Marker Lights - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

Elaine and Bill · 09-20-2014, 06:48 PM

All of our marker lights are not working! I checked the fuses in the TV and all appear intact...any suggestions?? Fortunately, our brakes work!! Thanks

Elaine and Bill · 09-20-2014, 06:59 PM

I should also mention our brake lights, hazards etc. do not work!!

JMDoering · 09-20-2014, 07:29 PM

Take a finger nail file and clean all the copper conductor blades in your trailer plug and the car's receiver socket. Pay particular attention to the ground wire conductors. Of course the safe thing to do is disconnect the batteries first! If that doesn't fix it, check for loose connections inside the plug and socket.

These things can oxidize/loosen over time. To impede future oxidation, spread a light coating of dielectric grease on all the conductors blades.

Jim

sam · 09-20-2014, 07:51 PM

One time we were towing our HiLo home from a two hr. travel time and DH had no brakes on the HIlO. As mentioned the connectors get corroded loose. Our HiLo dealer told us to change the connector pieces which we did. This would be cheap "insurance" if you were leaving for a long trip. He frequently changes all the connectors on the dealership equipment. He sells five hundred connector pieces a year. We also carry the dialectric grease with us as it is a small tube. We also have a can of silicone spray with us. The last campout DH sprayed the truck seat belts where the two pieces snap together. Works smooth now. Let us know if you get it fixed.

Elaine and Bill · 09-20-2014, 08:01 PM

Awesome advice! Will update with results!! TY!!

Elaine and Bill · 09-21-2014, 06:39 PM

I did the above but still have no lights. Fortunately we have brakes! I still can not understand why these work and the lights do not

I accessed HTF from the campground on my phone. I am now home looking over a few older posts with the same problem on the computer, so much easier...

This was only our second trip out this year…we have always used the contact spray, but never the dielectric grease...hoping to get this fixed quickly to enjoy some fall camping!

Thanks again!

JackandJanet · 09-21-2014, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elaine and Bill

I did the above but still have no lights. Fortunately we have brakes! I still can not understand why these work and the lights do not

This was only our second trip out this year…hoping to get this fixed to enjoy some fall camping!

Thanks again.

I wonder if they share a common ground that is faulty? IF you could attach a jumper wire to a known good ground, probably on the tow vehicle, then probe with a voltmeter at the positive wires at the lights with the voltmeter negative probe on the jumper wire. If you get voltage, it's a faulty ground.

AND, the fuse in your TV may look OK, but try replacing it with a known good one. (Or check it with an ohmmeter.)

- Jack

RichR · 09-22-2014, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackandJanet

I wonder if they share a common ground that is faulty? IF you could attach a jumper wire to a known good ground, probably on the tow vehicle, then probe with a voltmeter at the positive wires at the lights with the voltmeter negative probe on the jumper wire. If you get voltage, it's a faulty ground.

AND, the fuse in your TV may look OK, but try replacing it with a known good one. (Or check it with an ohmmeter.)

- Jack

Go to the terminal strip in the battery compartment and check for clean and tight connections where the pigtail to the TV are connected. Next, plug the pigtail into the TV and turn on the lights and check to see if there is power to the individual connections by using a test light or ohmmeter. As said above, check grounding.

JackandJanet · 09-22-2014, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichR

Go to the terminal strip in the battery compartment and check for clean and tight connections where the pigtail to the TV are connected. Next, check to see if there is power to the individual connections by using a test light or ohmmeter. As said above, check grounding.

Duh! Wish I'd thought of that. My poor old brain cells seem to be less and less lively. Great post, Rich.

- Jack

Norton Rider · 09-22-2014, 12:35 PM

Another check for ground is to connect a temporary jumper cable from a grounded metal surface on the TV to the ground stud on the trailer. Plug the trailer to the TV and see if that solves the problem. If it's not the ground wires, start working this methodically.

First, check the socket in the tow vehicle. Use a voltmeter and check every contact with the lights, brake lights, turn signals, etc, on and off. Alternatively you can use a trailer socket checker, but that doesn't give you the flexibility of a voltmeter. If everything is OK, check the trailer plug.

Make a set of jumper cables that you can connect to the trailer battery, or a spare battery. Connect the negative to the ground terminal in the plug. One by one connect the positive to each of the other terminals. Remove some of the rear bulbs and check for voltage with your voltmeter. Also, check the bulbs to make sure they are OK. If things check OK, you may have worn or corroded contacts in the trailer plug or socket. This is resulting in lack of contact when connected. If no good, trace the trailer plug wires to see if they terminate at a terminal block.

At the terminal block, use your test setup to apply power to each terminal. If the lights work, the problem is the trailer plug and/or cable. Replace them and make sure you wire them to the terminal block correctly.

Elaine and Bill · 09-22-2014, 07:26 PM

Thanks everyone - we will certainly try these recommendations. We hope to get this issue solved quickly~On another note, I called today to inquire about winter storage

We put her away the last weekend in October before the snow flies here in Ohio!

Elaine and Bill · 04-29-2015, 09:06 PM

We took our camper out of winter storage and to summer covered storage. Nothing is loaded and we hope to get this light issue resolved quickly! (I should have reviewed the posts again!!)

A fuse was bad in TV so we have now have Marker lights! We never lost back up lights or the electric brakes. We still do NOT have brake lights or turn signals. When testing the TV these all work (light up with volt tester).

Haven't had time to check trailer…I was wondering how the bulbs work? Could this be burnt out bulbs? (dual function for both brakes and signals?) I don't think we have have ever changed these!!

Thanks again! Happy Camping Everyone!!

sam · 04-29-2015, 10:42 PM

I would suspect it could be a burned out light bulb. Even if the bulb looks good change it and see if it solves your problem. We always carry spares. Some of the bulb sizes are a little odd and we got from our HiLo dealer. Other bulbs came from Walmart as the prices are lower than AutoZone. Let us know if you still are having problems.

RichR · 04-30-2015, 07:49 AM

Another spot to check is where the wires go from the bottom to the top section inside the cloth sleeve in the inside back corner next to the the vent pipe. There are probably connections on those wires. They are what carry all the 12 volt power to the upper section including all the inside and outside lights.

JIM L · 04-30-2015, 09:52 AM

The common connection for these circuits is the connectors at the tow vehicle bumper and the trailer pigtail. There are two seperate wires that control turn and stop lights and unless you have blown out 4 filiments, 2 bulbs, make sure the connection is good. The contacts inside the female plug at the TV connection can spread and not make a good connection. Dirt and corrosion at this point can also be the cause. Clean the connections and you can take a small blade screwdriver and bend the contacts in the female side of the connector closed. Hope this helps. Let us know what the fix is.

retiredcamper47 · 04-30-2015, 07:31 PM

Elaine & Bill,

1. Spray the trailer & tow vehicle plugs with a contact cleaner. Plug back together and see if lights work.

2. Take the trailer's electrical cord that plugs into your tow vehicle and hold it with the flat tab in a 12 o'clock position. Now place a 12v automotive flasher (2 prong) or a piece of romex wire into the slots that are at the 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock position of the flat tab. This will cause all of the exterior trailer lights to light using the trailer's battery. If the taillight/brake lights work, then the problem is in the tow vehicle.

3. HiLo used a small electronic device called a "brake light module" that connected the left, right, and center mount brake lights together. It is located behind the left taillight. Trade name is "StopLogic Module", part #AT-LC-1. It is made of metal with 3 prongs and is about 1 1/4" x 1 1/4" in size. You can google this item on your computer. These have been known to go bad over a period of time.

Hope this helps!

Bob

Elaine and Bill · 05-01-2015, 06:14 PM

We have always used electric contact spray (cleaner) and the plugs appears free of dirt and corrosion.

What is different about using the "test light" between these pins and "Romex cable"? Would they both be acting as a jumper wire?

Hoping to put this information to use very soon! We will not have a lot of time this weekend as we are celebrating daughter "A"s graduation from college

I will definitely post our findings.

Thanks

JIM L · 05-02-2015, 12:26 PM

On my 2805C all of the wires in the power cord (pigtail) go to a terminal block (strip) in the battery/pump box. If you have this terminal strip you should be able to check the voltages with a meter or test light with the power cord plugged into the tow vehicle. Much eaiser than trying to test for the voltage in the TV plug.

Hersbird · 05-06-2015, 01:11 PM

If you had a blown fuse in the tow vehicle then likely there is a shorted bulb or wire in the trailer that caused it. The brake circuit is completely separate from the brake light circuit so don't chase any rabbit trails there. I would look at the bulbs and their sockets before anything else, then check for voltage in those sockets or for an open circuit from the hitch to the bulb to see if it's making it all the way back ok. Just the bulb itself can burn out in a way that shorts it out and blows the fuse, I've had that happen on my boat trailer before.

Elaine and Bill · 05-07-2015, 12:10 AM

We have ALL of our lights! On Monday I went out to put a few things in for the season and when I plugged it in (off the ball) I had marker lights, turn signals and hazards, but couldn't try the trailer brake lights as I was alone. I did remove and replace each bulb involved and all the filaments looked good.

Today, we went to bring her home from storage and all lights were working (both on and off the hitch ball).

As crazy as it sounds, we are wondering if we really did have all of our lights once the fuse was replaced and just couldn't tell as it was an extremely bright day??

We did use the test meter once we changed the blown fuse (all worked as it should), removed and replaced the involved bulbs (all filaments were good), and sanded the hitch ball.

Last year I did a few things including reconnecting the ground wire at the front of the trailer, but that did not give us marker lights until the fuse was replaced!

Thank you everyone~so glad I didn't have to call for a service call!

(Not sure what "blew" the fuse to begin with…)

Daughter "B" graduates this Sunday from Ohio State; we are going to camp out at Alum Creek this weekend to be closer to the festivities!