Trailer wiring fault again

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martin2340

martin2340

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
402
Location
Sanatoga, PA
Last season with a different TV I got a trailer wiring fault on my 2010 Ford F150. I took it to the dealer and they checked it out with their TV and said everything was fine it must be my TV. 2 months ago I upgraded to a 2017 F250 diesel and the first few trips no problems. Last trip to Niagara Falls about 250 miles into the trip I hit some rain and sure enough the trailer wiring fault came on and only intermittence on the trailer brakes for the next 600 plus miles. So an obvious short somewhere. I pulled the breakaway switch and only the left front tire held with the other 3 turning freely. I looked around the area between the 2 left side wheels but did not seen any breaks or bare wires. Can anyone tell me if there could possibly be a break inside the drum as I guess that should be my next step. It only seems to happen in wet conditions.
 
Your wires just outside the drums could have a short or shorts.  The wires running through the inside of the axles could have short/s as well.  You may want to gently pull on the wires that are inside the axles to see if there are any exposed wires.  There should be some slack (hopefully). 

Bare or exposed wires or unsealed splices will allow water to create shorts.
 
Go under there and find all the connections. Open everything up and solder all the connections then coat them with an electrical grease and heat shrink.  Tape over if needed to keep the water out.
 
There was a GREAT thread a few months ago on this issue.  The OP goes through a virtual tutorial on how to trouble shoot / rewire the entire braking system for greatly enhanced performance.  My quick search did not find it.  Maybe somebody with a better memory can help.
 
I thought about that thread too Preacher. I can't remember who started it. Give me a while, I'll find it when I get time.
 
Here's one, but not the one I was thinking of:

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,98268.0.html
 
It's likely the wire from the trailer tongue goes to the left front brake first, then splits off to the other brakes.  In this case, you're looking for an OPEN connection between there and the other brakes, not a short.

An open connection could be a loose or broken wire, or even just some corrosion in a poorly sealed splice that's blocking the current flow.
 
Thanks for all of the replies and I will definitely get under there and start checking each wire, connection, and one thing that just came to mind, last year on the PA turnpike I had a blowout that tore the rear tire on the left side pretty bad and that seems to be the likely culprit as that is the 1st tire not locking up.
kdbgoat thanks for the thread
 
As I recall from the referenced thread, this guy checked the voltage reaching each wheel, and ended up rewiring the entire braking system with larger wire, capable of carrying sufficient (more) current to each wheel.  There were other improvements as well.
 
I didn't get a chance to check it out yet as I spent the last few days out in Hershey PA at the RV show. It had may head spinning and DW couldn't see why I didn't lay down $75K for a new 5'er. As soon as I get a chance I will post back what I find. Again thanks
 
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