Hi All

All the sudden (during mid tow) my 4Runner ceased doing stop and turn signals on the trailer. 4Runner headlights 'on' will light every light on the trailer, but turn signal or stop does nothing. 4Runner lights all fine with our without trailer connected. Trailer still works perfrctly with my Tacoma which has a Hoppy adapter. I had never needed that adapter on the 4Runner. I verified the trailer ground, and checked all the fuse boxes.

Looking for ANY ideas, willing to chase down any wild geese.

Thanks

Did you check the fillaments on the bulbs? Some bulbs have double fillaments and only one will fail. It's hard to say, but sometimes a wire will come loose and it looks like it's still connected. The wiring is pretty simple, so it's just a matter of finding out which is the affected wire and checking the wire out from end to end. You could buy a plug with LED lights that attaches to your vehicle harness. I've seen people out on the road with them, when they hit the brake they light up and when they signal they blink accordingly. I guess if you do that and the LED plug works good, then the problem is in the tailer somewhere. If you had a volt meter you should be able to read 12Volts at the vehicle harness. The harness has a ground wire which is the negative and every other wire performs a different task.....lights,brake,turn left,turn right. You can manually give 12Volts to the trailer harness too in order to isolate the problem. Usually after a couple of beers ideas start to flow.

Good idea on the LED and volt meter (and beer). I was hopping for a common 4Runner problem as the trailer lighting works fine on other rigs.

Thanks!

I suspect that your converter is bad. It's located in the left panel inside the trucks cargo area. I have replaced many of these on 4Runners. I just did one the other day. There are 2 connectors on the converter. One is the 'in' and one is the 'out'. The out side will have the same 4 wires that are at the trailer connector on the hitch. You'll want to check the other connector. Make sure that you have 1 ground, and all the rest will coinside with the functions that you are performing with the truck (brakes, lights, turn signals). If you have ground and all the powers work accordingly, then check the out side. You'll have 1 ground there, and 3 powers.... on when the lights are on, 1 with the left turn signal or brakes on, and one with the right turn signal or brakes on. If you have the 'in' powers and ground, and not the proper 'out', then the converter is bad.

THANKS!

Where exactly is this unit? Drivers side cargo area under the big plastic side panel? Any helpful hints to get to it?

I called the local Toy dealer to get the part (had a quick swap in mind) and I aparently asked in Klingon as he "knew not of what I speak." I will have to take the old one in and show them.

Thanks for the advice, any further help is much appreciated!!! Thanks again!

Yes, behind the big plastic panel. Remove the sill plate, the plastic piece across the the back of the floor covering the edge of the carpet. Then remove a few screws that hold that big plastic piece in place. You don't have to remove it completely, just enough to pull it back a bit at the rear. The converter in all the way at the back, just behind the tail light housing. It is usually stuck to the body panel with double sided tape. Hope that helps. E-mail me if you need more help. I have a Runner here at the house, I could take some pics and e-mail them to you if you need.

I have the same problem with my trailer light connector. Only the tail lights work. I saw the other postings about the problem may be with that converter, and I went in and pulled it out of my car. My problem is that no one at Toyota can find a part number for that converter. Does anyone by chance know what the part number is or where I can find a replacment.

Thanks

I've been having a problem with my trailer connections also. I have this Great Dane that chewed the wires off once. I fixed the problem, stripped the wires and used butt connectors to rejoin the wires. This time I hid the wires where you couldn't see them. The damn dog ate the wires again. This time, I could not fix it. I have to replace the plug part. Is there anything I could do to keep the dog from eating the wires?

Hi

This is aparently a common problem. I could not find the diagram for the converter in ANY shop manual. I ended up finding pieces parts of the diagram in a Seqouia manual.

Erndog1369 was a huge help in locating it- see above (Thanks Dude!)

Dealer was clueless about the part, so I went to Napa Auto Parts and got a Hoppy converter ($16) WITH bare wires, wacked out the cooked factory unit and its connectors and put the Hoopy one in.

I do NOT remember all the wiring. The trailer end was self explainitory, the white wire was frame ground IN and OUT of the Hoppy. I think Toyota solid green wire was marker lights- you will have to hit and miss on the turn and brake.

I have the same problem. Checked with the dealer today, they want $196.00 for that little box. They can shove it for the price!

Dont understand why dealer won't just sell that part, since it seems to be a major problem. Anyway, i fixed mine by going to napa parts (advice for other members...tnk u) and just bought a tail light converter, and followed the wireing scheme and connected it...works great..Good luck....

YOu can buy a replacement converter at the parts store for about 20 bucks... took about 30 mins or less to wire up and it all works flawlessly. I can post pics or wiring info to anyone who needs it