Hello,

So I got a Reese hitch put on my truck tonight. I figured that I could do the wiring myself to save some money. I got a T-Harness adapter from the trailer place for $14. All you have to do is unplug the factory wiring connectors located in the center of the vehicle above the bumper and bingo, your done! I then have this terminating to a 6 pin round connector.

So after 2 minutes of time under the truck I am ready to go! I back the truck up to the trailer to give it a systems check. I knew this went to easy...

When I plug the trailer in all of the lights on the trailer come on about half brightness. Whenever I use either turn signal all of the lights blink. When I apply the brake, they all go out. The t-harness has 3 led lights on it. They indicate properly what I am doing but don't reflect it in the trailer lights. The trailer is fine as I hooked it up to my other vehicle to check.

What are your thoughts?

 

sounds like you have bad ground.

 

How do I track that down? The lights work fine without the trailer attached.

 

Can anyone give me some advice on how to troubleshoot this. Also, with the headlights on and the vehicle idling the voltage will drop down the N or O in NORMAL on the gauage. When I acclerate the lights come up to brightness and everything is fine. All of this is without the trailer attached.

If I put a DC clamp meter on the postiive line of the battery and it shows draw can I start pulling fuses that control the lights to help determine where the ground is?

 

Check the battery voltage engine off and running. Sounds sorta normal though, the dim then brighter lights. White wire is ground for the trailer stuff, make sure the trailer white wire is grounded to the trailer frame. I would add another ground to the truck side of the trailer plug (still white), either temporary or permanent, and see how the lights operate. You can do it temporary by sticking the wire between the two plugs in the ground hole portion and run the other end to a good ground on the truck. Just about anything metal is ground but I would clean a spot on the frame and connect there.

 

Either a bad ground or corrosion leading to a mild positive leak to ground causing extra draw. Did you try unplugging and replugging the new connector a couple times to make sure you are getting good connection? Did you look into the truck ends of the wiring where you plugged the "T" into to make sure the connectors are all there and in good shape?
Since the "T" connector is for flat 4 wiring and you are terminating in a 6 pin round are you sure you have the wiring terminated correctly? There are two ways of doing the brake wiring. East Coast and West Coast one uses the "S" terminal and one uses the center terminal. When running brakes (you didn't mention if you are or not) you are going to need a heavier ground wire than what the "T" plug provides.IIRC
DT

 

quick way too double check for ground problem....take your booster cable hook one to your trailer and the other to your truck(corresponding colours of course)


the ground will be the white wire on your trailer harness.....most often people try to ground the traiker just through the ball and hitch connection