i ordered a couple led light strips and wanted to install them on the bottom back rail of my trailer as additional running lights and brake/signal lights. the led light strips only has 2 wires, a hot and a ground, however, i believe the trailer has 3 wires going to the tail light/brake light, a running light wire, brake/signal light wire, and a ground which is grounded through a nut and bolt on the trailer frame. i might have made a by splitting the hot wire into 2 wires by a connector connected to two wires same guage wire and spliced by t-tap into both the hot wire for the tail and brake/signal lights and i connected the ground directly to the frame nut and bolt that the brake light is grounded to. when i did all that and hooked it up, now my running lights on the side work when my turn signal and brake lights are applied through the truck. any thoughts?

asked by: Sidney

Expert Reply:

If your LED strips only have a power and ground wire then they only have one illumination intensity and would not work for what you are trying to do. I would un-install them and go back to the wiring setup you had previous for now.

Your best option would be to get the 3-Function LED Bar part # STL79RB that you referenced as this is specifically designed for what you are trying to do. I would run one on either side of your trailer. Connect the white wire to ground, the red wire will connect to the stop turn circuit of the side of the trailer it is installed on and the black wire will connect to the taillight circuit.

expert reply by: Jameson C