Trailer Lights stopped working

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ysamuelsmith

ysamuelsmith

Member
Joined
May 4, 2016
Posts
5
Location
Saint-Hubert, Quebec
Good evening all!

I have a question just to let me start investigating an issue on my 2000 Coachmen Futura 2790TB travel trailer. I had to move my trailer from my house to my grand parents house which is a few km's away between christmas and new year's eve. When I did so, I realize that no lights at all were working on my travel trailer. Brakes, turn, hazard even parking lights wouldn't come on.

The last time I used the trailer, they were working fine in september. Except one brake light, everything was working fine. I checked the truck terminal with a 7 way tester and everything is working fine on this side. I also hooked it up to my parents unit and everything is fine.

Now the cord on my trailer looks good, no apparent sign of wear or anything. Any idea on where I should start investigating this problem on the trailer?

Thanks you all in advance for your precious knowledge!
 
The wire that is common to all lights not working is the ground.

Since you have working lights at the plug, you have isolated the problem to the trailer.

Try running a temp wire to establish a ground between the tow vehicle and the trailer.

If your lights work with the temporary ground then you can start looking for where you lost it.

I would think that the most probable place is in the plug from the trailer.

Edit:  You say that it works on your parents unit.  Are you saying that the trailer lights work on your parents unit?

If so then the ground connection in your trucks wiring receptacle might be the problem.  When you tested your truck did you measure from the ground in the receptacle or from a clip on ground with your tester?
 
i had a similar issue a few years ago and ended up spraying both the trailer plug and the truck plug with wd40 and lots of it - plugged it back in and presto it worked - someone suggested i had sand or dirt in one of the connections that made it so it wouldnt seat properly - it was an easy fix
 
Thanks guys, I'll take a look at the ground for sure.

You say that it works on your parents unit.  Are you saying that the trailer lights work on your parents unit?
Click to expand...

Actually I had to move their trailer as well and when I hooked their trailer on my truck, all their lights were working. Same truck different trailer.
 
Trace the green wire from your trailer to where it's bolted to the RV frame. Remove, clean the surfaces then reinstall.
If you have a meter, it would be good to check continuity of that wire within your cable before you reconnect it to the frame.  It may be the contact inside the plug. 
 
Rene, are you referring to the ground wire? The green wire is the right turn signal. The white is the ground.
 
Since your truck operated all lights on the other trailer, your truck wiring is fine.  The problem is the camper wiring.  As others have suggested, the ground is the common wire to all circuits.  Check continuity between the trailer ground plug and frame.  A Jumper cable from your truck bumper to the trailer frame - with good contact - provides a good temporary ground.
 
Rene, please accept my apologies, I just read my post above, and it sounds a lot worse than the way I want it to.
 
kdbgoat said:
Rene, please accept my apologies, I just read my post above, and it sounds a lot worse than the way I want it to.
Click to expand...

No need to apologies. I made a mistake and thanks for setting me straight. I was confused with house wiring when I said green. Thanks.
 
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