The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay brake light wiring with new turn signals on '50 3100 (NOT addressed)

I put turn signals on '50 1/2 ton, and everything works perfectly; but now it's time to hook up the brake lights (by the way, have lights on both sides in rear).

According to instructions for turn signals (I'm using the standard aftermarket ones that you've all seen), it says to hook up the red wire from signal to brake switch, then other pole from brake switch to hot.

So where do the wires from brake light connect to???? There are two wires coming from each light, and each is connected to its corresponding wire on other light. The bottom bulbs go toturn signal switch, but, again, where do wires coming from top bulb (used for brake lights) connect to? thanks.

Well, I have never put on a aftermarket column switch but the brake switch has a hot and a feed, as you say. When the brake pedal is pushed the switch puts hot to the red wire. That red wire will light the brake bulb. See where it goes. It probably goes into column switch and back out to brake lights. Don't the instructions tell you that? There will be wires from the Turn switch that need to be wired to blinker and brake lights. The only other way is the red wire is attached to the brake wires, that will make them light up. Do some testing. Make sure you are going thru fuses.
NOTE: On a Task Force stock turn signal switch, everything goes thru that switch, including the stop lights.

Let me try this again. I need to know where the wires coming from the brake bulbs go. The instructions (very very rudimentary) say that the red wire from signal switch goes to one of brake switch posts, and the other brake switch post goes to 'hot'. So where do the wires coming from brake bulbs go? If they're not hooked up to anything, they can't light up!

Read my post again. I believe you have some unterminated wires coming from column switch. YES OR NO. If so, push on brakes and see if they become hot. Sounds like they are sending hot into the column switch with red wire so..... it has to come back out on some wire(s) then go to BULBS.

Original brake lights were hooked up to the brake switch under the floor. Hot on one side, switch in the middle and brake lights on the other side of the switch. When the pedal was pushed down the switch made contact and the lights got voltage. Ground was through the housing to the frame. I hope this helps.

My truck 52 1/2 ton has the "old" 4 wire turn signal switch. That means I have a set of lights just for turn signals. Original lights for Brake and Tail lights. Looks good to me with both sets of lights on the back. Newer switch will integrate the brake lights and the turn signals. More wires than I have. Brake lights are tied together through the switch for the brake switch and separated for tun signal function in the switch. Original turn signals were a Dealer option and set on top of the front fender. Mine were just a ball of rust and not repairable. So I moved them to the park lights in the grill. I hope this helps and not confusing you. Look at the wire diagram and trace with colored pencils might help.

Here is Std 7 wire aftermarket signal sw
Enlarge to read, don't know if colors match but hookup is the same. You can figure it out by elimination and testing.
Here is what the diagram says.

GRN: RF
RED: Brake LT SW (as you said)(you probably have the pressure sensing kind)
BRN: Stop/Turn RR
ORN: Stop/Turn LR
BLU: Flasher Vert blade (P)
Other vert blade (X) to 12V
BLK: Flasher Horiz blade (L)
YEL: LF
If using 2 blade flasher, connect both BLU and BLK to "L" blade on flasher.
Park lamps and rear tail lamps not shown.

You say you have two wires on each lamp. One is for the tail lights/running lights/parking lights, one is for the turn/stop. Brightest is turn/stop. The lamp housing is probably ground. Sounds like you have one of the two wires hooked to something. Bottom line: Hook the left bright bulb wire to the turn signal switch proper wire. Hook the right bright bulb wire to other turn signal switch proper wire. Hook the other "less bright" bulb wires together and to the dash headlight switch proper terminal. If you know which bulb is for what, disregard my bright/less bright designation. Post now fully addressed.

The way I read it, he has one bulb set up for turn signals and another bulb set up for brake lights. Typical installations are the turn signal / brake combo light where you would wire the single bulb through the switch. So, if the brake light is separate from the turn signal, the turn signal light goes through the turn signal switch. The brake light bulb would be separate from that system and only wire through the brake light switch. Steve H has it right.

I said that option in my first post. SEE: "The only other way......" Smith, you didn't say anything about the tail lights/running lights? I am going by the fact that he has a "new" 7 wire Column switch, and that's how it's wired. That's how it's done on stock TF also. It's not how he has it "set up" that matters. He is asking how to do it. If the instruction says "to hook up the red wire from signal to brake switch, then other pole from brake switch to hot." It's obvious they don't want you to hook the brake lights directly to the brake switch. The AD's didn't come with turn signals, one bulb was wired to the brake switch and one bulb was wired to headlight switch and ground was housing to body, etc. To hook up signals, you have to put an extra function on one bulb AND you have to wire it up per the signal switch instructions. Try hooking up like the diagram and the instructions I posted. OR... see the tech tip By Cletis in the tip section under electrical. "TURN SIGNAL-HOW TO WIRE". We don't know the brand or how many wires coming out of the unit. The poster says we all know that.
NOTE: The Cletis tip deals with Signal-Stat brand and neither wiring chart matches my diagram. My diagram matches the posters red wire hook up per his instructions. He may not have Signal-Stat and may have a brand to be wired as I show.

The way I'm understanding it, we are talking the difference between this: http://www.a1leasing.com/uimages/vehicle_images/5_X_8_Trailer_Image_2.jpg which is a turn signal / brake light combined style and this: http://www.xlspecializedtrailer.com/webres/Image/options/aluminum-taillight-trailer-lrg.jpg in which the turn signal and brake light are separate. In this instance, the outer lights are brake lights only while the inners are turnsignal only, regardless of running light.

With the first style, everything is run through the turn signal switch. With the second style, the inners are run the the turn signal switch while the outers are only run through the brake switch.

So the set up does matter. When he says "I put turn signals on '50 1/2 ton, and everything works perfectly; but now it's time to hook up the brake lights (by the way, have lights on both sides in rear)." to me says he added separate turn signal lights and still has to hook up the separate brake lights. The running lights aren't an issue.

Well, guess we'll have to wait till he comes back. I think we have "addressed" it. If the "NOT addressed" means he did not get responses, he sure has them now.

Ok so maybe I was not too clear. It happens. There are 2 ways to hook up turn signal lights. Both are addressed here and with a bit of patient study the diagrams will make sense. Love the trailer pics by the way. It will get clearer as he works his way through it. "bartamos" has covered it rather well. Try tracing the function of each wire and forget the color for a bit. I bet it all works with no real trouble. Fuse each wire for safety and try it. Seven wires= integrated. 5 wires= separate. 5 wire will have one to each light. Left front, Left rear, Right front, and Right rear. One left over for power. Inside will be a switch, and a flasher. Power will go through the flasher to the switch and then to a pair of wires. Left or right. Nothing to the brake light switch at all. That and what has been listed by bartamos will cover it.

Curious as to what the OP found.

Ok, I am working this as well and just want to make sure I have this straight. I have the 7 wire turn signal kit and it is wired as per the diagram that came with it. So now, running to the back of the truck, I have 3 wires. Two are for turn/stop and one each goes to the tail lights, left and right. The third, runs to both to run the tail lights. Does this sound correct?

Almost right. You should have one for left brake/turn, one for right brake/turn and one for both tail lights and tag light.

Got it. Thanks, had it right in my head but I appreciate the detail in your reply.

I have the same set up on my 58 with the universal 7 wire column mount. Mine is wired per instructions except the red wire running from the brake switch. This wire I did not use because it was not clear where to interrupt the original brake wiring. Everything works on mine except the left turn .When I apply the brake the flasher stops .If I wiggle the turn signal arm it flashes. I returned the turn signal and they sent me another , it does the same. So does the red wire from the turn signal go with power feed before the stop light switch or after the stop switch?

It goes to the switch. Power to the other side of switch.