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Heil Harvesting, Ulysses KS/Limon CO | Has Donahue changed there ways in the last 15 years and gone to using a standard color coding for their light wiring? I am just going to rewire a combine trailer in the morning and put 'standard' truck lights on the rear of it and 'standard' color coding.
Standard wiring:
White - Ground Return
Blue - Electric Brakes
Green - Tail, License and Running Lights
Black - Battery Charge
Red - Stop and Left-Hand Turn Signal
Brown - Stop and Right-Hand Turn Signal
Yellow - Back-up, Auxiliary Ground or Circuit
Gray - Auxiliary Circuit
Orange - Reefer (tag) or Stop
We have three of these trailers, 2 fixed width and 1 expandable. I rewired one of the fixed widths several years back and the color coding on it was all messed up--it is just a guessing game--I compared the one with working factory lights to the one with non-working factory lights tonight and they don't even have the same wiring colors doing the same thing. Very frustrating--especially considering they are consecutive serial numbers.
Just so someone does not get on to me for dragging a company through the dirt--I love my Donahue trailers. I wish they still made a combine trailer. We have 3 of these 45K lb rated trailers and have previously owned 3 of the 8 individual wheel trailers (which while they are not functional for hauling todays combines to the day are the best riding trailer ever built).
This wiring deal is a mess though and is all factory. I should have just set out to rewire it from the get go. Factory wiring that was done with scotch locks (http://www.nutsandbolts.com/1614-scotch-lock-electrical-terminals-blue-qty-100-p-2215.html?zenid=1sl8f801hsebjb4tl32mfjpbg7) is a joke. If I would have just rewired the thing it would be done--instead I am rewiring in the morning. Darned near wore out a test light tonight...
Edited by beh 7/2/2011 01:03
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| I have refused to continue looking at new trailers with Scotch-Lok joints, and really upset sales reps with comments like "anybody that would use these have to be questioned on the rest of their trailer". Sealed lights and harnesses, heat shrink, and cable clamps are a must. Industry standard of wiring colors are; black and brown are taillights and markers, right turn is green, left turn is yellow, brake is red, and blue is spare (be it powered or switched). White is ground, and should be carried via wire to all loads as well as thru the chassis. That's seven wires and colors for use with seven connector plugs and sockets, additional circuits will either be duplexed, or require an additional plug/socket. |
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Goff, Kansas (Nemaha County) USA | Industry standard is different between 6 and 7 pole and also 7 pole flat and 7 pole round can be/is different too, the worst thing about the "standard" is that in most cases it really isn't standard but more so majority! lol! I feel your pain on the frustration of "what wire goes where" it can make you pull your hair out. Here are scans of the wiring diagrams according to Croft Trailer, they always have good information in the back of their books and are great people to deal with for parts, even if at times price is a lil higher than some others. Good luck!
edit: Also adding this along with 4-5 pole on the wiki.
Edited by gregsagandauto 7/2/2011 11:23
 (6-7 pole wiring diag 001.jpg)
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 6-7 pole wiring diag 001.jpg (41KB - 443 downloads)
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| I guess I was thinking semi and commercial applications. The camper and RV industry should be shoot for screwing with a 50 years "standard". The auto makers are not much better. And we wonder why our country is struggling like it is. Sure seems like everybody want to be different just to confuse people. We have stuck with the semi usage plan on all trucks and trailers. |
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West Texas | I didn't know they were called scotchlock but yeah, those things are worthless. I have found them on our Donahue gooseneck too and they are the cause for lots of problems. |
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Brazilton KS | Where did you get your "standard?" Standard is green right, yellow left, red shop, brown marker, black ground. |
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West Texas | That's what I thought too but then I'm not sure what semi trailers use? I thought they might have a different standard?
Our Donahue is now wired correct. I wasn't before. Made it fun the first time someone forgot to unplug the lights and drove out from under it. |
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Heil Harvesting, Ulysses KS/Limon CO | I lazily copied that off the internet in frustration. That is incorrect though the source (or I think I got it off the Polak website anyways) I would think would know. Your colors is what my cheat sheet in the terminal box would indicate to be correct and is what I was actually using.
On a side note, it would be interesting to know if the standard I copied and pasted would have solved some of my problems. It is right now, with truck lights. And they WORK!
Edit: I copied and pasted out of a chart, that may or may not have something to do with it as well...
Edited by beh 7/2/2011 13:52
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| Blue ?
white here is ground |
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| I think you will find white is always ground. If you check the wire size on 7 wire semi cord, the white is a size larger as it needs to carry the return current for all the others. As negative ground vehicles are now the norm, sooner or later one is faced with the challenge of some items being black and white wires, and a mating circuit being black and red. Common sense would say, yea, the black is ground, but in most cases it's the white. Maybe a carryover from wiring where white is the neutral, and sooner or later is tied to ground.. When we used to do a lot more truck and trailer wiring, we had sticker/label printed up that listed the plug/socket and wiring colors lay-out. |
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Southern Alberta Canada | You guys are right about truck wiring and RV wiring being different. All this preaching about "saftey" and these idiots allow this to continue...
Also quality of wiring, bet some trailer and truck body manufacturers don't spend $50 wiring a semi trailer or dump body, as long as the lights work when it leaves the shop it can get a national safety sticker. |
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Light wiring--Donahue trailers
