Foretravel Owners' Forum

Foretravel Motorhome Forums => Foretravel Tech Talk => Topic started by: kb0zke on April 06, 2014, 10:45:49 pm

Title: 93 U300 taillights
Post by: kb0zke on April 06, 2014, 10:45:49 pm
I know the headlights/parking lights are 93 Ford Bronco units, but what about the taillights? I want to add a flat four-wire pigtail in case we ever need to tow a small trailer (U-Haul). I had to put one on the Jeep, and that one was a little involved because the Jeep has separate brake and turn signals, just like the coach.
Title: Re: 93 U300 taillights
Post by: J. D. Stevens on April 06, 2014, 11:24:28 pm
Our coach has a converter that takes the separate turn/tail signals and combines them to a four wire connection. Ours came with the coach and is zip tied to a steel beam near the hitch. I expect you could find one on eBay or at U-Haul.

I want to get rid of the converter on our coach and use relays to drive the separate signals to the separate lights on our towed vehicle. We currently have two diodes (1.5 volt drop) between the signals from the coach and the towed vehicle. Using the relays and separate lamps should provide much brighter lamps.
Title: Re: 93 U300 taillights
Post by: JohnFitz on April 07, 2014, 12:25:47 am
I believe they are Isuzu Impulse, probably 1983 to 1987 (maybe later years as well). Makes sense
since FT introduced the GV in 86.  Foretravel mounts them on opposite sides, upside down.
But I don't think the wire harness is Isuzu - I'm pretty sure it's Foretravel wired.  I'm assuming you were asking because you thought you could buy a tow harness that would just plug into OEM wire connections?
Title: Re: 93 U300 taillights
Post by: Dave Cobb on April 07, 2014, 08:20:25 am
My 93 U225, had a Foretravel installed round trailer plug near the trailer hitch.  I use the round plug to a flat four to tow my trailer or Saturn.  My wiring diagrams have the pin out details for the Foretravel coach side of the systems.  The Foretravel end is small round, maybe 6, unlike the larger round 7.

You can buy an adapter for almost every combination of flat, round, or square ends at Tractor Supply, Auto Parts, Northern Tool, Harbor Freight, U-Haul, Camping Worlds, or hitch places.  You might want to also install a plug that delivers power to the Jeep if you are going to use an electric brake system.  Or if you need to keep the Jeep battery charged due to the key on if that applies. 
Title: Re: 93 U300 taillights
Post by: kb0zke on April 07, 2014, 09:13:46 am
Actually, the main use for the flat connector will be an LED strip for lights, turn signals, and high center brake light. Should I need to tow a small trailer with the coach I'd just disconnect that and plug in the trailer.
Title: Re: 93 U300 taillights
Post by: nitehawk on April 07, 2014, 04:49:54 pm
For about $9 you can purchase a six pin round plug that converts output to a flat four. It even has four LED indicator lites so you can check your wiring. NAPA is just another source, in addition to all the others mentioned above.
Title: Re: 93 U300 taillights
Post by: kb0zke on April 07, 2014, 06:16:58 pm
Since we will have a toad, the flat connector will be in addition to the round one already installed.
Title: Re: 93 U300 taillights
Post by: Dave Cobb on April 07, 2014, 06:33:31 pm
What about not touching the OEM tail lights, and connect your new wires to the coach side of the trailer plug?  I found the back side of the tail lights were hard to access and old.

I searched for 2 years for new Isuzu Impulse tail lights, never found any, except the old ones in a pile at Encore.  They were going to make up LED kits for the Grand Villa tail lights with new sockets.  The lens he had were rough, from take offs during upgrades.  From what I could find, the Impulse years we need were not big seller new.  I looked in other countries where they were sold, no luck there either.
Title: Re: 93 U300 taillights
Post by: kb0zke on April 07, 2014, 09:50:35 pm
Dave, that's what I was thinking, too. I did check JC Whitney's site, and they show an adapter. John Fitz raised an interesting point, though, about the connections not being Isuzu design. Might be worth a phone call to FT in the morning.
Title: Re: 93 U300 taillights
Post by: nitehawk on April 08, 2014, 08:50:58 am
Try to stay away from disturbing the Isuzu printed circuit "board". It is a green flexible plastic with printed circuits and bulb sockets on it. Circuits break very easily after age. I got our replacements from a salvage yard in Milwaukee for $65 (shipping included)
The adapter I mentioned just plugs into the regular round 6 or 7 pin plug on the back of your coach and does the conversion from the international taillight system to the old standard flat four. Couldn't be any easier!! No tearing into the coach wiring, no separate conversion box, and no additional connection to worry about. The four LED lights on the adapter/converter help diagnose and indicate if everything is OK every time you hook up.