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PackerFan73's avatar
PackerFan73
Explorer
May 27, 2013

Having trouble with my right blinker

Hi,

I have been trying to figure out why the right blinker doesn't work on my Mallard. The left blinker does, as do the running lights. Changed the bulb, nothing. Cleaned the connector, nothing. Checked the right blinker wire with a test light, no power. Checked the connector on the truck, no problems there.

This morning, i cut away some of the rubber sheath on the connector that plugs into the truck. With the turn signal on left, it shows no power to the yellow wire which is for the left blinker. But the left blinker works. And the green wire shows power. When I have the right blinker on, the green wire shows power, yet the right blinker doesn't work!

I know the green wire in the connector is supposed to be for the right turn/brake signal, and the yellow wire is supposed to be for the left turn/brake signal. Any chance the connector was wired up improperly from the factory? Or coud the yellow wire be for the right signal, and the green for the left?

Thanks to anyone that can help, I am just trying to fix this on my own before I have to drag the trailer away to be fixed.
  • After you test it and confirm the problem is in a particular installed run of wire, and before you install it, that long run of wire makes a really good tool for debugging the problem with your current circuit.

    Jim
  • I did check the connections behind the tail lamp, they were ok. Made new connectons anyway.

    I guess off to the store to get some 14ga wire. I will for sure make sure the new connection and wire works before I fish the wire.

    Thanks for the help! I am glad to know I will have this fixed before our 3 week vacation out East in July!
  • Packerfan73,

    Many times OEM makes a connection way down inside the opening cut out for the tail light. I have found bad connections after I unfastened the entire tail light assembly and let it hang. Running an exposed new wire may not be the best first option.

    Don't let it buffalo you. It can be a real easy fix but you need to check.
  • X2 But try first to see if it will work before hiding a new
    wire.
  • Thanks for the replies so far, here is what i have found so far.

    I followed the trailer connector to where it disappears into a black junction box. Turns out the bown wire is the right turn/brake, the red wire is the left turn/brake, green is the taillights. Yellow is nothing. So I have power to the brown/brown junction, where the brown wire disappears into the floor. Where it exits at the taillamp, there is no power.

    So I am guessing there is a break in the brown wire at some point where it is buried in the trailer. Would it be a lot of work to unearth this wire, or would running a fresh wire back to the tallight be okay?

    Thanks again!
  • TTMA color code is different than the R.V. nightmare color code and many mechanics throw up their hands in disgust and follow TTMA guidelines (Truck Trailer Manufacturing Association). This is what MAY have happened in your case.

    For years and years the entire automotive industry followed the BROWN tail and parking lamps, YELLOW, left turn, GREEN right turn custom.

    To complete the TTMA guidelines, RED is specified for brake lights, BLUE for accessory, BLACK for marker lights and WHITE for chassis ground.

    If I know which wire is CHASSIS GROUND, sometimes I break a light bulb stick it in the malfunctioning socket hook a jumper wire to one of the two filament pins, then run forward and see if the power appears at the trailer PLUG (not the disconnected truck SOCKET).

    Electricians joke that RV color codes were established when manufacturers stumbled across the cheapest wire sources regardless of color.
  • Sounds like no ground to trailer from the truck. White is ground when working on 12 volt toys and trucks.
  • Corroded ground connection on the one that does not work?

    Jim