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brokenarrow
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1288 Wisconsin
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2005-03-08          107605

Where would you start? I blew a fuse twice with my trailer.
The tail/running lights fuse blows when I hook it up. Its ok for a short time then blows. All other fuses have been ok. I had blew the brake lights one time after the other one blew but since then its been ok. Should I look into the trailer? The fuse does not blow with out the triler hooked on. Could it be in the hook up connection? Any experiance will be helpful The trailer is a 2003 with electric brakes.
Thanks


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JD855inWI
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 38 Mid East Wisconsin
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2005-03-09          107628

It’s the trailer. Get out the battery charger and a spare trailer wiring connector. Hook the negative to the ground wire on the connector or the trailer and the plus to the lead that feeds the tail and marker lights. Watch the amp meter on the charger and then start shaken the heck out of the wiring harness on the trailer. When you see the needle jumping around, you are close to the problem. It’s probably a cracked or scuffed wire hitting the trailer frame on occasion. You could check the brake lights wiring the same way. Also compare the amps drawn on the meter to the fuse rating. Fuses are time rated when close to the amp rating, more current = less time. Dead short = no time. ....

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greg_g
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1816 Western Kentucky
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2005-03-09          107632

Besides the obvious short somewhere, there's something wrong with your vehicle wiring. If you've got a standard 6 wire connector, there should be no voltage on green/yellow/brown until lights or signals are energized. There should be no voltage on blue till the brakes are applied. That leaves the accessory red wire. Is it carrying unswitched voltage?

//greg// ....

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brokenarrow
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1288 Wisconsin
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2005-03-09          107639

Great advice, thank you. I had chased ALL the wires from where it drops out of the cab area. Pulled all the wires out of the plastic protector and followed them to see any obvious open insulation. Found none. On the truck the only thing I founf that looked a bit out of the ordinary would be a bit of green corrosion where the permanantly mounted hook up on the truck connects the the perminantely mounted trailer hook up. If you can picture this? Where they kinda snap together, it would be the two parts that are mounted to the truck right before!! the actual trailer wire harness would push into. (sorry hard to explain. Anyway I cleaned up the small amount of green corosion (and it was on only 1 terminal, the bottom one)
JD855
I did not know that. Great advice!! I feel it is in the trailer so I will do that as soon as this recent weather we are having (mid teens up to upper 20's) breaks. I will get back to you guys soon as I do this. (you know its going to eat away at me till so I may start this soon) I have a removeable gate on my fence that the trailer is behind. LOL I cant remove the darn thing when the ground water is froze around it. I need it to warm up in the mid 30's. My mistake when I made this creative fiasco last year. A minor design flaw that will be remedied this spring.
Thank alot guys, tractoring season is close and I have a recall that I need to bring in the rig for.
Thanks again
Tom ....

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greg_g
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1816 Western Kentucky
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2005-03-09          107649

Fine BA, but the only way you can blow a fuse or trip a breaker, is if voltage is shorted to ground through other than it's assigned load. You'll have to put a voltmeter or a probe light between each pin on the truck side of the trailer connector and ground. Typically, you should NOT find voltage on ANY of those pins, when the lights/signal/ignition switch are off, and nobody's got their foot on the brake pedal.

//greg// ....

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metastable
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 78 North Plains, OR
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2005-03-09          107669

"Its ok for a short time then blows." How many clearance/tail lights do you have? You may simply be exceeding the current limit of the fuse. Example, let's say your truck has a 10A fuse for this circuit and the truck draws 3A and the trailer draws 7A. The fuse will hang in there for awhile, but will eventually blow. If you only have a few lamps on the trailer, then there may be an intermittant short that manifests itself when the trailer hits a bump. ....

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091755
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 143 brantwood wisconsin
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2005-03-09          107690

March 9, 2005

Hey brokenarrow,

I think you got me! There is no way you can live
near ladysmith and not know where Wausau,even though
I did spell Warsaar wrong!!

doc ....

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brokenarrow
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1288 Wisconsin
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2005-03-13          107948

091755
I Built a house on my 160 acres in the Ladysmith area. I have owned it since 1986. Will be moving either to Eau Claire or Ladysmith soon. Yes I know where Wausau is. It has all those one way streets! I claim residency there since I am ashamed of living where I do for the money right now. I live in Wis. but barely LOL. ....

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brokenarrow
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1288 Wisconsin
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2005-03-13          107949

Bear with me greg. LOL I will be digging into it tomarroo morning so I will need all the help I can get. Dug out the trailer today and hauled it into the garage.
Last year I had the volt meter on the pins and id not have any stray voltage when no power was on. I turned on each one seperately so I could positively identify which pin was which. (that much I remember) Also. The last trip I took with it (when I had the problems) I pulled over on the highwy when I realized I had NO running lights.
I went back to the triler connector (thinking it may of came un hooked) I wiggled and pushed the connector together firmly. The lights came back on and I thought I was cool. I made it about anouther 15-20 min and realized the lights went out again. This time I stopped and could NOT get them to go back on. Pulled into a gass station ans found that I blew the fuse. I switched fuses (a spare and blew it right away (imediately) I switched to the last spare (that size) and same thing happened. I did "not" want to put a larger one in incase I had something big time wrong going on. Waited till light came and ran the rest of the 300 mile trip with out running lights. The trip home I hooked up two spare lights I had at the other house with a jumper line to the accesorary (cig lighter) hook up. That is where it stands now. Like I said I checked out the truck as good as I am able (I am no electronic wiz but can hold my own sometimes) If I hook a light to the running light on the truck thru the trailer hook up seperately that uses the same voltage as the trailer lights. And if it does not blow would that say that it is in the trailer wireing and not the trucks trailer package? Still open for ANY help. I will be about 4 hours away (after I start tomaroo) from buying a new trailer wireing and light package. I really dont want to go that route and end up NOT being in the trailer wires. ....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2005-03-14          107976

Things are so complicated these days with computers and monitors and such that you can't just splice into a wire and feed a trailer anymore.

Presumably you have a pre-engineered or factory installed trailer wiring package on your truck?

I have blown fuses for two reasons:

1) hooking the trailer line to the truck while the truck lights were on, and

2) one little piece of trailer wire had chafed where it passed through the frame and shorted out.

Good luck. ....

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brokenarrow
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1288 Wisconsin
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2005-03-14          108001

I hook up the trailer today. The fuse does not blow.
I let it be hooked up for 1/2 hr. The fuse does not blow.

I find a marker light wire exposed to the staple that is holding it to the decking underneath. I rub it against the staple open bare wire. The fuse does not blow.

Now I am getting a bit hot of course it could not be this easy.
I leave the parking/running light on and turn on the left turn signal. The laft turn signal works fine on both the truck and trailer. BUT The center running light on the back of the trailer flashes lightly. The trailers back right turn signal flashes slightly also.

Now I turn my attention to the trucks wiring at the harness plug in. I put a amp meter on it. (With the left truck blinker on) The left blimker is working proper at 13 amps. The right blinker conection shows .1 amp flashing. Also the parking/running light (flat/post) shows .1 amp also flashing. The same thing happens with the right turn signal. Some stray amperage shows up on the other signals.
Hope I did not confuse anyone.LOL
Whats up with this?
Also the trailer electic brake converter in the truck was flashing lightly at times ( the red power light on it)

I still dont know why the fuse was blowing last year.
The stray volatge is not normal right? Any suggestions? ....

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brokenarrow
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1288 Wisconsin
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2005-03-14          108002

Greg
Where were you going with your answers? Do you have any idea what would cause this? ....

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greg_g
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1816 Western Kentucky
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2005-03-14          108005

Uh-huh. But the text limiting here is getting in the way. Check your TractorPoint.com private messages please

//greg// ....

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brokenarrow
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1288 Wisconsin
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster

2005-03-22          108572

Got it all squared away last week. Thanks for the guide lines fella's ....

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