gmac
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Post by gmac on Feb 27, 2024 15:17:25 GMT -8
Hello, everyone do we have any electricians out there? I have a 10x6 utility trailer bought in 1998. I bought a Nissan frontier truck a couple of yrs. ago and had to put a trailer connector on it. I found out that all Nissans already have a place to plug in under the truck and then another in the kick panel on the pass side. So really was kind of easy. It has been working good up until the other day I have no taillights. I have everything else, so I started with the trailer and no power to the taillights but power to the others. So, I put a lighted tester on my flat 4-way truck connector and tested them there. Well, no taillights but had everything else. So, does anybody on this forum had experience with something like this? I don't know where to go it has to be in the harnesses someplace. I hate to buy another harness they cost over $50. So, I will wait for a reply, and I will try to answer all of your questions.
Thks gmac
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John Palmer
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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 Feb 28, 2024 14:00:55 GMT -8
You need to diagnose the cause of why you no longer have taillights first. You have to fix the "cause", so it does not keep reoccurring. For example, if you have a bare wire on the trailer, it will continue blowing the taillight fuse in the truck. Disconnect the trailer and fix the truck tail lights first (likely a blown fuse).
Then you can use a cheap Ohm Meter to find the short in your trailer's wiring. 99.9% of all trailers light issues fall into two areas. Bad connections, or bad grounds. You can have current right to the trailer taillight bulb, and it still will not work without a good ground back to your truck's battery. The white wire should be your trailer ground wire. Electricity has to make the complete circuit to light the bulb.
You would benefit by having someone with some 12v DC experience help you learn the ropes. It's not difficult if explained in front of you but can be frustrating.
John
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Post by vikx on Feb 28, 2024 17:03:34 GMT -8
I agree; check the trailer tail lights fuse in the truck. It might be labeled differently than "tail lights" which could be only truck tails... Check your trailer plug and wiring running to the tails to hunt for bare wires as well. Some cargo trailers have wiring inside the walls or on top near the roof but easy to find. You can also test your wiring like this: vintagetrailertalk.freeforums.net/thread/11040/testing-trailer-wiringA bright spark when testing a wire can indicate a short. |
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gmac
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Post by gmac on Feb 29, 2024 3:51:08 GMT -8
The lights on the truck work it is in the wiring on the trailer connector that is on the truck that feeds the trailer
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Post by vikx on Feb 29, 2024 13:39:52 GMT -8
There are TWO Different lighting fuses in many modern vehicles. One runs the vehicle tail lights, the other protects the trailer light circuit.
Check online for your vehicle fuse locations. My Trailblazer ended up with the trailer light fuse under the back seat...One skinny copper wire had grounded out inside a light.
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ruderunner
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Post by ruderunner on Mar 2, 2024 4:54:27 GMT -8
This. Many newer trucks that come pre-wired for towing have separate fuses for the trailer wiring.
That's a feature I add to my old junk for towing.
Of course one needs to figure out why the fuse blew originally, that requires an ohm meter and patience.
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