She is bad luck - HELP

[Iowa Guy]

This is not a motorcycle thread but I still need help. My utility trailer has not had working lights for a while and I feel like my luck is running out. I was stopped once about a year ago and given a warning. So, I bought a new wiring kit, put it on just like the old wiring, fired up the van, turned the lights on, turning signals, hazards and walked back and checked each stage as I went. Everything was working great. Boy did I feel smart. Just then my wife came home. She said, " do the lights work now?". I said, "yes". She said "let me see". I thought "uh oh". She said, "step on the brakes" and then she said, the driver's side light goes out when you step on the brake. (OMG, she is a jinx).

 

So the question is - "Why would the left tail light go out when I put on the brake?"

 

Help - I really hate wiring.

 

Iowa Guy

[MikeWa]

Sounds like a bad bulb.

Mike

[Flyinfool]

Check ALL the bulbs for a burnt one. A burnt bulb can make weird things happen in other places.

 

Then check your grounds.

 

I never use the trailer frame for a ground, I run a ground wire everywhere.

[Bubber]

It is always the ground!

 

EVERY SINGLE TIME, it is always the ground!

 

I once sold a trailer to a guy and as expected he says do the lights work? Sure they work!

 

I spent the next hour trying to get them to work right and I kept telling the guy it was the ground. Finally in desperation I got in the truck and drove it around the parking lot and made a sharp turn over by where he was so that the trailer was at a sharp angle from the truck. Sure enough I got out and ran the lights and they all worked fine.

SO........It is always the ground!

:doh::doh::doh:

[Iowa Guy]

OKAY... I will check the ground first and then look for a burnt bulb.

 

Thanks.

 

Tim

 

[BuddyRich]

If you ground to the frame be sure to use a star washer and remove any paint before screwing it down. Then paint over it. If you ran the wire thru any parts of the metal frame be sure there's no sharp edges or corners from where they cut the frame. Don't depend on the hitch as a grounding point from vehicle to trailer. I've seen people do this then grease the ball real good. Duh! Ground your harness to the frame of the trailer also.

[Marcarl]

If you grounded to the trailer frame, grab a set of booster cables, using only the one side, black if you prefer, hook the one end to the trailer and the other end to the towing vehicle. If everything now works, you have a grounding issue. You need to be sure of your grounds everywhere, so as said before: ground all light fixtures with a ground wire (one wire going from light to light will be good) and then to the frame and then to the connector. From the connector also have a wire going to the tow vehicle frame. Once it's all working, go back and seal all the connectors and joints, including the ones on the tow vehicle. You can use black tape for sealing, but it's not the best. A liquid sealer is usually the best. You can use silicone as well.

[Flyinfool]

The reason I NEVER use the trailer frame for a ground is that many of them have components bolted together that were painted first. Even if you manage to get the frame ground to work now, it will not be long before you are chasing the same issues again due to corrosion.

 

If it makes you feel better to have the frame grounded, then go ahead and run a separate ground wire to the frame but do not make the frame part of the ground path for the lighting.

 

Some of the reasons that I do this;

Steel and/or aluminum are just not as good of conductors as copper wire.

The frame is a lot more prone to corrosion than the wires.

It is easy to seal up a wire to wire connection, it is very hard to seal every mechanical connection in the whole trailer frame.

When you use a terminal to make a frame connection, you are connecting dissimilar metals, add water and some road dirt and you have the perfect recipe for galvanic corrosion.

[dacheedah]

Agree that the ground is the likely culprit. After fighting boat trailer lights for sooo long I was advised by an old timer to run my ground around to each light. Now I never fight my lights. If a running light is working and you hit your breaks and the light goes off and your brake light goes on it is 1000% the ground.

[Iowa Guy]

Yup, it was the ground. They are working right now, however, I plan to follow up with the suggestions above for a better ground, running wires from each light. Thanks so much for this advice. Another reason that justifies the membership fee.

 

It seems that if this is a good idea, then better quality trailers would have this as part of the standard package rather than doing it ad hoc like this. Is this true?

 

Iowa Guy

 

[Flyinfool]

The only new trailer that I ever bought was a car hauler back when I was still running stock cars. Even though the frame was all welded construction it still had a ground wire to all lights. I have worked on MANY used trailers with light issues and running ground wires everywhere always fixed it permanently.