I had a blown tail light fuse in my truck. Dealer replaced the fuse & all has been well since then. They couldn’t find a cause for the blown fuse. I suspect it was from my boat trailer lights. I’m going to get my boat out of storage today and drag it home without hooking up the trailer lights, then try to troubleshoot the problem. Any suggestions on how to do that? It’s a 2010 Shorelander, always garage-stored so in good condition.
I’d plug the trailer in and if you pop another fuse, I’d just go ahead and get a full harness and rewire the trailer. Sometimes trying to track down a short can be more work than its worth.
I’d plug the trailer in and if you pop another fuse, I’d just go ahead and get a full harness and rewire the trailer. Sometimes trying to track down a short can be more work than its worth.
Agree. Unless you can see a bad spot in a wire it might be tough to find. Definitely plug the lights in and see if they blow your fuse again. That would be the first step. I assume you can change your own fuse at home if it were to pop again.
If it was mine . . . .
1. Get extra fuse(s).
2. Without plugged in inspect all the wires to see if you have visual damage.
3. Plug in and try all lights. If if doesn’t blow fuse next step.
4. With lights on wiggle/move/twist all the wires you can touch. If it blows you know where to look closer.
5. Do same thing with harness/splitter under truck. Inspect/wiggle/twist.
6. If still works ????????? Go fishing.
Check the ground.
Before you plug in the trailer and if you know how to use a multimeter I would clean off a spot on the frame to use as ground. Then start checking each pin in the plug and see which one is causing your short. Use the Ohms setting which is the Omega sign. You should not read zero on any of them between your trailer and the pin. If you do you have found the short. Brown is running/Brakes, Green is right turn and yellow is left turn.
brakes are the same as your turn
Check the ground.
First thing I do every time on the trailer . Dremel with wire wheel on the frame to clear off the rust and corrosion .
I wonder if the fuse blew when the trailer was in the water. Sometimes wires will chafe under tie wraps. An exposed hot wire can short out when wet and draw excessive current.
Before you plug in the trailer and if you know how to use a multimeter I would clean off a spot on the frame to use as ground. Then start checking each pin in the plug and see which one is causing your short. Use the Ohms setting which is the Omega sign. You should not read zero on any of them between your trailer and the pin. If you do you have found the short. Brown is running/Brakes, Green is right turn and yellow is left turn.
This^^^.
Also the fuse that was blown may give you a hint as to which trailer wire to focus on.
Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions. I tried everything and can’t find a problem. Finally plugged into the truck and parking, turn and tail lights all work fine, so I have no idea if the problem was with the truck or the trailer. Just going to go fishing and keep my fingers crossed.
Before you plug in the trailer and if you know how to use a multimeter I would clean off a spot on the frame to use as ground. Then start checking each pin in the plug and see which one is causing your short. Use the Ohms setting which is the Omega sign. You should not read zero on any of them between your trailer and the pin. If you do you have found the short. Brown is running/Brakes, Green is right turn and yellow is left turn.
Brown=tail lights
Green=right turn/brake
Yellow=left turn/brake
White or black=ground
Other color is either backup lights or brake lock out when in reverse
Good luck.
X2 on the multimeter check. I messed around with my old trailer a bunch of times until I just said f it and rewired the whole thing. Found a few abraded sections. Just make sure your new stuff is tinned copper/marine rated, and be gentle when fishing the wires down the frame.
It’s ALWAYS the ground.
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