trailer lights: blinker and brake work, regular NOT???

[RDelissen]

Hello,



the topic pretty much says it:

on the trailer the regular lights quit working, but the brake lights and blinker lights still work (on the truck everything works as it should)?

I tried to find info through the search, but that didn't help much.



Any info is welcome

 

[cojhl2]

Start at the Plug. Determine which terminal is for the running lights(tail). Trun the towing vehicle lights on, check the plug, then go either way from there!!

 

[CPittman]

Its the fuse...

There is a 30 amp fuse under the hood that controls the trailer parking lights (running lights - I call them). Pull it, it will be blown, replace it with spares from Radio Shack (cheaper than the dealer) and go on about your business.



Just went through the same thing when I switched my ATV trailer from regular bulbs to LED - replaced the fuse and all is well.



Good luck!

 

[RDelissen]

thanks for the suggestions

Just checked the fuse and even though it wasn't blown, I switched it with the same amperage (40A) next to it and now the lights work (yesterday I tried cleaning the connector with QD di-electric grease and that didn't help) ...

must be one of them things :-laf

 

[MacHaggis]

Clean both sides of the plug and apply a dab of dielectric grease to each pin on both ends, then stick with CPittman for starters. If the fuse is shot, do the obvious. If it blows again, run a test light from the correct pin on your truck plug to a ground on the truck. If that doesn't blow the fuse, the problem will be on the trailer (most likely in the end, anyway).



If it blows again . . . this may be the worst one to chase down, depending on how many running lights you have. If there's a lot of them, try to find one that doesn't work before the fuse blows. This may require a helper to check the back end. If one of them is dim or not lighting at all (even with a new good bulb), you may find it's a bad/wet fixture or a chafed wire going to it. If you can identify one bad fixture, check it out for a short (fixture and hot lead). If you can't identify it that way, you're gonna have to go one by one through the fixtures (look for continuity to ground with the bulb out--no continuity is right). If that's all good, look for a chafed wire. Depending what you have for fixtures and how many, it's hard to say which one would be eaier to check first.



If the new fuse didn't blow and you don't have lights, check the plug first, then look for a broken wire.