pirateslife
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1969 Shasta Compact
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Post by pirateslife on Apr 27, 2014 7:06:52 GMT -8
He got it fixed woohoooo
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Post by vikx on Apr 27, 2014 22:16:19 GMT -8
So what was the problem? A thread like this certainly needs a solution to help the rest of us.
Can you help Pirate?
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icon3000
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'64 Shasta Compact
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Post by icon3000 on Apr 28, 2014 7:18:08 GMT -8
So what was the problem? A thread like this certainly needs a solution to help the rest of us. Can you help Pirate? Guys we did it! Sorry for the delay all, I had no computer over the weekend and I wanted to upload photos with my response. I used everyone's advice, every technique and every troubleshoot scenario and it turns out the issue was... a grounding problem lol. I began testing at the box to make sure everything was working right. Using the battery charger wasn't working I started to think it was a problem with the charger so I pulled the battery out of my car and attached the grounding wire from the vehicle receptacle to the Negative (used electrical tape)  The I created a test platform, the key change was the ground running from the plate to the frame. 
I then began testing each lighting wire at the box (TM, LT, RT) by touching the hotwire from the vehicle recepticle to the Positive side of the battery. This was the first time I saw a light that made sense!
At this point I was I assumed it all came to the ground so I tested the light with and without the ground.
 
Once I saw it only worked when the ground was attached, the light bulb for the trailer wasn't the only one going off. I finally understood what you guys have been trying to tell me so I went through and did this test at every lighting point of the trailer.
 
(I used the same clearance light for the test everywhere just because it was easier) another key that you guys talked about was making sure the grounding point on the frame was clean, great troubleshooting tip.
The light activated at every point so I knew it all came back to grounding the lights back to the frame. I chose to not run a grounding wire from the junction box to every light.
There's a ground wire from the junction box to each tail light.
A ground wire from each clearance light to the frame. below is how I grounded the clearance lights. I realized they were grounded by the skin, but per recommendation I grounded them to the frame as well for extra insurance.
I attached the tow vehicle (on the ball hitch) and everything (TM, RT, LT) is working properly!
Concluding notes:
1. It's good to have multiple test methods. If the battery charger isn't working, use a battery; if a light doesn't light up, try a different bulb.
2. I mentioned earlier that I wanted to attach the turn signal wires at the clearance lights.. that doesn't work, I can explain if you want to IM me.
3. When the solution was found it seemed so simple, especially after the headaches I developed (being dramatic) from trying to figure this out. Of course everything seems simple once the problem is solved. Like everyone said it came down to making sure every light was properly gounded.
Thanks again for all the help. Let me know if anything I wrote is unclear! |
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John Palmer
Senior Member
Hi, From a vintage trailer guy located in Santa Ana, CA. It's good to see lots of activity here.
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Post by John Palmer on Apr 28, 2014 8:16:29 GMT -8
I'm glad that you found your problem.
You now have a better understanding why BigBill and I, always suggest to run a separate ground wire to each accessory during your initial rewire. It eliminates all of the problems for very little additional cost.
For anyone else following this thread. All that was necessary to diagnose this simple problem was to use a 20' long (temporary) test ground wire. Attached one end to the ground terminal in the seven way box. Then take the other end and touch it to each light base on the trailer while the vehicle lights are on. The trailer lights do not need to be removed for this test.
Electrical problems are usually easy to fix, but "we get frustrated" and make them difficult to diagnose.
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Post by bigbill on Apr 28, 2014 9:06:10 GMT -8
One addition to John's note above if you are using new plastic housing lights you have to ground to one of the mounting screws, the one with the metal tab running to the bulb socket. Glad you found your problem. The first clue to ground problems is other lights doing weird things, like you turn on your left turn signal and the right signal flashes dim. This is because the power is seeking a ground and going back through the tail light side of the bulb to a ground, you might even see your clearance lights barely flashing. LIGHT PROBLEMS CHECK YOUR GROUNDS.
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Post by vikx on Apr 28, 2014 9:22:06 GMT -8
Wonderful news and post Icon3000! I thank you very much for this follow up.
When in doubt, ground it again...
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icon3000
New Member
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'64 Shasta Compact
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Post by icon3000 on Aug 21, 2014 10:43:57 GMT -8
Hey guys I'm back with a wiring issue I haven't seen anyone else post about.
Turn and brake lights work; however, only when the headlights are turned off..
When the vehicle headlights are on the trailer lights are on full blast and barely flicker with the turn signal and breaks.
Basically I can drive in the day and that's it.. anyone heard of this problem before? Or have possible solutions?
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Post by bigbill on Aug 21, 2014 11:23:50 GMT -8
Yes you don't have them grounded properly so when the headlights are off they flow to ground through the tail light wires, when you turn on the head lights those wires become positive and the lights don't function. You could be losing your ground between the trailer and the tow vehicle or at the lights. But the first thing I would do is make sure that the trailer is grounded to the vehicle. The next question is do you have your lights setup with ground wires all the way to the trailer connector or are you trying to use the trailer skin. If lights are just grounded to trailer aluminum then try bonding the aluminum skin to the trailer frame.
For an easy test get a wire long enough to fasten to a good ground on the tow vehicle then touch the other end to the trailer frame and see if the lights work if not then remove a tail light lens and hold the ground wire against a ground point in the tail light and see what happens you merely keep checking along the ground circuit until you find the open path then repair it.
This is a fairly common problem that is why I always suggest running ground wires to each light and the trailer connector, it can save a lot of heart ache in the long run. Reread this entire thread and you will see that it is all a common problem and the solution is a PROPER GROUND almost always.
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Post by vikx on May 9, 2017 21:55:16 GMT -8
I agree. GROUND TROUBLE.
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Post by Ross on May 11, 2017 5:07:17 GMT -8
Here's one for you, I just found a buyer for our 1970 Shasta Starflyte and as I always do, go through ALL electrical systems, 12V, 30amp and the tow wiring. What I thought would be a simple tail light bulb replacement (running light filament was burned out), became a wiring mystery for me.
What should have been a simple 1157 bulb replacement, turned into a 2 day mad rush to figure the problem out. I, replaced the bulb socket, added a secondary ground to the tail lights (both of them), ran a hopper wire from the tail light to the 7 wire junction box (thinking that a wire inside the wall was shorting out) and still nothing!
It boiled down to a simple bulb replacement, just as I had originally thought. The MAIN difference is there are different double filament bulbs. Turns out, I needed a 2057 bulb and everything worked PERFECT! The 2057 bulbs fit tighter into the socket and the locking pins are located just a bit different than the 1157's.
Anyone else run into this kind of a bulb problem?
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Post by vikx on May 11, 2017 20:30:23 GMT -8
Ah, yes, those pesky bulbs. If the socket is an oddity, a bulb's contacts might not line up with the socket correctly. Also the little "nubs" on the side of the bulb have to be in the right position.
Sorry for your trouble but glad you got it fixed. My 68 Starflyte has 1157 bulbs and sockets...
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