Posted 2010-11-08 8:38 PM (#126836) Subject: wiring issue... this is long, sorry :(
New User
Posts: 3
I have a 92 featherlite horse trailer; pulling it with a 2011 f-250. I have used a 6 way to a 7 way converter. Also did a direct wiring into a 7 way so that I could lose the converter. I have combed through most of the wiring on the trailer. I have found that 4 lights were installed after manufacturing (inside lighting), they were tapped into the white wire, which I previously thought was a ground, however today I found that the black wire (thought to be the 12v) is grounded into the trailer in one location (only ground I have found directly attached to the trailer thus far). My wiring configuration is as follows; black - ground, brown - parking lights, red - brakes, yellow - left turn, green - right turn, white - 12 v, inside lighting is attached to white wire with a blue wire. I changed the white / black wiring today after finding it grounded to the trailer with no improvement, I think is backwards because my back up brake battery is charged (I've checked and it is charged) by a black wire. My truck will read that the trailer is connected, when I go up a hill or accelerate quickly the truck will notify me that the trailer is disconnected, could something be rubbing on the trailer frame too. I also found and fixed a place where an aluminum rivet had cut through the blue wire that had been re-installed with the inside lighting. When I first purchased the trailer all lights (including inside) worked briefly, about an hour. My brakes, brake lights and turn signals work correctly.So if you can follow all of that.... My truck keeps blowing the 30a fuse / relay located in the engine compartment. It will get hot to the touch. The parking lights start out bright where the wiring is at its closest point to the truck and then it dims as the connection is farther from point of connection. Is my trailer pulling to much from my truck? Can I put a different fuse allowing more amps into the one holding the 30A now, or will it screw my truck up?I think my biggest problem is the black wire attached to my trailer as a ground, am I wrong? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Posted 2010-11-08 9:42 PM (#126838 - in reply to #126836) Subject: RE: wiring issue... this is long, sorry :(
Expert
Posts: 3853 Location: Vermont
First question...has this trailer been towed successfully before by you?If so, then one must assume that the wiring is basically good and you just need to get the correct combination at the plug...if NOT, then you are going to need a battery and a continuity tester...
Posted 2010-11-08 9:57 PM (#126840 - in reply to #126836) Subject: RE: wiring issue... this is long, sorry :(
New User
Posts: 3
I really do not know for sure if it has been towed without issues before me. Could it be that my truck is "touchier" than an older model? I removed the black ground and rewired the 7 way so that the ground is white and black is 12v. No change, now my truck says trailer disconnected". Lights are same as before. I have checked the firing pin with an VOM reader, everythings correct from the truck, I have used several different adapters / converters with still the same problem.
Posted 2010-11-09 12:06 PM (#126868 - in reply to #126836) Subject: RE: wiring issue... this is long, sorry :(
Expert
Posts: 3853 Location: Vermont
Matching new trailer vehicle combo - or - where does this wire come from? Find a wire long enough to easily reach from the trailer's plug to the rear lights and strip an inch of insulation from each end. Fold a bare end back and insert it in one of the holes in the plug. Remove the tail/turn signal bulbs, set the meter to ohms, high range, and connect it to the other end of the long wire. Probe the contacts in the the the bulb sockets. There is a better than average chance that one of them will complete a circuit without having to move the wire to another hole in the plug. If they all complete a circuit there is really a problem, so check them all just in case. Make a sketch of the plug, and note which contact in it corresponds to which contact at the rear. The tail light's contact can be differentiated from the turn signals at the plug because the sockets at the rear both have a tail light contact. In other words, one contact in the plug will make a complete circuit to both light sockets, whereas the signals will only complete a circuit once in each socket.The ground contact in the plug is easily identified by probing both bulb sockets themselves, not the contacts within them. (The lights ground through the sockets.) Like the tail lights, both sockets will complete a circuit through the long wire to one contact in the plug. (Of course, the whole problem may be that some wires are grounded which should not be, or which are contacting one another and should not be, so checking all the contacts is good policy. Making notes about the relationships discovered this way helps to clarify exactly what is going on.) A helper will save many trips to relocate the wire end in the plug, but unless this person is experienced, or a quick study who gets it right, this may only create confusion. In some instances the clip shown above right may be useful, twisted together with the long wire.
Posted 2010-11-09 11:07 PM (#126881 - in reply to #126836) Subject: RE: wiring issue... this is long, sorry :(
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
Over the years I've had to trouble shoot and rewire many trailer wiring systems. When you have a trailer that has wiring that doesn't match the coloured wiring codes, and has many repairs, it's difficult to know what wires do what.
I've found the easiest way to start their identifications, is to grab a standard battery charger and a nail. Clip the neg lead to the trailer at a good ground point, the other to the nail. Take the nail and touch one socket of the trailer's plug at a time. Identify which lights activate, and write down the results with which pin was used. At some point the charger will moan and the nail will spark. You have just found the ground wire.
By process of elimination, you can quickly determine which lights go to which wire. For the circuits that don't work, you should be able to identify their function by the elimination process. New wiring, lamp assemblies, bulbs or connectors may have to be substituted.
wiring issue... this is long, sorry :(
