Re-Wire Or Not Re-Wire

[Brian B]

I have been reading over the trailer re-wiring advice you all have gave, which I think is great. My trailer wiring is inside the frame, and from what I gather, replacing those wires can be rather tedious and time consuming. Is there anyway I can check and see if the issue is with my light and/or connectors before re-wiring?

[Fishing Rhino]

Don't forget to check the fuses. Look in your owners manual, it will likely have fuses that are separate from those for the vehicle. I had a light problem with my trailer. The lights on the truck worked, but the trailer lights did not. Turn signal and brake lights worked, but the regular lights did not.

I fiddled with the connections, nothing. Then I tested with a voltmeter. No voltage at the plug's connection for the lights. All the connections at the harness and the plug on the truck looked okay. I was about to take it back to the dealer who installed the hitch. Then it occurred to me the trailer lights might have dedicated circuits with their own fuses. Checked the owners manual and sure enough it did.

It was the fuse. What happened was one of the wires to a tail light had become unplugged and apparently shorted on the frame as it was dangling around. That blew the fuse for the taillights and marker lights.

[FD.]

First, check your connection on the tow vehicle with a volt meter or test light to make sure you have signal coming back to the pigtail.

If that is good, check your ground wire to the trailer.

If that is good, hook up the trailer and disconnect one light at a time and check with either a volt meter or a test light. Make sure you have a good ground connection all the way back to the tow vehicle.

If all your lights are not working then

you have a blown fuse

you don't have a ground connection back to the battery

If that still does not do it, then PM me and I will walk you through the rewire. It is not as hard as you think.

FD