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Sportsmen's Gear Forum

boat trailers

trailer lights

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Topic

Joseph
Starting Member

39 Posts

Posted - 10/04/2009 : 3:25:37 PM

I had some rust spots on my trailer so I decided to paint the whole thing. So I decided to replace the lights & harness while I was at it. Now my lights are not working. From what I've read a lot of lighting problems are related to proper grounding. My question is could trying to ground to the newly painted surface be causing the problems? Thanks in advance.

T-heart
Advanced Member

USA
679 Posts

Posted - 10/04/2009 : 4:42:05 PM

I would say YES!!!!!!!!! sand down where your ground is make a good connection a then paint over

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rambo
New Member

USA
14 Posts

Posted - 10/04/2009 : 6:53:04 PM

Joseph, you now have the opportunity to wire your trailer in any manner you choose. you need to run a ground wire from your truck plug all the way to your lights. either soldier in the light to the grounding bar ( the best way ) or ground directly to the same mounting bolt that the light grounds on (second best ) .ground problems haunt many, but you are in a position to eliminate them. also make sure that the truck side is grounded to the ground wire in the light harness, not on a rusty screw under the bumper.

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Joseph
Starting Member

39 Posts

Posted - 10/04/2009 : 7:49:21 PM

Thanks T-heart and rambo. Please clarify something for me. Each new tail light had a ground wire which connects to a bolt screwed into the trailer. But, I'm don't know what you mean by the "grounding bar".

rambo
New Member

USA
14 Posts

Posted - 10/05/2009 : 2:49:13 PM

If your new lights have a groung wire sticking out of them, connect it to ground wire running all the way to the plug. you may hafta run your own wire, as some pre-made harness do not have a full length ground wire. the ground bar I am referring to would be inside the light fixture where both light bulbs ground to a mounting bolt.

Big John
Advanced Member

USA
1196 Posts

Posted - 10/06/2009 : 09:18:49 AM

I just did mine a month or so back. I still had the original factory setup which grounded everything through the frame using the light mounting bolts. I clipped off the ring lug on the white wire on all the lights. I ran a new white wire from light to light and soldered all of them together. Slid a sleeve made from a drinking straw over every joint and sealed them with silicone. Ran a new white wire all the way up to the trailer jack and installed a ring lug and grounded it to the frame using one of the jack mounting bolts. I then ran a ground wire from the same bolt to the ground wire on the trailer wiring plug. This way the ground point stays out of the water when the boat is launched. Hope this helps

Old Fishermen Never Die, They just smell that way !

Joseph
Starting Member

39 Posts

Posted - 10/07/2009 : 5:04:33 PM

Thanks again guys, but I am still having trouble. I like Big John's set up, but I have not tried that yet. I did grind the paint off at the ground for each light - but no light comes on. The tail lights are the only ones with an actual white ground wire. The clearance lights have a metal tab that contacts the mounting screw and by that is grounded to the trailer.

My question now is, would a bad ground connection on 1 or 2 lights cause all the other lights not to work? I'm beginning to wonder if the plug on my new harness is bad.

rambo
New Member

USA
14 Posts

Posted - 10/07/2009 : 5:29:48 PM

you are gonna hafta give up a little more info on what is working and what is not. you now need to test your pins on the wiring harness of the truck. some newer trucks have fuses on the circuit for trailer towing. these may now be blown. you may still have a bad ground at the trailer ball or where your trailer harness grounds to the frame. this must also be ground down to bare steel, especially if you are not grounded well through the harness. Big John and myself have given you some good advice,but you need to apply it. a bad ground will drive you crazy. as far as the marker lights go, the ground tab must contact bare steel as well. check your personel e-mail for another message.

Edited by - rambo on 10/07/2009 5:31:37 PM

oldmechanic
Advanced Member

USA
1195 Posts

Posted - 10/07/2009 : 5:36:05 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Joseph

Thanks again guys, but I am still having trouble. I like Big John's set up, but I have not tried that yet. I did grind the paint off at the ground for each light - but no light comes on. The tail lights are the only ones with an actual white ground wire. The clearance lights have a metal tab that contacts the mounting screw and by that is grounded to the trailer.

My question now is, would a bad ground connection on 1 or 2 lights cause all the other lights not to work? I'm beginning to wonder if the plug on my new harness is bad.

if the trailer is not making a good ground on the ball, the lights won't work. if the body ground on the truck is bad, the lights won't work. using a test light, check your outlet to ground on your truck. then test your outlet to trailer frame and see if the trailer is grounding. if both are grounded, (your light comes on), then you have a wire problem with the light circuit. use a set of jumper cables and a battery and ground the trailer and test the wires at the plug on th trailer.

V Fib
Junior Member

USA
69 Posts

Posted - 10/30/2009 : 8:41:55 PM

Found my problem, burnt fuse. The lights worked when braking, signaling but not running normally. Checked truck not working , just burnt fuse, all well. I noticed thou the led lights I bought less than a year and not that many hours have a few burnt out light. I really wonder if the led is worth it. Its nice and bright but the cost hummm

Murf
Average Member

USA
293 Posts

Posted - 11/24/2009 : 09:29:49 AM

Mike - I was having the exact same problem you're describing (brake lights and blinkers work but no running lights or side markers). I just found a burnt fuse and I'm pretty sure that's the culprit. I haven't replaced & tested but will update as soon as I do.

Murf

V Fib
Junior Member

USA
69 Posts

Posted - 11/24/2009 : 09:43:30 AM

I found that it was a burnt out Fuse Now trying to figure why a few burnt out lights in one of the LED light is out, its not that old.

Murf
Average Member

USA
293 Posts

Posted - 11/24/2009 : 09:53:25 AM

I just replaced all of the lights and wiring on my trailer about 2 months ago. Now I'm realizing I probably didn't need to do that. Oh well, everything is new now...

Murf

Murf
Average Member

USA
293 Posts

Posted - 12/01/2009 : 7:46:37 PM

I replaced the fuse in my SUV and all lights work (except for one side marker) but I knew I needed to replace that anyway. When I replaced everything I kept the old side markers. I'm just happy that I have running lights, blinkers and brake lights!!!

Murf

Big John
Advanced Member

USA
1196 Posts

Posted - 12/03/2009 : 07:03:32 AM

Burn out LEDS seem to be a common problem. I was reworking my lights and did some research on LED lights. Lots of the web boating forums had people reporting this problem. I believe that many of these units are not sealed up good enough. A little moisture gets in there and shorts out a few of them. I went back with the old incandescent bulbs.

Old Fishermen Never Die, They just smell that way !

Peezer
New Member

USA
11 Posts

Posted - 01/04/2010 : 10:44:22 PM

What to do if you can't get a rusted bulb out of the socket? I was thinking about replacing the incandescent set up LED based on the belief that they are "waterproof." I did manage to remove the burnt bulb, but can not get a new one to work. Is there any good way to prevent this corrosion process or when a bulb burns do you have to replace the whole light?