Forum Discussion

stlucia0127's avatar
stlucia0127
Explorer
Aug 19, 2015

Toad vehicle turn signals not working

We have a 2015 Thor Class A connected to a 2014 Honda CRV. The last time we brought it home we hooked it up and the brake lights are in sync with the motorhome but the turn signals aren't. Independently all lights work on each vehicle.

Any suggestions?

We hooked the vehicles up and all was well at the start of the trip. When we hooked up after camping for five days the brake lights worked on the vehicle when we pressed the brake lights on the MH. When we activated the turn signals on the MH the turn signals on the toad didn't work. The turn signals on the MH and toad are amber lights. This is the fourth time we have towed the vehicle, we haven't changed any thing and this is the first time we've encountered a problem.
Class A
  • enblethen's avatar
    enblethen
    Nomad
    Aug 19, 2015
    Does your MH have amber turn signals?
    Are you using the amber lights on CRV or the red brake lights for the turn signals?
    Amber turn signals on MH hooked to red, brake and turn signals require a combiner to go 3-2. This unit may have a separate power supply and a ground.
    What type of cable being used between the rigs?
    More information required!
  • DrewE's avatar
    DrewE
    Explorer II
    Aug 19, 2015
    If the turn signals on both are flashing, but are out of phase (the motorhome on and the tow vehicle off, and vice-versa), that's usually nothing to worry about, but merely a side effect of the conversion from 3 wire to 2 wire signaling and/or vice-versa.
  • Dale_Traveling's avatar
    Dale_Traveling
    Explorer II
    Aug 19, 2015
    Not sure what is meant by in sync. Left turn on the coach but right turn on the CRV? Is the CRV configured with extra lights that are only used for towing or is the vehicle configured with diodes? What has changed since the last time the lights were verified?

    If the CRV is wired up to use diodes rather than retrofitting extra towing lights the configuration can be tricky and require an extra item to make it work correctly which could be the source of the problem. Since I went the diode route I also had to use one of THSES with my CRV to get everything to work correctly.
  • JFC's avatar
    JFC
    Explorer
    Aug 19, 2015
    If they worked before but have stopped, check the fuse bank. After years, our toad's turn signals stopped working when on the coach, but both coach and toad worked fine alone. It turns out on my Holiday Rambler there is a separate fuse for each turn signal line going to the toad connection. Not sure why they blew, but the shop suggested I check for these fuses when I described the problem. Found the fuses, replaced and everything has been fine for the past year.
  • phillyg's avatar
    phillyg
    Explorer II
    Aug 19, 2015
    Look also for a bad ground. Using a voltmeter can occasionally be difficult. I've found using a single wire with alligator clips at each end can be used as a test jumper to bypass components, providing a ground alternate. Just used one today to jump a bad tail light ground to my trailer, tail light lit right up telling me the ground wire needed to be cleaned and reattached more securely.
  • BTPO1's avatar
    BTPO1
    Explorer
    Aug 19, 2015
    phillyg wrote:
    Look also for a bad ground. Using a voltmeter can occasionally be difficult. I've found using a single wire with alligator clips at each end can be used as a test jumper to bypass components, providing a ground alternate. Just used one today to jump a bad tail light ground to my trailer, tail light lit right up telling me the ground wire needed to be cleaned and reattached more securely.


    I also like to use jumpers, but I use fused jumpers to prevent any problems with wiring. It's as simple as putting an inline fuse on one end before the alligator clip. JMO
  • enblethen's avatar
    enblethen
    Nomad
    Aug 19, 2015
    If this is on a Ford chassis, many Fords have separate fuses for the "trailer" connector.
    What happens when you turn on the four ways?
  • Blaster_Man's avatar
    Blaster_Man
    Explorer
    Aug 20, 2015
    BTPO1 wrote:
    phillyg wrote:
    Look also for a bad ground. Using a voltmeter can occasionally be difficult. I've found using a single wire with alligator clips at each end can be used as a test jumper to bypass components, providing a ground alternate. Just used one today to jump a bad tail light ground to my trailer, tail light lit right up telling me the ground wire needed to be cleaned and reattached more securely.


    I also like to use jumpers, but I use fused jumpers to prevent any problems with wiring. It's as simple as putting an inline fuse on one end before the alligator clip. JMO


    Good suggestion...check the ground.

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