Lights always on

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
R

RobertR

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 19, 2011
Posts
163
2004 Winn Journey.  Turn the key on, and release the parking brake and the head lights come on.  Also any time the engine starts the trailer lights come on. 

I would kinda like to decide for myself when to turn on the lights.  Seems like a waste of energy. 

The trailer lights stay on any time the unit is running night or day, and the wiring hook up starts to heat up and melt the rubber making the socket stick, and hard to pull out. 

It appears to be designed to behave this way.  Is there a fix for this, with out messing up the system? 
 
The "headlights" are working properly ...that is the DRL's (daytime running lights). You might be able to disable them by pulling the DRL module from the power compartment ...mine is clearly marked in the compartment under the driver seat.

The "trailer" lights should be on only when you turn the MH lights on. Sounds like something is wired wrong there ...some after factory wiring work perhaps?
 
RobertR,

DRL's really help prevent accidents. There are many times when it is difficult to see some vehicles even during the day due to atmospheric conditions. I doubt it wastes much energy. :)

Last night we were coming home from dinner and a car pulled in behind us. There was still enough light that one could see without having headlights on but the car behind me almost disappeared due to the fact the color was dark and he didn't have any lights on. A car coming the other way might not see him at all.
 
To be sure you are dealing with DRL (daytime running lights), start the coach with no trailer connected, then walk around out side. If you have 'headlights' and no tail lights, then you have DRL's and them turning on, under the conditions you stated, is quite normal. (BTW, I think you will find the DRL are not really as bright as normal headlights, so it is still you who has to decide when to switch on the 'real' headlights).

The trailer lights are a separate issue but may be related in that there could be a wiring error causing them to light along with the DRLs, as afchap  mentioned. If they come on only after you release the coaches parking brake, then it is likely related.

DRLs are compulsory in Canada and perhaps in some US states but not all. Thus, some coaches/chassis may have them as standard, other don't.... For anyone importing a coach to Canada, if it is not already equipped with DRLs, it has to be added before the coach can pass  the Federal import inspection.
 
Seems like a waste of energy.
Click to expand...

Your headlights use about 60 watts each, maybe less in daytime running light mode.  Usually the daytime mode isn't as bright as the nighttime mode.

1 horsepower = 745 watts, so 120 watts is 0.16 Horsepower.  How big is your engine, and what percentage of it's output are the lights consuming?

In other words, the extra fuel used is insignificant and probably unmeasurable.
 
Trailer lights are on even when the DRL lighting is not on, i.e. any time the ignition key is on, and no tail lights are on on the motor home. 

DRL is on only when the emergency brake button is released. So as it is being described here, that seems to be normal.
 
Lou Schneider said:
Your headlights use about 60 watts each, maybe less in daytime running light mode.  Usually the daytime mode isn't as bright as the nighttime mode.

1 horsepower = 745 watts, so 120 watts is 0.16 Horsepower.  How big is your engine, and what percentage of it's output are the lights consuming?

In other words, the extra fuel used is insignificant and probably unmeasurable.
Click to expand...

Your point is valid, not much energy is consumed, but every little bit helps, and when I see people driving during the day with head lights on, I wonder who died.  i.e. are they in a funeral procession.  Exactly why do they have their head lights on, is there a cop ahead doing radar, or did they come out of a rain and forget to turn them off?  I find it to be distracting to other drivers. 


 
In many cases, they are not "headlights", but DRL's. I think most new cars are now equipped with them as standard. Note the announcements found on the back of many semi-trailers: "Lights on for safety".

It would seem many now accept lights on during daylight hours as being a valuable tool for safety although it does sort of spoil the speed trap warning we used to use!!!

It would seem, from your recent post, that you have a trailer wiring harness problem on the coach end. The harness is live when it should not be!!

NO tail lights is the normal condition with only the DRL's on. When you select headlights yourself, the tail lights and clearance lights will light as expected.
 
Indeed, the trailer seems to be wired incorrectly. There should be no tail lights or trailer marker lights when the DRls are on. They should come on only with the tow vehicle head lights.

GM makes all their US & Canadian cars with the DRL feature. I do not believe Ford or Chrylser install DRL except for cars intended for sale in Canada.
 
Gary RV Roamer said:
Indeed, the trailer seems to be wired incorrectly. There should be no tail lights or trailer marker lights when the DRls are on. They should come on only with the tow vehicle head lights.

Snipped....
Click to expand...

Really? They would not be on if the feed to the trailer plug was not live!!! That says to me the fault is in the RV wiring.
 
Alfa38User said:
Really? They would not be on if the feed to the trailer plug was not live!!! That says to me the fault is in the RV wiring.
Click to expand...

Could be that the trailer battery charging line from the TV is wired to the trailer lights either in the tv plug or the trailer itself. The op mentioned that the trailer lights came on when the engine was running.
 
If in the Trailer side of things, and it was the charge lead, would the lights not be on when the trailer plug  was disconnected from the TV??? They would always be connected to the trailer + battery if the the charge wire trailer side was incorrect there (and the  battery is installed), JM2C!!!

This stuff is easier to troubleshoot on site than by remote control!!!! In my experience, I have seen far more TV plug problems than trailer, usually because the trailer harness came wired from the factory whereas on the TV side , more often than not, it was added by "someone".... but that's only me!! LOL
 
There are several possibilities.  The coach outlet could be wired wrong, with a constant +12 to the pin for the trailer tail & marker lights. Or some other trailer light, since we don't know which ones are always on.  Or the trailer plug could be wired wrong, with the tail lights hooked to the +12 constant terminal. Or there could be a short in the trailer wiring.  We don't have enough data to get very specific. And once to admit to the possibility that the trailer-side plug could be wired wrong, we have no idea how or if the trailer battery figures into the problem.
 
There is no battery on the trailer.  It is a 4 pin for running lights, turn sig, and brake lights only. 
 
OK, so no +12 constant line either - that's only in a 7 pin connector. That suggests that the 4 pin on the coach side is wired incorrectly.  The tail light pin should be keyed to the coach tail light circuit and only on when the coach tail lights are on. Ditto for stop and turn.
 
It is sounding more and more like this is one of those 4 pin flat connectors on the trailer end. Don't motor homes generally have the round ones with more wires (7)? If that is the case,this suggests one of the ends has to have been modified, an adapter is being used to convert one style to the other or the 4 pin type has been added, perhaps incorrectly, to the MH.

Other questions for the OP comes to mind: Is this trailer also towed by another vehicle where everything lights as it should?? Does the motor home tow any other unit now or is likely to in the future?? If so, a decision has to be made on where to fix it  or the best way to fix it. Perhaps a home made adapter is the most logical answer, one that will correctly adapt the the standard MH connector to the trailer and that can then be removed when using the other tow vehicle(s) for the trailer or for towing something else behind the MH.

Trailer wiring diagrams can be found here (among many other places):

http://www.etrailer.com/faq-wiring.aspx
 
It is sounding to me like its wired wrong.  Probably the trailer battery charge wire is hooked up to the running lights. 

You would want the trailer battery to be charged whether the lights were on or not.  So it should be the only wire that is hot when ever the key is turned on. 

Easy enough to check.

Thanks.
 
On closer inspection, after engine is started, trailer lights are off for about 2 or 3 minutes.  Then they flicker off and on two to 3 times a second for about 10 seconds, and then they stay on. 

None of the wires going to the trailer hook up , about 8 of them, have voltage when motor home running lights are turned on.

It appears to be factory wired.  I can't tell that anyone changed the wiring.
The brown wire is normally running lights so all I know to do is wire it into the running lights at the rear of the coach. 

The whole 4 pin plug in is showing signs of over heating. 
 
Interesting!!!

There are likely relays involved to power at least some of the trailer lights, otherwise the signal flasher rates would change when the trailer is hooked up due to the extra light bulb filaments involved. Can you find them and then perhaps hear them clicking??

You should be able to find the actual wiring diagrams on the Winnebago site if you don't already have them...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 781 (members: 8, guests: 773)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,981
Posts
1,388,593
Members
137,727
Latest member
Davidomero
Back
Top Bottom