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Post by Teachndad on Oct 12, 2019 22:14:42 GMT -8
Hi Friends,
Took my Rod and Reel out to a rally this weekend. My R and R has been sitting since May and all lights worked at that time as I had to drive 3 hours at night.
Jump to this weekend and I did the pre - tow walk around lights test and find that the left and right signals work as well as the hazards and brake, but the tail lights and running lights are dead. I was traveling during the day, so I was fine, but I need to fix this issue.
Anyone got any ideas? Headlights on my TV - 2012 Honda Ridgeline activate when the headlights are activated and the truck tail lights activate, but not on the trailer. Wires all attached in a junction box under the trailer. All lights have been working normally for about two years since I bought the trailer.
Thanks,
Rod
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ruderunner
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Post by ruderunner on Oct 13, 2019 3:18:12 GMT -8
First thing we need to figure out is whether the problem is the trailer or tow vehicle.
Note that just because the lights work on the tow vehicle doesn't mean that the plug has power. Lots of modern trucks are equipped with a separate trailer harness and fuses for it.
You'll need a test light and do some probing of the plug. Iirc they do make a test unit that simply plugs into the tow vehicle and you can check for power that way.
If no power on the truck, check the owner's manual for trailer fuses, probably in an underhood fuse block.
If the truck checks out, time to look at the trailer. Since all lights on the circuit are out, id start where they splice together. Especially if you used wire nuts, they don't like vibration much.
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Post by bigbill on Oct 13, 2019 12:53:13 GMT -8
The very first thing I do when some of my lights don't work is plug and unplug the connector 4 or 5 times. Over the years I have solved many peoples light problems that way. This sounds ridiculous but just a small amount of dirt or oxidation can kept one terminal from making a connection. If this fails to solve problem get a simple test light and go to vehicle receptacle to see if you have power there, if not then start checking out the tow vehicle for the problem. If you have power there then start checking the trailer. A word of caution make certain test light has a good clean ground and is in proper working order. An example is my utility trailer it sits around some times for months and I hook it up and only some of the lights work so I cycle the Bargeman plug as mention above then I go to the four wire plug that adapts my Bargeman to the trailers four wire system and cycle it this almost always solves the problem. In case you are wondering why I use an adapter instead of changing the plug to match my vehicle I keep it like that so if someone borrows it and has a four wire plug on there vehicle I just remove adapter and they are ready to go.
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Post by vikx on Oct 13, 2019 19:58:50 GMT -8
Test the trailer WITHOUT the vehicle. I use a 12 volt battery and power each wire individually. Be sure you have a secure ground to the trailer frame during the test.
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Post by Teachndad on Oct 18, 2019 20:36:15 GMT -8
Hi Friends, Thank you for the responses. I started with my Honda Ridgeline. I spent a paltry $9 on a Curt 7 blade circuit tester model 58270 form Amazon. It looks like this:  It worked like a charm. Once inserted into the rear 7 pin receptacle, the light for the marker lights failed to light. Some research on the web yielded a third fuse box on the first generation Honda Ridgelines under the hood on the driver's side. I didn't realize it was there before. That research also showed which fuse - a 20 amp mini fuse found in the number 7 slot. I swapped it out with a new one and the circuit tester showed a complete circuit. However, could there be a problem elsewhere that's causing the blown fuse? Cheers, Rod |
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Post by vikx on Oct 18, 2019 22:44:06 GMT -8
Test the trailer WITHOUT the vehicle.
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ruderunner
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Post by ruderunner on Oct 19, 2019 4:52:24 GMT -8
Have you towed anything else with the Ridgeline? I used to hate towing other peoples trailers because of the electrical nightmares most were.
I took a cue from the oem and started installing seperate trailer harnesess on my trucks so a bad trailer won't disable the truck.
At this point, Vicx is correct, time to start testing trailers.
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chriss
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Post by chriss on Oct 19, 2019 8:14:57 GMT -8
Not sure why the fuse blew, but if you don't have a tow package, which includes a wiring harness, then you have to splice into your existing factory harness. The vehicle manufacturers will use the smallest wire they can get away with and fuse it accordingly. This will run the vehicle lights just fine and will probably handle a small trailer with a few lights.
With larger trailers, you still have 1 stop/turn bulb, but many more running lights. I have 5 on my small camper. Bigger ones with clearance lights can overload a stock vehicle harness.
The tow package harness on my vehicle includes a relay box witg a 10ga primary feed. All it does is use the factory curcuit to operate the relays. It has its own fuse.
I don't know the specifics of your Ridgeline, or if it has a factory tow package.
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Post by Teachndad on Oct 19, 2019 9:02:15 GMT -8
Hi Chriss,
The first generation Ridge comes with a tow package. They all did. The wiring was stock and the the third fuse box is dedicated to the trailer, I believe. Everything I have read on the first generation Ridge was about how they designed it for towing. I am only presuming that the wiring for the trailer was designed for towing as well. But, you never know. I will look at the incoming wiring into that third fusebox to see the guage.
As for the trailer, it's under a tarp that takes me 30 minutes to re attach. Maybe on Veterans Day I can check.
Cheers,
Rod
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Post by bigbill on Oct 19, 2019 10:50:05 GMT -8
Remember a high resistance connection can blow a fuse. I would plug the trailer back in and see what happens. As I stated above sometimes it is just a dirty connection. Start with the simple things then go to the more difficult ones as needed. This is why modern repair manuals have a flow chart to make your life simpler and to save you money. Some times a simple spider web in the slot of the connector can cause this problem but sometimes it could be a bare wire somewhere in the trailer or a defective bulb socket or who knows what. If the fuse isn't blowing accept when you have connected the trailer the problem is most likely not in the tow vehicle unless the vehicle connector is faulty.
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Post by vikx on Oct 19, 2019 21:42:29 GMT -8
I hate to say this: why ask for advice if you can't/won't follow it??
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Post by Teachndad on Oct 20, 2019 21:04:31 GMT -8
I am sorry, but what didn't I follow?
I took Ruderunners advice and tested my tow vehicle.
I re-inserted the plug into the receptacle that Big Bill suggested several times and it had no effect.
Then I said I could get to the trailer on Veteran's Day and check it.
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Post by vikx on Oct 21, 2019 11:05:48 GMT -8
As Ruderunner said, "At this point, Vikx is correct, time to start testing trailers."
Since this thread started with the Rod and Reel, I assumed you were concerned that the tail and running lights weren't working ON THAT TRAILER.
Good advice above on the tow vehicle. Trailers should ALWAYS be tested separately from the tow vehicle. If you don't know how to do that, there are threads here that explain exactly how to go about it.
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