tail lights

RA

rastilyn1

Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2018
Messages
17
Location
alabama
had to re wire my car trailer lights due to the old converter box not working. put all new wires and converter box in, tested them with a light tester. they all work right. problem is , hooked up to the camoer, the lights do not come on. does the camper need to be hooked up to the hitch to work? is there a switch or fuse in the camper? ahhhhh my brain is fried. need help. also does it have to be down for lights to come on?
 
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Hooking up to the TV gives you the ground for driving lights!

Trlr lights, not including the running or brake/turn, are fused in the trlr elect. box. Yes they are fused.

The interior lights and porch are on a trlr circuit.
The driving lights lights are fused on the TV circuits.
 
re did wiring on car again, everything tested fine. still can not get any lights to work on the outside. no running or break lights,
 
these are straight circuits.
Have you tested if power at 7pin plug when activated?
Have you tested the continuity of brake/running light wires?
Are the interior lights working?

re did wiring on car again????

It sounds like ALL are not working.
Do you know how to test your elect wiring?

Perhaps professional help is needed.

I got confused
You "installed a new converter box with new wiring". Have you tested the new converter?

I have asked you many questions.

YOUR TRLR RUNNING LIGHTS(brake, backup, perimeter) HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CONVERTER BOX. They are fused by the TV electr system.
I also stated this in the first post!

OH, TV means "tow vehicle"
 
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yes i have tested the 7 pin plug. yes i know how. the inner lights all work. from the end of the plug on the car everything works, i rewired the car twice with all new wires , hopkins 46155 custom wire set. every wire and connector was tested. as i said all lights on camper work with the exception of running lights and brake /blinker lights. when i plug in from car to camper, there is where the power stops.
 
Ok. Power is running converter, interior trlr lights work.

Now the 2nd system.
You have power to the 7 pin on the TV. And all of the turn signals, brake lights, etc work at the 7 pin?
Now, plug in the 7 pin to the trlr and test where the power goes on the trlr. trlr may be wired incorrectly.
Mine is old and has a multi post strip that all of the connections are assembled to. It is in the pump box in the A frame.
These connections may have been moved and not relaying power to the right point.
TRLR must be attached to the TV thru the hitch for ground to make the running lights work.
If no power to the lights, you will have to work backwards to find out why.

There are no fuses on the trlr that control the trlr running lights. Those are fused on the TV fuse box.
 
Just a maybe, but I use a small jumper wire and jump from the 11 o'clock to the 1 o'clock on the TRLR plug. Top of the plug being the lug. This power comes from the TRLR batt. Only the running lights and tail lights will light, up NOT brake or blinkers. But this should tell you if your getting power back there.
Tree
 
ok sorry i did not reply earlier but have been very busy packing camper for trip to gulf coast in the morning. lights are working . how ? well wife said put camper down , maybe it has to be down to work. so i put it down and lights magicly work. who knew? thanks everyone for the help.
 
Glad to hear all is well, have a great time! I just tried my lighting system both up and down. Lights on all the time and also with the jumper wire in place disconnected from the TV. I guess things change from time to time.
Tree
 
It sounds like there is a bad connection in the lights wire bundle. One place to check is where wires go up in the back corner inside the covered sleeve. You will probably see the wires connected wire nuts. Check those connections because they can flex when the top goes up and down. There is no reason why the lights would not be working with the top up other than a bad connection.
 
I'm with Rich. it would take a switch (possibly user installed) to intentionally disable the exterior lights with the top up. I think there's a wiring fault somewhere in your trailer. You should find it because you may not have brake or turn signal lights when on the road, due to road vibrations.

- Jack
 
I agree with both Jack and Rich. Look for a loose wire on the hot side and bad grounds. Bad grounds have always been a problem on most RVs. Also remove each bulb and clean the contacts and the bulb base. Put some dielectric grease on the contacts then reinstall the blubs. This works when an individual bulb is out, but it would be unusual for all bulbs on the same circuit to be out for the same reason.
 
rastilyn1 said:
ok sorry i did not reply earlier but have been very busy packing camper for trip to gulf coast in the morning. lights are working . how ? well wife said put camper down , maybe it has to be down to work. so i put it down and lights magicly work. who knew? thanks everyone for the help.
Click to expand...
Sounds like your wife is a keeper, better not let her get away, LOL!
 
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