2017 New truck says 5th wheel it not connect? Update 2-14-18

[Chuck___]

I purchased a 2017 350 Ford daully in October. Just after I step on the brakes the dish reads out and says that the left and right tailor lights not working/fault. The right and left turn signal flashes rapidity when turned on. Also it says that the tailor is not connected. I spend several hours cleaning the tailor plug connector and the new truck bed connector. When I plug it in all the tailor lights are working properly and the truck is connected to the cord and or to the hitch. Not success!

Has anyone of you had this problem?


Update 2-14-18: Checked the 7 pin male and female plug on the truck, each pin, ground connections truck and the tailor , continuity check the trailer cord and all is good. But, I still have the same dash read out on my new Ford

Finally we were able to connect my brother in law's newer 250 Chevy truck to the fifth wheel and his truck dash readout says all is good. Going to take the my Ford truck to the dealer next week to have it checked.

[lakeside013104]

Similar problem with my trailer. After much trouble shooting I found that a taillight mounting bolt had been over tightened during assembly causing the inside metal connections behind the bulb holder to be twisted over and touching one another.

Adjustment was made resulting in no more dash error messages.

Good luck.

Lakeside

[wrvond]

The only LED lights on an F350 dually are the roof lights and rear fender/center marker lights. All others are incandescent.

[Deraldjr]

Had a similar problem with trailer lights not being LED. The UPFITTER Module will think there is a short. I replaced all lights on trailer and this solved the problem. The new truck are so much better with all the protection for both truck and trailer.
Similar to "KERRLAKEREO" response.

[laknox]

wrvond wrote:
If you have the umbilical plugged in and the truck is able to test the lights, then everything should work.
Have you tried plugging the umbilical into both outlets?

I have seen one case where the female plug on the truck came from the manufacturer incorrectly wired.

I didn't know Lippert was making trucks, now!? :B

Lyle

[wrvond]

If you have the umbilical plugged in and the truck is able to test the lights, then everything should work.
Have you tried plugging the umbilical into both outlets?

I have seen one case where the female plug on the truck came from the manufacturer incorrectly wired.

[sbergherr]

If at all possible I would check with the dealer to see if there is an update available for this system. I used to have a 2015 F150 that needed an update after pulling a smaller trailer with trailer brakes. After updating the trailer brake control module in the truck we had no more issues.

[Puddles]

A bad ground connection explains the vast majority of trailer wiring problems.


X2

[kerrlakeRoo]

Has this problem been there every since buying the new truck? Or did it just start?
With the new truck likely having LED lights, and the trailer having old style Incadescents it could be trying to draw too much and making your display think there is a short.

[LIKE2BUILD]

Chuck .. wrote:
2017 350 Ford daully....I step on the brakes the dash reads out and says that the left and right tailor lights not working/fault.

The right and left turn signal flashes rapidity when turned on. Also it says that the trailer is not connected.

#1 GROUND
Check all ground connections:
** truck 7-way
** Trailer umbilical
** Trailer brake leads
** Trailer lights

A bad ground connection explains the vast majority of trailer wiring problems.

#2 Trailer Brake wiring
Trailer manufacturers are notorious for cheap wiring of the brakes. Most often they daisy chain all the brakes together and run leads through the axle tubes. The daisy chain connections typically use scotch lock connectors which are great at corroding or not fully penetrating the wire insulation. Also the wires running though the axle tubes are famous for getting chaffed and causing a short to ground.

Usually when I've seen "Trailer Not Connected" it means there is a fault in the brake wiring connection. I've seen it twice in my RAM pulling 2 separate gooseneck trailers I had borrowed. One was really trashy wiring with corroded and broken connections. The other was because they had used non-standard wiring patterns in the trailer 7-way connector. Previously in my old truck I got NC (not connected) errors with my Prodigy brake controller. That issue was related to bad OEM brake wiring on the trailer.

KJ

[remdog_1]

Don’t forget to check under hood fuses for trailer towing

[ACZL]

Check truck plug w/ 12v lite tester 1st. Verify all the pins work. Then move onto trailer. It's been my case when either the left or right turn signals flash fast that a bulb is burnt out on truck. Upon edit: you may have a trailer brake wiring issue. Had this occur to me a year ago w/ snowmobile trailer. Kept getting trailer connected/disconnected msg on dash. Ended up that only 1 brake out of 4 was working.

[jkwilson]

I've come across two different people with trailer light connection problems that just weren't pushing the plug in far enough. It can take quite a bit of force to get it truly connected.

[Gib3633]

On my GMC after removing and replacing the cab the helper mechanic forgot to reconnect one plug on the engine side of the master cylinder and when I connected the message said trailer not connected. The main mechanic new exactly what happened and plugged it back in and everything OK. I know it was a GMC but worth checking.

[Tvov]

I love Fords, but I have read on here more than once that people replaced the trailer plug that came with the truck and solved their issues.