Hopkins 48915 60 Tail Light Converter

FIRST I NEED TO GO FROM A WIRE HARNESS THAT RUNS BACK UP LIGHTS, STOP LIGHTS, TURN LIGHTS, AND CLEARANCE LIGHTS. ALL SEPARATE SIGNAL CIRCUITS FROM THE TOW VEHICLE TO POWER CLEARANCE AND COMBINATION STOP AND DIRECTIONAL LIGHT BULBS. A 4 WIRE SYSTEM, YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME LOGIC CONVERSION. THE DIRECTIONALS MUST BLINK THE BRAKE LIGHTS ON ONE SIDE WITHOUT AFFECTING THE BRAKE LIGHTS ON THE OTHER. THAT IS THE CNALLENGE THIS DEVICE SOLVES. THIS THING ACTUALLY WORKS AND WAS REALLY EASY TO INSTALL. YOU CAN DESIGN AND MAKE ONE OF THESE BUT THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN MAKE ONE AT TEN TIMES THE COST OF DOING IT YOURSELF. THIS IS POTTED, CHEAP, EFFECTIVE, AND ABOVE ALL SIMPLE TO USE. THE HARDEST DECISION WAS TO REALIZE THAT YOU MUST PUT IT BETWEEN THE CABLE ON THE TOW VEHICLE AND THE CONNECTOR LEAVING THE VEHICLE. IN MY CASE I CHOSE THE AMAZON SAME BRAND 4 WIRE ROUND TRAILER CONNECTOR. THIS IS NOT SIMPLE AS THERE IS SHEET METAL BETWEEN THE TWO DEVICES CONNECTED BY FOUR WIRES IF YOUR TRAILER CONNECTOR IS BODY MOUNTED. CONVERTER TO WIRE--- THROUGH BODY METAL--- TO CONNECTOR THAT IS LATER BOLTED DOWN FROM THE OUTSIDE. SEQUENCE IS WRITTEN IN STONE. NOTICE THE WORD 'LATER'.

Installed one of these on a 2004 civic a few years ago and it still works great. Installed this one on a 2010 Subaru Impreza 2.5i, which was much easier. Tail lights come off easy and there is plenty of slack in the wiring on the light side of the harness connector. Using add on splice connectors is no problem. On left light hooked up left turn, brake and ground (have a self tapping metal screw handy to hook up the ground). On the car the brake wire is RED, Left turn is white with black stripe. On right light hooked up right turn and running light wires. On the car the right turn is white with black stripe. Running light is green. Look where the wires are going to on the light unit and it's pretty easy to figure out. The wires can go right down into the bumper cover from the tail light compartments and down to the hitch where I zip-tied the plug to the hitch frame. Easy peasy.

The converter has no installation instructions as the manufacturer assumes you either know how to install it or you're resourceful enough to research the matter online...but it does have a guide which tells what colors the wires go to in your vehicle. Also, it does not come with any automotive wire taps, which can be bought at any auto parts store for a fair price. What does this converter do? Let's say you have a vehicle that has separate bulbs for brakes and turn signals...most trailers have lights which use the same bulb for both brake and turn signals. This converter lets you electronically integrate both different systems harmoniously to work well. It's the best thing to do, as I've seen some who ignore that matter and their trailer lights do not work out well when it's not done right. This is a must-have device to have if your tow vehicle has separate brakes and turn signals. Once installed, just troubleshoot & verify function with either your trailer or an LED trailer light tester which plugs into your vehicle's trailer plug. It's very small and even fits on a keychain, available online or many auto parts stores. Then...tow away, knowing you're towing safe as far as lighting goes. So don't skimp...buy this if you plan on towing. You don't need this if your vehicle uses the same bulb for both turn signals & brakes...just buy a straight-wire towing plug.

Muy bueno

Plug and play are easier, but works well.

Just the part I needed couldn’t find anywhere else

This trailer adapter will probably do the job for few times I expect to use it, but there are better designs, including some by Hopkins (which their tech support kindly pointed out to me when I complained about that, and the missing contact grease, which they supplied) as other reviews have noted. Trailer converters are needed when connecting a trailer which conventionally has "2-wire" lighting (as goes through a 4-pin connector, ground, common running lights, and high (brake or blinking signal) for each side to a vehicle with "3-wire" lighting (each side has ground and 3 wires: running (parking), brake, and turn in a separate bulb). Some converters have the module (which sends each side's Brake XOR Turn to that side's High on the trailer) near the car, and a long flat 4-conductor cable between the module and the vehicle-side jack. This design avoids having any run of 4-conductor cable by putting the jack with the module, which means it is exposed and subject to damage. When that happens -- other reviewers have said the ground plug breaks off easily -- the entire product will need to be replaced. I did not like that the 5 conductors were not zipped into a flat cable, meaning there was 5 feet of each of 5 colors of wires to get tangled when I stuff it into the side panel when not in use. To remedy this I made the lovely braid pictured, at the cost of some length, which is just as good as I'd rather connect the U-Haul extension to this product inside my vehicle. (To make a 5-strand braid, lay the strands flat and bring the outside strand from first one side then the other over to the middle of the other 4 strands.) You could also use frequent zip ties or tape. The instructions should make it more explicit that you cannot test your connections incrementally. Connect white to ground and brown to running/parking, and the brown output on a 4-wire, or the running light on the LED tester you should buy as an add-on purchase, will have +12v. But sending +12v on any of the signal lines (green = right turn, yellow = left turn, red = brake) will not give a signal on the corresponding trailer line or lines unless the other lines are at ground potential, as would be the case if they are connected to an unlit bulb. The module must be sending a microcurrent back through the unlit bulbs, not enough to make them illuminate. That is not necessary, and is probably to allow less expensive manufacturing, but if your towing vehicle doesn't have bulbs in place you have bigger problems. Use the brown input or a tester to make sure you've tapped into the correct vehicle wire, or wait until all the wires are connected to test and troubleshoot. If you have any doubts about your abilities to tap into the correct wires, or to make the splice, or to run a wire along the back of your vehicle from the opposite side turn signal to the side where all the other connections are made, you should spend the extra $10 or $15 for an adapter with plug-in Tee connectors specific for your vehicle.

My OEM converter failed and I had no right turn signal. I wired in this converter and everything works as it should. It converts five wire tail/brake/ and amber turn signals (5 wire including ground) into tail/brake/red turn signals (4 wires including ground). For Brakes, both turn lamps come on, if you're turning, the correct turn signal blinks while the other glows full on. I saved a lot of money with this converter and doing the work myself. I have a diesel pusher motorhome and I'm towing a Subaru using magnetic trailer lights. I have over 25,000 miles with this rig with no problems on the road.

Facile à installer très bon produit fonctionne très bien

Wired up for my trailer works wonderfully

Perfect solution for my Harley Softail to Sidecar lighting connection. Easy to install, quick shipping.

Worked well. Delivered quickly.

Good product works perfect on my Ranger!!!