Right side trailer lights not working

[Hawkeye 04]

I've notices that the right brake lights on both of my trailers quit working and thought they burned out. I went to replace them and they are fine. I checked the power on my big round plug and my flat 4 and the right side brake light doesn't have any juice coming to it with the brake or turn signal. The brake lights on the truck work just fine.

Where do I need to start looking for the problem? Are there seperate fuses? I would have thought they are all on the same fuse... .

Any help is appreciated. John

 

[MechanicMike]

check the fuses in the distribution box under the hood. I believe there is seperate fuses for everything. I had a similar prob with the turn signals on my trailer, wound up being a blown fuse

Hope this helps. Mike

 

[Wheezy]

The guy across the street had the exact same problem... Ended up being the distribution block itself. He had the Carmax Extended Warranty, and was a good thing because that part was like 600 bones and only available through the dealer.



John

 

[MMeier]

Trailer running lights, left and right turn signals are all seperate fuses on the newer trucks. Main thing is to figure out what caused it to blow in the first place.

 

[Hawkeye 04]

The guy across the street had the exact same problem... Ended up being the distribution block itself. He had the Carmax Extended Warranty, and was a good thing because that part was like 600 bones and only available through the dealer.



John

If it is the juction box, why couldn't I just use the right turn signal on the truck to trip a relay and tie that into my wiring harness?



I checked the fuses that show they are tied into the trailer brakes, but didn't see anything out of line. Anyone know if it's tied into another fuse?



Thanks for the input guys!

 

[wgood]

Hawkeye,

Look in the fuse box under the hood. There is a fuse that controls the right brake light and the right turn signal for the trailer only. There is another fuse that controls the left brake light and the left turn signal for the trailer only. Inside the lid of the fuse box is a listing and these two are clearly labeled.

Good luck.

Bill

 

[MacHaggis]

I'd suspect the fuse, too. I'd also second what MMeier said. If you find a blown fuse, check both trailers for the short that caused it. On each one, try both the turn and the brake circuits to try and blow it again. If both circuits blow the fuse, it'll likely be on the trailer. If only one (turn or brake) blows the fuse, it could be in the truck wiring, but may also be inside the plug on the pigtail.



Trailer wiring is on the short list of things that will run me nuts the fastest. A cracked lens or housing can let in enough moisture to short out. I've found chafed wires, defective bulb mounts, a stray piece of stranded wire going to ground in the plug (that one was REALLY annoying! . . . )



Good luck

 

[JKing]

I have the same issue. Thought it must be the right trailer light bulb, replaced and it worked... . for a while. Took the bulb out and tried it in the left trailer light and it worked fine. Now sometimes the right side works, sometimes it doesn't. If it doesn't, I remove and insert the 7 pin plug a half a dozen times and it works until I unhook. When I pull the trailer again, I have to do the plug in, plug out, plug in exercise again. I'll get it looked at when I take the truck in before the 36k warranty deadline.

 

[Cattletrkr]

7-way RV plugs suck. Take a little screwdriver and move the blades a little. Sometimes they just make crappy contact. Semi-truck plugs work the best, so why don't I have one????



I've had fuses just blow for no apparent reason. I've had to replace them on my truck and never found what caused it to blow and it doesn't blow again.

a stray piece of stranded wire going to ground in the plug

I'd have to be committed after that one.

 

[Hawkeye 04]

Hey Guys, it was the fuse. I'm pretty sure it happened from backing the boat into the water without unplugging first.

Thanks again for all the help... . John