Trailer Plug Won't Stay In

[xteacher]

Wondering what the problem is with our trailer plug into the tow vehicle receptacle. When the weather is either cold or hot, the plug will not go completely into the receptacle on the tow vehicle and seat itself under the lip of the receptacle cover that holds it there. The other morning in very cold weather, no matter how hard we tried, it wouldn't go far enough in to be able to go under the lip of the receptacle cover to hold it in. DH had to jimmy-rig several heavy duty rubber bands to hold the plug in place, so we'd have lights and brakes for our trip. Even in decent weather, we have to work at getting the plug to settle in correctly. We've already had it replaced once. What's the deal?

[mkirsch]

Look for a bent-over or out-of-place pin in the plug.

[2oldman]

BenK wrote:
First check out if there is something 'in' there, or worn bit of plastic

x2

[jerem0621]

This is a less than $30.00 repair... Inspect the veicle side connector.. it could be a simple twig that found its way into the 7 pin connector. If needed replace one or both ends of this connection.

This is a major major safety issues.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[Miles_Away]

I have experienced this same issue. I found, after changing trailer plugs, that the new one was slightly longer than the original, therefore it would not go in far enough for the retainer tab on the receptacle cover to drop down and lock the plug in place. A little work with a file allowed me to shave enough plastic off both side so that it now fits and locks properly. After the fix we took a 5K trip this summer and and had zero issues.

[myredracer]

rhagfo wrote:


X6 or whatever, Clean inspect Repair correctly or replace bad parts, Bungee cords and Velcro have their place, they should not be needed to hold the connector in place.

Ditto.

This is a important safety related issue and most definitely a band-aid approach should not be taken. The plug should go in easily and be held captive the entire time. Do visual inspection first to see if it's corroded, dirty and/or misaligned.

The recept. on our '09 was corroded badly when we got it 2+ years ago and had to be replaced. It doesn't necessarily take long for these things to go bad. A hitch shop replaced ours with an aftermarket part instead of an OEM one for a fraction of the cost.

[rhagfo]

BenK wrote:
Ditto...fix it or replace

Connectors of this type are designed to mate repeatedly

First check out if there is something 'in' there, or worn bit of plastic

If me, I'd replace as DE and others recommends. If you are not handy
in this area, then any trailer/UHaul/etc can also do the replacement

On this type of thing, I'd not spare pennies and get the better one.
They all have have the same form factor, as that is an industry standard

X6 or whatever, Clean inspect Repair correctly or replace bad parts, Bungee cords and Velcro have their place, they should not be needed to hold the connector in place.

[Old-Biscuit]

If receptacle mounting bolts/screws have been installed too tight it will warp the receptacle.
Once warped they stay warped

[DutchmenSport]

Had a similar problem with my last camper. Turned out one of the pins was not aligned right, preventing it from seating completely. The problem was with the truck female end. The trailer pig-tail was fine. One of the slots the pin slipped into was bent.

[JesLookin]

I'd look closely to the plug and receptacle. Looking for any flashing, from the molding of the plastic part, that is preventing the plug from going all the way into the receptacle.

[skipnchar]

Rubber bands and bunge cords are NOT the thing you want to use to keep something as important as your brakes working properly. I'd recommend you use some electro wash and lots of it to try and clean out whatever is preventing it from fully seating. Use the spray on both male and female ends. If it won't go in far enough to "latch" then it's not fully seated and there is a good chance it will spark and overheat which will only make the problem worse.
Good luck / Skip

[Gonzo42]

For want of a nail....

Spend some time on close inspection first. I consider that the first rule of troubleshooting - LOOK AT IT. If you have to spend some money, consider it cheap insurance. If a failure occurs while under way, Murphy's Law clearly says it will happen at the worst time and location. Don't take the risk.

[BenK]

Ditto...fix it or replace

Connectors of this type are designed to mate repeatedly

First check out if there is something 'in' there, or worn bit of plastic

If me, I'd replace as DE and others recommends. If you are not handy
in this area, then any trailer/UHaul/etc can also do the replacement

On this type of thing, I'd not spare pennies and get the better one.
They all have have the same form factor, as that is an industry standard

[D_E_Bishop]

I have to agree with donn0128, fix it or replace it. No one has suggested fixing it, so I will. Take the vehicle socket(male)and disconnect it from the vehicle and the cable, then take the cable plug(female) and disconnect it from the trailer. Now sit down at your work bench or any well lit place and plug the two parts together and try and observe where the problem is. Often it is a lousy casting or a socket or maybe a foreign object in one of the sockets in the trailer plug. There is something wrong with one of the two mating parts. If your truck came with the seven wire connector and the trailer with another brand, could be they weren't meant to mate.

And yes in my 60 years working mostly in the electrical field, I have run across this problem more than once where there is no "Written Standard" like the NEC. Even in the four wire flat connectors, there is a huge difference in plug ends.

I'd take both ends to NAPA or U-Haul or some company that has several makes of connectors and try and mate up one of the connectors to a new one. It may require spending some of your hard earned money but those bungies cords or what ever it is you jerry rig your connection weren't free.

By the way we're talking about less than twenty dollars and in most cases less than ten.

[donn0128]

I just see no reason to micky mouse things when there are safe plausable ways of doing things. If you choose to do something unsafe and put yourself at risk, go ahead. Just let the rest of us know what roads you will be on so we can avoid them when your there. Have you ever had the umbelicable cord come loose and had to panic stop with only the TV service brakes?