Conference wahoo::fishing

    From what I have heard hooking up trailer lights to some cars/trucks 
    can cause the on board computer to malfunction (I'm not sure why)
    these "thinges" aparently Keep the trailer lights isolated from the 
    rest of the elec system. It might be a good idea to have a heavy duty 
    flasher in your truck also, since most cant handle the extra load of the 
    trailers lights.
    
    Shawn

    Jack,
    	How's it going other than the lights? Remeber me,Mr.couldn't
    make up his mind on which boat to buy(Your right,I already want
    a bigger one). 
    	Anyhow getting back to your problem. I'm making a couple of
    assumptions here. The black box your refering to I think is used
    beacause your directional lights and stop lights are on a seperate
    circuit. Most boat hook ups get away with having the 4 wire set
    up. One is ground,one is the running lights,and the other two are
    the right and left directionals that also include the stop lights.
    	My Cherokee has separate wires for the stop lights,running
    lights,and one wire each for the right and left directional. So
    add the ground wire in and now your talking 5 wires. The black box
    takes the 5 wire input and brings it out to the standard 4 wire
    connector. Mine like yours is all expoxied and you can't do anything
    with it. I believe there's some swtiching circuitry in there to
    make the 5 wire input act like the 4 wire out put at your connector.
    (I could get into all the details but it doesn't really matter because
    the box is sealed).
    	The only thing I can suggest is again check all the connections
    for corrosion and clean them,Check the grounds. Then if this doesn't
    fix it,does your right directional on the towing vehicle work fine
    with out the trailer hooked up. If it does then it sounds like the
    input going into that black box is fine and it's probobly the black
    box. If it's not working fine and has the same symptom as what your
    seeing on the trailer,then I think it has something to do with your
    wiring on the Towing vehicle.
    	One little hint Connectors for the lamps sometimes look good
    and there not. If your pretty handy with a crimping tool or soldering
    wires, I'd cut the one you getting the low voltage reading on to
    isolate it and check it. That way you eliminate the load it's going
    to, as a potential problem. You can always splice it back together
    later. You don't want to buy a new black box unless you pretty
    confident you've eliminated everything else. Also as mentioned earlier
    a heavy duty flasher is a good think to invest in. 
    
                                       Good Luck,
    						Gary

    I've read that the 4to5 convertors use diodes that are fairly easy
    to "blow" (destroy) with voltage spikes (and perhaps short circuits).
    Heavy duty convertors are available that use relays instead of diodes.
    I've seen these convertors recommended for use with large trailers,
    etc.
    
    Try replacing the convertor.
    
    Regards,
    Russ

    
    	Jack,
    
    	I had somewhat of the same problem with one of them converter
    	'thingies' - and the converter was BRAND NEW.  Problem was loose
    	solder on two of the wires.  On mine, I could peel back the
    	label to reveal two screws which held the cover on.  Unscrew,
    	pop the cover, resolder, put it back together, SECURE the wires
    	so it won't happen again (silicone worked good), and connect
    	it back up.  I had to use silicone because every time (4-5)
    	I put the cover back on, the wire notches in the box weren't
    	deep enough, and the wire pulled off of the solder.  Needless
    	to say, when I was done with it, it was in no condition to be
    	returned for a refund!  But, it works now. ;^)
    
    	Moe

    This is great. Thanks for the last few replys.
    
    I left it just the way it was - I had a tourney on Saturday and
    didnt want to end up with  'no' lights. 
    
    To restate - if I measure from the plug at the truck, JUST the right
    blinker is showing REAL low volts compared to the left blinker.
    
    I first towed the boat with my VW Quantum (No - they dont make reels!)
    It has a 5 cylinder Audi engine. Worked great till I had to drag
    it out of a few 'soft'? ramps.....
    I installed the same black box thinkie in it and I extracted the
    thing last night. But before I swapr the trucks, Im checking the
    wiring in what I installed. I also will do some surgery on the unit
    in the truck to see if I can tell. Will report back. I doubt it
    get half a short, but wonder if i have a total disconnect  from
    the right side blinker. Time to go exploring with my meter some
    more.                               
         Jack -who shud be loading line for the winni derby....

     Jack,
    
     I was wondering if you ever found out what the problem was with
     your lights because my truck seems to be doing the same thing!!
     
     In my case when I put on my brake lights the right one is really
     bright because both the brake & tail lights are on at the same
     time.
    
     Bass-O-Matic
    

    I swapped the exact  unit I installed in the car. Worked after that.
    I think the little box thingie has got several diodes to prevent
    the trailer/hitch wiring from shorting out the trucks wiring.
    Case closed. Replace the 'black box thingie'. Ive not tried to pry
    open the broke one to see what the problem is.