trailer lighting question

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Hi all;
Hopefully there is someone here who can give me some insight. I took my boat out today to go duck hunting, and when I plugged in the trailer lights to the connector on my SUV, everything lit up. When I got to my hunting spot, and took the boat off, I noticed that none of the lights were working (this is before submerging the trailer). I just got done checking it out at home....no burned out bulbs, and the weird thing is that the turn indicator and brake light on the driver's side works, but none of the other lights (break lights, turn indicators, running lights) work. Any ideas? Could this be a fuse problem? This is only the second time I have used the trailer (built it from a kit....from Northern Tool). The vehicle is a 1999 Chevy Blazer, if that means anything. Thanks for any input.

[jpollman]

When you say that the drivers side turn indicator and brake light work, is that on the trailer ? Or trailer AND truck lights are malfunctioning ?

[trout]

99% of the time the culprit is a bad ground someplace.

[Mr. 16 gauge]

jpolllman;
Just the trailer lights are malfunctioning....the truck lights all work fine.

Trout;
I checked the ground wire; as a matter of fact, that was the first thing I checked, as I have had that problem before as well on other trailers. But if it was a faulty ground wire, wouldn't all the lights fail?

[jpollman]

Ok, that's what I figured.

I only asked because a few weeks ago I had a similar problem.
Upon replacing BOTH bulbs in the trailer, I found that the left worked fine but the right would light up but wouldn't flash or indicate braking. It was LATE and I had to be up at 3:30 a.m. to head up the Sanilac so I figured as long as the right side lit up I'd be fine for the trip.
3:30 came and I hit the road. Then I realized that the right turn signal on the truck didn't work either. I knew there was a problem I had to deal with. When I got home I found that the right turn signal wire had chafed against the trailer and shorted.
Rather than screw around I just replaced the entire harness. (For some reason I had one lying around)
I would agree with Trout though, CHECK YOUR GROUNDS !

When I wire a trailer I always run a separate ground wire all the way from each light all the way up to the connector. Another thing I always do is to SOLDER ALL CONNECTIONS !

Ok, enough rambling. I'd get under there and look at any areas that the wire passes through the frame or is held by a clip. There might be a short somewhere causing a problem.
I'll think some more about it and post here if I come up with anything else you could check.

Good luck !

[jpollman]

I just thought about one other point when it comes to grounds.

If you are using the trailer frame for a ground, I believe that you can lose just one light. If the ground connection on the trailer plug is connected to the trailer frame and that connection is good, you should be fine. But in that situation, if the ground connection between the mounting screw/bolt on the light itself corrodes and loses contact. Only THAT light will stop functioning.
That is why I run a separate ground wire from a mounting bolt on each light then run that wire up and connect it to the ground connection on the plug. One thing I did when I rewired my trailer a few weeks ago is to buy a can of "liquid electrical tape". I soldered all of the connections. Then when they cooled, I put a couple of coats of the liquid tape over the joint. Then when that's dry, I put a length of heat shrink tubing over the joint and shrink it. (Yes, you need to slip the tubing over the wire BEFORE you solder it :)) Then when all of the connections are made, I wrap them all together very tightly with another layer of regular electrical tape. Where I connect the ground wire to the mounting bolt of the light, I cleaned it very well and installed the "tinned" ground wire and tighened the nut up. Then I just coated the entire bolt area with the liquid tape. This should help slow down any corrosion problems for quite a while.

Ok, I see I've been rambling here again so I'll wrap it up.

P.S.
After spending about 2.5 hours on the rewire job, I took the boat back up to Sanilac the following day and proceeded to break the right side light off on the dock !:mad: It was JUST ONE OF THOSE DAYS !

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Thanks John;
I did solder the wires together....I also used that liquid tape as well to cover the soldered areas. If it is a short, what is the solution.....rewire the whole thing, or just cut and reconnect all the wires? I will triple check the ground, but again I ask the question....shouldnt' a faulty ground produce no lights whatsoever?

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Sorry John;
Posted at the same time you did......I see your point about the ground, but I don't think it is a corrosion problem; the trailer is only 4 weeks old. Will go back in the AM and recheck the ground again. Thanks for your input.

[jpollman]

Mr. 16,
I think we were typing at the same time. :)

If you have a short, all you'd have to do is cut the wire and resolder it. Then I'd treat it just like a "splice".

I see you're in Troy. I'm in Rochester. If you can't figure it out, give me a shout. Maybe I could come by and check it out first hand. I'm close by. I've had more trailer lighting problems than I care to think about. They can be a pain but I can usually correct them.

[Shoes]

Certainly sounds like a ground problem. Bad ground can cause lights to operate erratically. May sound crazy, but check the hitch. Make sure the ball and receiver are clean. I had a similar problem. A little sand paper corrected it immediately. Apparently made a better ground for the trailer frame. Hope it helps.

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Well, recoated the wires with both the liquid tape and the regular electrical tape. Reset the stinkin' ground wire 4 TIMES without any success. Got out the owners manual for the Blazer; didn't realize that there were 2 fuse boxes. The one in the engine compartment has fuses labeled for the trailer....found one that was burned out......BINGO! The running lights were working! But wait a minute....the right hand turn signal and brake light still don't work. Checked a few more fuses and found another one that was burned out. Replaced it and now everything seems fine (until next time!:rolleyes: ) Thanks to all for your input and help!

[trout]

OOPS
Forgot to tell you to check the fuse, thats number 1 :D
#2 is grounds :)

[Bob Schmidt]

Originally posted by Mr. 16 gauge
Hi all;
Hopefully there is someone here who can give me some insight. I took my boat out today to go duck hunting, and when I plugged in the trailer lights to the connector on my SUV, everything lit up. When I got to my hunting spot, and took the boat off, I noticed that none of the lights were working (this is before submerging the trailer). I just got done checking it out at home....no burned out bulbs, and the weird thing is that the turn indicator and brake light on the driver's side works, but none of the other lights (break lights, turn indicators, running lights) work. Any ideas? Could this be a fuse problem? This is only the second time I have used the trailer (built it from a kit....from Northern Tool). The vehicle is a 1999 Chevy Blazer, if that means anything. Thanks for any input.

Your truck has seperate trailer fuses in the underhood fuse block
that are independent of the vehicles lamps(if you used the factory trailer harness). Check them all and chances are you will find some blown. Rt turn, lft turn,and running lamps are all on seperate fuses. Good luck!! Let me know what you find.