I finally found the little wire brush that is small enough to get between and clean each of seven sections of a trailer's seven-pin connector, so I pass this discovery along in case I am not the only one who did not know how to find them.
It's called a air-gun brush, or a paint-sprayer brush. I found some at Harbor Freight, but in the paint-sprayer department. (Thanks to Harbor Freight for directing me to the right department.) Amazon has them, too.
I clean my contacts with WD40 electronics contact cleaner and then give them a coat of DeoxIT. I used the stuff for years in electronics and it works great.
I have kept my trailer plugs, bumper pulls and now fifth wheels up and out of the dirt, pointed down or now in the hitch. Never had an issue, also make sure the plug on the truck is kept closed when not in use. I guess it wouldn't hurt to add a little electrical lube to the male and female plugs. 🙂
After cleaning squirt Di-Electric grease into the connections and plug into 7 pin on TV. Now when storing cord leave the end pointing down. NO need for a cap that can trap moisture and cause corossion.
I store my connector in a bag inside the kingpin housing when parked. I use a shot to dielectric grease every so often. I’ve never had a disconnect or any indication of a connection problem since new in 2018. Trailer has over 20,000 miles and around 50 campgrounds.
I had been getting "trailer disconnected" and "turn signal not working" messages off and on for some time, and my trailer brake and turn lights finally stopped working. I was afraid that the problem might be hard to trace, but just cleaning the trailer's 7-pin contacts solved the problem.
RoyF wrote: I finally found the little wire brush that is small enough to get between and clean each of seven sections of a trailer's seven-pin connector, so I pass this discovery along in case I am not the only one who did not know how to find them.
It's called a air-gun brush, or a paint-sprayer brush. I found some at Harbor Freight, but in the paint-sprayer department. (Thanks to Harbor Freight for directing me to the right department.) Amazon has them, too.
