2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission electrical problem

[Yellowlab]

was wondering if any one could help out here. Truck info in sig. I was doing some work on my boat trailer lights and when I hooked it up to my truck I could not get the truck to turn over. I had it sitting on the hitch of the truck and the lights plugged in for a while before I tried to start it. Anyways, I unhooked it all and it started up fine after it sat for a few hours. Ever since then I have had a problem with the lights on the left side of the truck. When I turn on the left blinker it bllinks really fast inside the truck. The front turn signal blinks fast, and the rear turn no workie at all. The brake light on the left no workie either. I cant think of what the heck happened. Any hints as to what to do. I cant find my manuals since I moved a few months ago so I dont know which fuse goes to what. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Thomas]

Is the provision for trailer wiring OEM vs. some hatchet aftermarket job?

If the batteries are original they might be the cause of your starting problem.

The fast blinking is due to the fact that the electronic flasher is "seeing" an open circuit (no bulb, blown filament, poor connection) at the left rear. Try replacing the left tail/stop light bulb.

 

[MKline]

I know from experience that electrical problems can be a PITA. 50% of the time it seems to be a grounding issue, especially with trailers. If your batteries are good I would start with cleaning all the grounds to the body and frame.

 

[DieselDoghouse]

:--) Does this boat trailer have electric brakes and could the coils have gotten across something they shouldn't have - like the lamping circuits?? Not to be a pessimist but I don't like trailer harnesses that can prevent cranking - that's a biggie. Pull the flasher and make sure its ok. You may next need to isolate each truck lamp harness and check it in case something grounded out in the fray - fast flashing and a failed lamp unit makes me wonder about wiring fault. Also - how about taking the trailer (the culprit?) and ringing out each circuit using a battery charger and some test clips - incase there was a hidden short?? Best o' luck!!

 

[ScottLewis]

Not sure about current products but the older flasher units were considered "balanced" for the light circuit load. When you added extra lights to the circuit you had to exchange the flasher for a "heavy duty" one that would handle the extra load. They also flashed rapidly when one of the bulbs were blown. All the previous suggestions are valid. Electrical gremlins are best killed by systematically tracking down the fault.

Careful with the battery charger, applying power to the wrong truck circuit could cost you plenty.



Dan

 

[Thomas]

The flasher unit model year 2001 is electronic - no "heavy duty" needed. From the model year 2001 Factory Service Manual:

... The combination flasher contains active electronic Integrated Circuitry (IC) elements. This flasher is designed to handle the current flow requirements of the factory-installed lighting. If supplemental lighting is added to the turn signal lamp circuits, such as when towing a trailer with lights, the combination flasher will automatically try to compensate to keep the flash rate the same.

 

[DieselDoghouse]

Good point, Dan, on the Charger - and to clarify I meant taking the charger to ring out the isolated trailer wiring NOT the truck harness. Battery charger on wrong harness leads can let out much smoke!!

 

[Short Stack]

Yellowlab, did you replace the tail light bulb? I know mine blinks fast if one bulb burns out, or does it keep burning the bulb out? It could just be the bulb.

 

[Yellowlab]

thanks for the help guys. Sorry for not getting back sooner, I have been out of town and just got back. I took the bulbs out and looked at them to see if they were bad, and they looked fine, so I just swapped both lights out to the other side to see if the problem would jump over there, but both sides worked just fine! So I guess that the problem was they were just coming loose in the harness. Course in the process of going through this I noticed that the side view mirrors are not getting power and cant move those, back to doing it manual! If its not one thing its another. Take care