SFR Chasing down trailer light problems (on the tow vehicle side)

Sorta fishing-related
SurfnFish said:
X2....been to that dance way too many times. These days I just pull off the old lights and wiring, install a new set of LED's and fresh wiring to the receiver, $75 and a couple of hours, done.
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If ya did it right the 1st time or maybe the 2nd.....you wouldn't need to do the dance so many times.
 
It seems like I have to rewire my boat trailer at five years or so. Shit just wear out, rattles loose, or gets damage at rough launches. I use the old wires to pull the new wires through the frame. Something I did the last time that seems to have increased the longevity of the installation is liquid tape. I wire nut the connections and then fill the nuts with the liquid tape. Boom! Water tight connection. Another thing that will help with all trailers if rewiring is to use the marine grade tinned wire.
 
Nick Clayton said:
I'd replace all the fuses for all things trailer related, even if they don't obviously look blown. When I bought my current truck and hooked it up to my boat I had similar problems. Looked at all the fuses and they all looked fine, but decided to replace them all anyway and it solved the issue. Fuses are funny like that.

You may have already done so, just a suggestion if you haven't.
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charles sullivan said:
I would rewire. Your time is valuable.
After that get a 4 flat plug with the lights. You can determine if it is vehicle or trailer with that.
Whenever it is the trailer and not the trailer ground(easy fix), I rewire the trailer.
Don't get me wrong, I can chase the problem down. It just is not worth it. Start over. Buy an extra kit for next time. Iclude zip ties, shring tube connections, and a wire stripper in the kit. No trailer leaves home without that kit.
Cds
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These two suggestions are good. I rewire a trailer every two years pretty much as preventative. I use shrink connectors with dielectric grease. I'm meticulous about connections and anal about the whole affair. Riding stand up jetskis in the surf has given me an education as to just how hard saltwater is on anything electrical. You have to be vigilant about it. The final armour is regularly spraying connections and plug areas with a silicone or wd40. This prevents saltwater from sitting on or in them and drying. The waterproofing will shed the corrosive stuff. I also inspect regularly. If she's looking haggard I replace. The wiring isn't the time intense part as you're likely finding. The troubleshooting is however frustrating and a major time suck and often you end up solving one item only to be in the same boat with another in short order.
 
_WW_ said:
It seems like I have to rewire my boat trailer at five years or so. Shit just wear out, rattles loose, or gets damage at rough launches. I use the old wires to pull the new wires through the frame. Something I did the last time that seems to have increased the longevity of the installation is liquid tape. I wire nut the connections and then fill the nuts with the liquid tape. Boom! Water tight connection. Another thing that will help with all trailers if rewiring is to use the marine grade tinned wire.
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Wirefy make excellent shrink tube connectors of all types that are available on Amazon. I generally use the stuff from the electrical supply as there is adhesive in the shrink tube but I also have the wirefy tool and connectors in my boxes of stuff.
 
Don't know if it's already been mentioned but if you're rewiring and your trailer isn't set up this way already, run a dedicated ground wire to all the lights. My new boat trailer is setup like this, but my old trailer was not. None of the lights were very bright even after meticulously cleaning all the grounds on the trailer. Ran ground wire from lights all the way to the connector and solved that problem.
 
ffb said:
Don't know if it's already been mentioned but if you're rewiring and your trailer isn't set up this way already, run a dedicated ground wire to all the lights. My new boat trailer is setup like this, but my old trailer was not. None of the lights were very bright even after meticulously cleaning all the grounds on the trailer. Ran ground wire from lights all the way to the connector and solved that problem.
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Engee rewired and relamped my pram trailer (led) - a dedicated ground to each light. Soooo nice
 
Problem solved!

So, it turns out that not only were my trailer brake lights not working, but the truck’s brake lights weren’t working either. Sketchy AF, I know.

Once I realized this (and checked the bulbs just to be thorough) it pretty quickly led me to the stoplight switch on the pedal. $25 and 10 minutes with my head crammed into the pedals, brake lights work again.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice!
 
Evan B said:
My expedition had this issue. Worked until it didn't. Tried troubleshooting but decided having Uhaul redo the entire wiring and plug for $60 was more worth my time.
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This is the way. I’ll do trailer lights on my boat but always let Uhaul do the vehicle side. Use your free time for fishing.
 
Josh said:
Problem solved!

So, it turns out that not only were my trailer brake lights not working, but the truck’s brake lights weren’t working either. Sketchy AF, I know.

Once I realized this (and checked the bulbs just to be thorough) it pretty quickly led me to the stoplight switch on the pedal. $25 and 10 minutes with my head crammed into the pedals, brake lights work again.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice!
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Wow! Congrats Josh on the win! But seriously, it is a 1 in 100 success story on problems like these when done DIY.
 
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