headache

[dirtdiver]

I just got a light kit for my trailer becsause my lights had quite working. It was old and never been done so I figured I'd spend a few dollars and have a safely lit trailer. Anyway, the brake lights and turn signals work but the running lights and sidemarkers dont come on with my trucks headlights. Is the ground from the connector to the truck for just the running lights? Where should I look?

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: headache

What truck ???
3 main causes of trailer light failure or not operating correctly.

#1. Bad ground.
#2. Bad Ground.
#3. Bad Ground.

Some vehicles need a converter, that is why I ask.
Did the old lights ever work correctly with this truck ??

 

[dirtdiver]

Re: headache

yea they did. Its a 2010 F150. My guess since its not the turn signals the only ground left is the one at the hitch.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: headache

Could be the truck ???
You can get a little tester to plug in and check the vehicle out.

 

[dirtdiver]

Re: headache

I forgot about those, I'll pick one up tomorrow and see. I think its a bad ground but it doesnt hurt to check. Thanks

 

[bigcathunter]

Re: headache

With my ford sometimes the receiver gets rusty and the lights don't work right until you derive it and shke the rust loose in the hitch to get a good ground.

 

[elkhunter338]

Re: headache

You guys need to go back to electricity 101. If it was a bad ground then why are your turn signals working?
Turn signals also need a ground path.
Check your truck plug in with a test light to make sure you have lights at the plug in then work your way back from there.
You can quickly check your ground with a jumper wire between the truck frame and trailer, use an ohm meter to verify you have a good connection.

 

[woolznaz]

Re: headache

You may check for this. My trailer was doing the same thing.... all lights worked correctly except the running lights. I found out I had a fuse in my truck that was ONLY for the trailer running lights. It was blown. I replaced it and everything worked correctly. I would have looked for a bad ground forever and never found one. So, check to see if your truck has this same fuse. My truck is an F250 rather than a F150, but yours still may have the same fuse set up.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: headache

You guys need to go back to electricity 101. If it was a bad ground then why are your turn signals working?
Turn signals also need a ground path.
Check your truck plug in with a test light to make sure you have lights at the plug in then work your way back from there.
You can quickly check your ground with a jumper wire between the truck frame and trailer, use an ohm meter to verify you have a good connection.

bad grounds still apply, but not in the way you are thinking... almost all tail lights on a trailer have a ground wire, and that is BOLTED down at some point. Clearance lights have about a 50/50 shot of even having a ground wire (some grounds are just a piece of metal integrated into the light housing), and they are often mounted with sheet metal screws into the metal trailer frame. (aka really poor ground)

But... all that said, if its 100% of the clearance lights but everything else works, I'd test the vehicle harness first, and then follow the clearance wire back to figure out where it is either broken or shorted.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: headache

You guys need to go back to electricity 101. If it was a bad ground then why are your turn signals working?
Turn signals also need a ground path.
Check your truck plug in with a test light to make sure you have lights at the plug in then work your way back from there.
You can quickly check your ground with a jumper wire between the truck frame and trailer, use an ohm meter to verify you have a good connection.

Here's a suggestion you may have missed,

Could be the truck ???
You can get a little tester to plug in and check the vehicle out.

Don't know about anyone else but a bad ground can cause some to work fine, others not to work at all, some to go dim when turn signals are used, some go out when they are used. Anything strange and it is usually a bad ground.
Ask around. The trailer light ground is a thing of mystery at times.

 

[dirtdiver]

Re: headache

You may check for this. My trailer was doing the same thing.... all lights worked correctly except the running lights. I found out I had a fuse in my truck that was ONLY for the trailer running lights. It was blown. I replaced it and everything worked correctly. I would have looked for a bad ground forever and never found one. So, check to see if your truck has this same fuse. My truck is an F250 rather than a F150, but yours still may have the same fuse set up.

It was a fuze and a short... Thanks for the idea