All of these trailer videos are so well done! Excellent, great information, and common sense directions that are repeated so that all of us will better understand! just excellent ! Tim in Colorado
Tim, thanks for the kind comment. I actually lived in Colorado Springs from when I was 1 yrs old to 4 yrs old. My dad was stationed at Fort Carson. KPO
Thank you so much. I took the ground off the trailer sandpaper the metal clean the wire with the sandpaper as well. Took the screw with a metal washer wrapped wire around the screw reattached so that wire was touching clean metal washer on top of it tightened screw back down everything working perfectly So glad I found your video
Hey Dave, Thank you Thank you for your trailer lights series. Great work. I owe you about 9 likes. Here is a tale of two trailers Tow vehicle: 14 year old Dodge Grand Caravan with original round connector on the vehicle and a flat 4 end plug. Trailer 1) 20 years old. LED lights. Flat 4 plug. 5:10 Used 2x per summer. Clean up with contact points with sandpaper. Plug in without connecting the hitch. Everything works. Probing why this is my favourite trailer. Trailer 2 - the problem child. Bane of my trailering since last Fall! 30 plus year old trailer. Finally gave up and rewired it today with new LED lights. Per your videos, connected each fixture to the frame. Redid white wire at the hitch and installed a jumper cable back to solid frame pieces where side marker and rear fixtures. Ground off the paint for all ground connections. Tested flat four at the vehicle - (same plug as trailer 1) working. Connected 5:10 New lights via the flat 4 plugs but not connected to the hitch. NO LIGHTS!! Connected to the hitch - you guessed it - everything works. Lifted receiver off the hitch - no lights. So, all equipment works on trailer 1. Nothing works on trailer two unless hitch and receiver connected. Help! Thank you again, Pat New subscriber
Well, it has to be a grounding issue. You know from watching this video that the trailer isn't being grounded through the wiring harness. That's why it only works when connected to the hitch. Does trailer 1 work when not on the hitch? If it does, try wiggling the harness with the lights on and see if you can get it to fail. I had a problem similar to yours one time. One trailer worked and one didn't. It gave me fits. It turned out that with one trailer, the harness got twisted a certain way to make the plugs connect and that certain twist caused the ground wire to open. The orientation on the other trailer didn't cause the same twist to make the plugs come together, so the ground didn't open. Maybe you have something like this. The vehicle harness gets stretched or twisted with one trailer and not the other? Hope this helps. Let me know what you find and thanks for the subscription!
Good call! I had this flickering issue with my running lights and the ground wire connection at the trailer frame was bad. Very explanatory video. Much appreciated! Subscribed!
I had a trailer light issue where the left light would stay on, even when my vehicle was turned off. Had to disconnect the trailer every time I went fishing, which got very old very fast. It started only a couple years after I got my new vehicle, and no other lights were having problems, so I assumed it was the controller board. Called the company & they confirmed this and recommended a different one; it was rather expensive, so I just lived with it. Fast forward about 3-4 years and the connector was very corroded, so much so that a brush could not remove it. Replaced both ends of the plug & would you believe that the problem with the one light staying on went away too?!?? That was 2-3 years ago & the trailer lights have worked perfectly since. Still amazes me to this day.
I can't even think of a way to explain that one. But that's what trailer lights can be like. Thanks for adding in. I like to put these things in the memory bank for the future. KPO
Id watched your videos and follow your instructions. After many failed diagnostics, I removed the lights and realized the wires were shot. The wires just breaks apart and the cooper strands are black/oxidized? It’s only 2 seasons of usage, maybe cheap quality? I need to replace the whole light package. LED submersible boat trailer. Is there a brand suggestion someone can recommend? Thanks!
I've been using the ones shown in this video th-cam.com/video/-14kh2DYdOo/w-d-xo.html I think the name is TowSmart So far so good. If you haven't seen this vid it has some good tricks for installing new lights and wires.
Yes forget about fixed lights bolted to the trailer. Use a lighting board instead it dont get submerged or weather corrosion. Just keep it in your house or shed.
Omg, gotta test out the trailer off my hitch. Everything works except for my night lights on certain days. Sometimes right off the water and on the road it works, only to notice three quarters to half way home, its been off or have been flickering on and off. Brake lights, turn signals and emergency lights still work fine, just the night lights. Might have a bad connection on one wire, and have to replace the whole thing after testing the methods you've shared, thanks a bunch!!!
As always, great tips, Dave. I see so many trailers going down the road with various electrical issues and either the owner isn't aware, or doesn't care, or just needs to watch your video and realize they can fix it. Cheers, brother, and thanks for sharing.
Love your series! I have a problem where my right tail light will work, then not work. If I squeeze and wiggle the harness connection point the light will flicker on but go off as soon as I stop (let go). Does that sound like an issue with the harness itself or perhaps the ground to that light ? Can a ground issue affect just one light?
I would try cleaning up the connection points on the harness first, see this vid th-cam.com/video/kqVykWhwHaY/w-d-xo.html If that doesn't help I would just change both plugs. That should take care of it. Plugs can be dirty, worn and sloppy or connections inside broke off. Let me know how it goes.
I have found that my issue is a grounding issue. When I stick a nail between the receiver and hitch my lights work. Any idea how I should proceed? (Using a different vehicle trailer lights work fine) Thanks in advance! FWJ
Your plug connection isn't carrying the ground like it should. Make sure the truck side plug has a good ground connection to the frame of the truck. You're making that connection when you stick the nail in there. Let me know how it goes.
Thank you for all the videos! I've been going through all of them and finally got my lights working today. However, I do have a question for you. Like you said, my lights work, but as I'm going down the road, (had my wife follow me on the road test), they would flicker. Also, a couple times they went out all together but as soon as I started driving again they came on. The trailer I have is a 4x8 folding utility trailer. Could the pivot point where the trailer folds cause grounding issues while on the road?
Yes it could. Hook it up at home and try wiggling the trailer at the tilt and see if the lights flicker. Also, try putting a temporary jumper across the pivot point and see if it quits, KPO.
I asked this on another video but can’t recall which... My trailer lights work fine. Unhook from the truck and the trailer lights are still on. When I set the trailer back down onto the hitch ball, all trailer lights go out. Lift up slightly and take a little weight off the trailer and the lights are back on. No wires are being pinched anywhere. Have you ever experienced this? I’m stumped. On my truck, I have a basic trailer wiring kit that hooks up to my truck tail lights. I haven’t noticed an issue there but the problem has to be in the truck somehow? Thanks in advance
Nope. No twisting wires. It’s a pretty basic wiring. Both lights have individual grounds to the frame. Lights are good when it’s off hitch. The second the full weight of the trailer is on the ball. Lights are gone. If I lift up on the trailer slightly, but the tongue still remains in contact with the ball, they come back on. It’s baffling. I can’t see any pinching either. It’s almost as if something in the truck hitch is interfering.
So my blinkers are working. My running lights are working. My brake lights are working. But my tail lights aren't working when my headlights are on? What's my problem? Can you give me an idea?
Probably a ground problem. Fixtures not grounded correctly. Sometimes when a circuit doesn't have a proper ground or return path, it will return through other circuits. When these circuits get turned on, the improper ground or return is removed and the circuit doesn't work at all. Make sure all your fixtures and trailer are properly grounded. I did assume that this trailer worked correctly at one time, otherwise it could be wired incorrectly.
12 is usually plenty. The charging system will show 14 because if you want to charge the battery to say 12.5, you need a slightly higher voltage to do it. Slight voltage drops in the circuit will lower the volts a little and that's Ok, but 12 should be fine for your trailer lights.
In the past that has happened to me and the problem was at the connection point of the vehicle side plug. I know you said you changed it, but is it all new all the way back to the vehicle wiring? If you just spliced in a new plug at the end of the harness, you could still have an issue where the plug wires connect to the vehicle wiring. 2 different times I had corrosion set in at this point on the 3-way plug that splices into the vehicles wiring and it caused low voltages on all circuits. I hope this helps. Let me know how it turns out, KPO.
Watched about 6 of your videos today. Thank you so much for all you've done to explain wiring and electrical systems for others.
Awesome! Glad it helped!
All of these trailer videos are so well done! Excellent, great information, and common sense directions that are repeated so that all of us will better understand! just excellent ! Tim in Colorado
Tim, thanks for the kind comment. I actually lived in Colorado Springs from when I was 1 yrs old to 4 yrs old. My dad was stationed at Fort Carson. KPO
Thank you so much. I took the ground off the trailer sandpaper the metal clean the wire with the sandpaper as well. Took the screw with a metal washer wrapped wire around the screw reattached so that wire was touching clean metal washer on top of it tightened screw back down everything working perfectly
So glad I found your video
Great to hear! Thanks for the comment.
Hey Dave,
Thank you Thank you for your trailer lights series. Great work. I owe you about 9 likes.
Here is a tale of two trailers
Tow vehicle: 14 year old Dodge Grand Caravan with original round connector on the vehicle and a flat 4 end plug.
Trailer 1) 20 years old. LED lights. Flat 4 plug. 5:10 Used 2x per summer. Clean up with contact points with sandpaper. Plug in without connecting the hitch.
Everything works. Probing why this is my favourite trailer.
Trailer 2 - the problem child.
Bane of my trailering since last Fall! 30 plus year old trailer.
Finally gave up and rewired it today with new LED lights.
Per your videos, connected each fixture to the frame. Redid white wire at the hitch and installed a jumper cable back to solid frame pieces where side marker and rear fixtures. Ground off the paint for all ground connections.
Tested flat four at the vehicle - (same plug as trailer 1) working.
Connected 5:10 New lights via the flat 4 plugs but not connected to the hitch.
NO LIGHTS!!
Connected to the hitch - you guessed it - everything works. Lifted receiver off the hitch - no lights.
So, all equipment works on trailer 1.
Nothing works on trailer two unless hitch and receiver connected.
Help!
Thank you again,
Pat
New subscriber
Well, it has to be a grounding issue. You know from watching this video that the trailer isn't being grounded through the wiring harness. That's why it only works when connected to the hitch. Does trailer 1 work when not on the hitch? If it does, try wiggling the harness with the lights on and see if you can get it to fail. I had a problem similar to yours one time. One trailer worked and one didn't. It gave me fits. It turned out that with one trailer, the harness got twisted a certain way to make the plugs connect and that certain twist caused the ground wire to open. The orientation on the other trailer didn't cause the same twist to make the plugs come together, so the ground didn't open. Maybe you have something like this. The vehicle harness gets stretched or twisted with one trailer and not the other? Hope this helps. Let me know what you find and thanks for the subscription!
@@KnettersPracticalOutdoors
Dave, you were correct. Reworked the main ground and viola! Let thee be light(s). Thank you!
@@wapbarlow7945 Great to hear!
Good call!
I had this flickering issue with my running lights and the ground wire connection at the trailer frame was bad.
Very explanatory video. Much appreciated!
Subscribed!
You are welcome! KPO.
I had a trailer light issue where the left light would stay on, even when my vehicle was turned off. Had to disconnect the trailer every time I went fishing, which got very old very fast. It started only a couple years after I got my new vehicle, and no other lights were having problems, so I assumed it was the controller board. Called the company & they confirmed this and recommended a different one; it was rather expensive, so I just lived with it. Fast forward about 3-4 years and the connector was very corroded, so much so that a brush could not remove it. Replaced both ends of the plug & would you believe that the problem with the one light staying on went away too?!?? That was 2-3 years ago & the trailer lights have worked perfectly since. Still amazes me to this day.
I can't even think of a way to explain that one. But that's what trailer lights can be like. Thanks for adding in. I like to put these things in the memory bank for the future. KPO
Id watched your videos and follow your instructions. After many failed diagnostics, I removed the lights and realized the wires were shot. The wires just breaks apart and the cooper strands are black/oxidized? It’s only 2 seasons of usage, maybe cheap quality? I need to replace the whole light package. LED submersible boat trailer. Is there a brand suggestion someone can recommend? Thanks!
I've been using the ones shown in this video th-cam.com/video/-14kh2DYdOo/w-d-xo.html I think the name is TowSmart So far so good. If you haven't seen this vid it has some good tricks for installing new lights and wires.
Yes forget about fixed lights bolted to the trailer. Use a lighting board instead it dont get submerged or weather corrosion. Just keep it in your house or shed.
Very well explained...
Trailers and there lights, seems like they have a mind of there own.
They can be crazy at times. Thanks for watching, KPO.
Omg, gotta test out the trailer off my hitch. Everything works except for my night lights on certain days. Sometimes right off the water and on the road it works, only to notice three quarters to half way home, its been off or have been flickering on and off. Brake lights, turn signals and emergency lights still work fine, just the night lights. Might have a bad connection on one wire, and have to replace the whole thing after testing the methods you've shared, thanks a bunch!!!
You are welcome, KPO.
As always, great tips, Dave. I see so many trailers going down the road with various electrical issues and either the owner isn't aware, or doesn't care, or just needs to watch your video and realize they can fix it. Cheers, brother, and thanks for sharing.
No problem John, thanks for watching, KPO.
Love your series! I have a problem where my right tail light will work, then not work. If I squeeze and wiggle the harness connection point the light will flicker on but go off as soon as I stop (let go). Does that sound like an issue with the harness itself or perhaps the ground to that light ? Can a ground issue affect just one light?
I would try cleaning up the connection points on the harness first, see this vid th-cam.com/video/kqVykWhwHaY/w-d-xo.html If that doesn't help I would just change both plugs. That should take care of it. Plugs can be dirty, worn and sloppy or connections inside broke off. Let me know how it goes.
Exactly what I needed thank you Sir.
welcome
I have found that my issue is a grounding issue. When I stick a nail between the receiver and hitch my lights work. Any idea how I should proceed? (Using a different vehicle trailer lights work fine)
Thanks in advance!
FWJ
Your plug connection isn't carrying the ground like it should. Make sure the truck side plug has a good ground connection to the frame of the truck. You're making that connection when you stick the nail in there. Let me know how it goes.
@@KnettersPracticalOutdoors Pretty sure its the connection between the truck wires and the plug for the trailer lights goes. Thanks again for the tip
Thank you for all the videos! I've been going through all of them and finally got my lights working today. However, I do have a question for you. Like you said, my lights work, but as I'm going down the road, (had my wife follow me on the road test), they would flicker. Also, a couple times they went out all together but as soon as I started driving again they came on. The trailer I have is a 4x8 folding utility trailer. Could the pivot point where the trailer folds cause grounding issues while on the road?
Yes it could. Hook it up at home and try wiggling the trailer at the tilt and see if the lights flicker. Also, try putting a temporary jumper across the pivot point and see if it quits, KPO.
Ya my light on my utility trailer I wasn’t flickering when I’m driving
Do you think this will work in a light bar?
Yes
Thanks
No problem
Thank you removing the trailer from the truck allowed me to isolate a split ground wire.
Awesome!
Thanks, great lesson!!!
I think this vid explains your question from the other one right?
I asked this on another video but can’t recall which...
My trailer lights work fine. Unhook from the truck and the trailer lights are still on.
When I set the trailer back down onto the hitch ball, all trailer lights go out. Lift up slightly and take a little weight off the trailer and the lights are back on.
No wires are being pinched anywhere.
Have you ever experienced this? I’m stumped.
On my truck, I have a basic trailer wiring kit that hooks up to my truck tail lights. I haven’t noticed an issue there but the problem has to be in the truck somehow?
Thanks in advance
Try wiggling the plugs. Does the trailer on the hitch cause any wiring to twist? Maybe trailer not wired right?
Nope. No twisting wires. It’s a pretty basic wiring. Both lights have individual grounds to the frame. Lights are good when it’s off hitch.
The second the full weight of the trailer is on the ball. Lights are gone.
If I lift up on the trailer slightly, but the tongue still remains in contact with the ball, they come back on.
It’s baffling. I can’t see any pinching either.
It’s almost as if something in the truck hitch is interfering.
It’s just really weird.
As soon as I figure out the problem, I’ll post.
So my blinkers are working. My running lights are working. My brake lights are working. But my tail lights aren't working when my headlights are on? What's my problem? Can you give me an idea?
Probably a ground problem. Fixtures not grounded correctly. Sometimes when a circuit doesn't have a proper ground or return path, it will return through other circuits. When these circuits get turned on, the improper ground or return is removed and the circuit doesn't work at all. Make sure all your fixtures and trailer are properly grounded. I did assume that this trailer worked correctly at one time, otherwise it could be wired incorrectly.
I have a horse trailer and when I check the voltage it shows 12 volts with the truck on and i don’t know if it show be 14 volts or 12 volts
12 is usually plenty. The charging system will show 14 because if you want to charge the battery to say 12.5, you need a slightly higher voltage to do it. Slight voltage drops in the circuit will lower the volts a little and that's Ok, but 12 should be fine for your trailer lights.
Thanks Dave!
Yes sir
Great video good knowledge that most people dont have
Thanks a lot Tom, KPO.
Good video
Thanks for the visit
My old lights are weak. When I rewired trailer and replace truck plug still weak and if I hook up leds not enough power to light up
In the past that has happened to me and the problem was at the connection point of the vehicle side plug. I know you said you changed it, but is it all new all the way back to the vehicle wiring? If you just spliced in a new plug at the end of the harness, you could still have an issue where the plug wires connect to the vehicle wiring. 2 different times I had corrosion set in at this point on the 3-way plug that splices into the vehicles wiring and it caused low voltages on all circuits. I hope this helps. Let me know how it turns out, KPO.
Excellent video Dave! I for one really appreciate the time you put into these! This one in particular is a great troubleshooting video!!
Thanks for those kind words. I'm glad it helped, KPO.
I do not even own a trailer yet... I'm learning for the future. 👍
You'll have a jump on things, right? Thanks KPO.
YOur intro is WAYYYYYYYYYYYY TOOOOOOOOOOOO Loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
Georgeqaws, thanks for the feedback. I have since shortened the intro, KPO.
I'd enjoy your videos more if you'd cut out the much too long intro.
Yes, you are right. I've been going with a 12 sec intro for a year or so now. Thanks for the feed back.
Great video
Thanks Galaxie, KPO.
Intro is too long
Yes, you are right. I have been using a shorter intro for about a year now. Thanks for the feed back though, KPO.
useless intro
Thanks for watching Brent, KPO.