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Posted: 4/29/2021 7:34:06 PM EDT
Bought a new travel trailer last weekend and the lights worked fine for the ride home. Today I see that the running lights and the tail lights do not come on when I turn the headlights on.
Turn signals and brake lights work fine. What the heck is going on??? I'm taking it on its maiden trip next Thursday and would like to have this figured out. Won't be driving at night, so it's not a show stopper. Any ideas? Disclaimer: I know nothing of wiring. People are shocked at how bad of an electrician I am 
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Posted: 4/29/2021 7:48:13 PM EDT
[#1]
At the risk of sounding stupid, you did connect the cable from the trailer to the tow vehicle, right? (you said that you were really bad with electrical so I am asking......)
New trailer as in "brand new"? Or new to you? Does it have its own battery? Is it dead? Do you have a meter? |
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Posted: 4/29/2021 7:53:46 PM EDT
[#2]
Yes, it's connected to the TV.
It's brand spankin' new. The battery is fully charged. Yes, I have a meter. |
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Posted: 4/29/2021 7:56:57 PM EDT
[#3]
If brand new, the factory probably didn't put light bulbs in it
Otherwise I got nothing |
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Posted: 4/29/2021 8:04:17 PM EDT
[#4]
Take it to the dealer.
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Posted: 4/29/2021 8:26:47 PM EDT
[#5]
I had a similar issue with a cargo trailer once. I figured that the battery was dead. I started to hook jumper cables from the TV to the trailer battery and as soon as I connected the negative terminals from battery to battery the lights came on. I never hooked positive to positive. Investigating further I determined that I had a bad ground on the trailer frame.
But if this is a new trailer then there isn’t much that you should do before contacting the dealer. |
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Posted: 4/29/2021 8:41:11 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Take it to the dealer. If it is simple fix maybe the dealer will get right to it. Most likely, it will be ready a week from next year |
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Posted: 4/29/2021 9:31:05 PM EDT
[#7]
On a 7 way plug- running lights hot/+ is 10 o’clock on the trailer plug (brown) and 2 o’clock on the truck
Ground/negative- 12 o’clock. (White) Check the truck first- could be a fuse. Trailer side- check the brown wire for 12v positive. You obviously have ground to the trailer if the turn signals and brakes work. (No need to check) Standard flat plug- Brown is hot/+ and white is ground/negative. Do the same. Check hot leads on trailer side to make sure they are not grounded. Simply put the meter on the speaker setting and put a lead on brown and a lead on white. This would be a short for the dealer to fix if you get a tone from the meter. Otherwise it Sounds like a connector for the brown wire on the trailer side has lost connection. You can follow it and find where it came loose. |
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Posted: 4/29/2021 9:36:54 PM EDT
[#8]
Check the fuse on your truck.
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Posted: 4/29/2021 9:50:20 PM EDT
[#9]
Spend a few bucks on a wiring tester. I’m going to assume it has a 7-pole round plug receptacle, here’s the receptacle/plug wiring diagram
 Attached Filejust use a test light connected to the truck battery’s negative terminal while someone operates the lights. If everything works fine at the truck receptacle, slide the plug boot back and give all the wires a tug to make sure they’re connected to the plug. The wires will be under a bit of tension inside the boot due to their stiffness and the limited room, it’s not uncommon for them to pull out of their sockets. The screws holding them in are kinda wimpy. |
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Posted: 5/2/2021 12:32:50 PM EDT
[#10]
Did you test your lights with the trailer hooked to the ball of the truck. Part of the ground system on many units relies on the trailer being physically connected to the tow vehicle. Other things mentioned before, check your fuse, check your electrical hook up and make sure its clean and the connection is correct with the trailer. Get a 7 pin tester most of them will also check the 4 pin flat connector.
Most of the time with electrical its a ground issue. |
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Posted: 5/2/2021 1:40:32 PM EDT
[#11]
Well I plugged the camper in to my tow vehicle today to move it a bit and the freakin' lights worked! What the hell...I didn't do anything!
Unplugged it, plugged it back in and they didn't work. Jiggled the plug a bit and they came on, so it's a plug issue. Unplugged it, used a screwdriver to bend the contacts a little tighter, and added some dielectric grease. I guess I'll just have to see how it works out. |
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Posted: 5/7/2021 7:56:41 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Well I plugged the camper in to my tow vehicle today to move it a bit and the freakin' lights worked! What the hell...I didn't do anything! Unplugged it, plugged it back in and they didn't work. Jiggled the plug a bit and they came on, so it's a plug issue. Unplugged it, used a screwdriver to bend the contacts a little tighter, and added some dielectric grease. I guess I'll just have to see how it works out. If this happens again, try to insert and remove the plug a dozen times. This usually helps to self-clean the contacts in the plug. Good call on dielectric grease. If you are in the middle of nowhere and don't have it, any bearing grease or even a tiny amount of engine oil on the contacts will help to clean the contacts and to improve the connection. Just use common sense and don't put too much grease or oil as it will cause all the dust stick to the contacts. Obviously, it's best to clean the contacts properly. Pencil eraser works great for cleaning contacts, followed by Electric Cleaner (or brake cleaner). DeoxIt works well too. |
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Posted: 5/10/2021 2:27:37 PM EDT
[#13]
Some (all?) trailers use the ball contact as the ground. If ball is rusty it might not make contact. I fought no lights for a week till I cleaned my balls??
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Posted: 5/10/2021 10:43:13 PM EDT
[#14]
check the ground and use contact grease
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Posted: 5/11/2021 6:44:55 AM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Some (all?) trailers use the ball contact as the ground. If ball is rusty it might not make contact. I fought no lights for a week till I cleaned my balls?? Even a flat 4 connector has a ground wire. If the trailer has to ground through the hitch and ball you have a wiring harness problem. |
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Posted: 8/27/2021 9:44:50 PM EDT
[#16]
I agree,you have either a hot wire or ground issue but I bet it's a ground issue but your right it is in the plug.
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Posted: 8/29/2021 2:44:18 PM EDT
[#17]
Problem solved.
The wiring connection to the back of the 7-pin plug was loose. Tightend it and all works fine. |
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