Bob Maxwell
Moderator Emeritus
Canadian law required that my '94 Itasca Suncruiser lights come on with the ignition. I'm glad they do --the clan Maxwell is on the way!
Alfa38User said: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...
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.
If I'm not making a big mistake it can be fixed by cutting the brown trailer light lead wire, and hooking it back up to the running light circuit from one of the motor home running lights. So unless there is a reason not to do that, I see no other way to fix it.
4-pin connectors are all over the place...have someone w/a p/u pull close enough to the trailer and hook on (need the vehicle ground) and try the lights ...answers that question ..
I have 5 trailers, they all behave the same way when hooked to the motor home, as does tow car.
All trailers and tow car behave normally when hooked to my pick up.
Alfa38User said:Too bad you did not think to mention this on your first post, it could have saved a lot of useless speculation.
Good luck!!!
Gary RV Roamer said:I think I would just rip out that 4 pin adapter and start over again. You should have everything you need at the larger trailer plug (is it a standard 7 pin?). In fact, you can buy a 7:4 adapter in most any auto parts store or RV center and not have to wire anything. Assuming the 7 pin plug is wired correctly, of course.
Here is a 7:4 pin adapter that would do the job nicely, and includes a test light.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200317985_200317985
Gary RV Roamer said:Well, you could call Freightliner and Winnebago and ask them - they both have an excellent customer service lines. But I can assure you that they did not design the system to have a 5 minute delay and blink several times before activating trailer lights. What sense woud that make?
The trailer tow plug was added by the body manufacturer but probably used a harness that came with the chassis as the source. You need to dig into the wires behind the plug and see what's what, then wire as needed.
Gary RV Roamer said:My guess is a trailer brake controller, but I don't see why that would affect the running lights.