Trailer lights have me baffled?????

[word]

Hoping someone can help
me out here. I have a 1988 Skyline Nomad..24ft. Just bought this not quite a month ago. Had to add a 7 way receptacle to my 05 Ford Expedition to hook up the camper. The trailer was missing the tailights, so I purchased new one. Hooked them up yesterday...and here is my issue. I have brake lights and both turn signals. I have the running lights on the drivers side of the trailer, but I have no tail lights? No running lights on the passenger side of the trailer either? Not sure if the bulbs even work on the passenger side ( I have new ones coming), but I can't figure out why no tail lights? I do not know much about wiring, but from what I gather, the brown wire works the tail/running lights. The fun part is when I disconnected the brown wires at the front of the trailer, I still had my drivers side running lights. I still had my drivers side brake lights, however, now I did not have my passenger side brake lights? Any thoughts?

Thanks for your help

[othertonka]

Since you installed new tail lights, do they have a separate ground wire?
Some tail lights just depend on the mounting bolts to establish a ground contact with the skin/siding of the RV. If you have no separate ground wire and your RV skin is non metallic, then the mounting bolts `will not make a ground. To test this theory, attach a jumper wire to a frame/ground point and touch the other end of the wire to an exposed metal part on the inside of the tail light thus making a ground connection and see if the lights come ON. give it a try.

[Dog_Folks]

opnspaces wrote:
Almost invariably when the exterior lights start acting up it's a grounding problem. Usually the lights gain a ground through a different lights. This can cause weird behavior like when yuo step on the brakes one taillight goes out.

But, I would first check though that the lights have the correct bulbs in them. Pull the bulbs and look in the sockets. If the socket has two contacts, make sure the bulb base has two contacts.

Agree 100%

[diazr2]

Its always a ground wire some place that's the problem. So check all grounds then when you done check them again. 🙂

[jimw606]

When something crazy happens to me on 12v, the first thing I do is check the grounds.

[westend]

You have some wiring shorted or miswired and probably bad grounds in others (assuming the vehicles harness is correct). Confirm with a meter or test light that the vehicle's harness is correct, then disconnect and power each circuit of the trailer and individually check all lights.

[dmopar74]

On the old skylines the tails share grounds with the running lights. You need to redo every light on the trailer or you will have constant problems. Everything is pretty much daisy chained together.

[word]

One other thing. I do not have the electric brakes, reverse lights, or the auxilliary power hooked up. Would this effect anything with the tail lights/marker lights?

[word]

sounds like a plan...thanks for the help

[K_Charles]

Remove the plug from the truck and get a jumper wire for the groung, or jumper cables and hook the frame to a battery ground. then get a jumper and try one contact in the trailer plug at a time. The trailer plug may have a short or the rear lights may have a short.

[opnspaces]

I just read your post again. From where you are I would probably disconnect all wires. Then verify that what you think is a ground wire actually goes to the frame.

From there hook up the ground wire and one other wire at a time making note of what lights up. This will probably make the issue show up pretty quickly.

[opnspaces]

Almost invariably when the exterior lights start acting up it's a grounding problem. Usually the lights gain a ground through a different lights. This can cause weird behavior like when yuo step on the brakes one taillight goes out.

But, I would first check though that the lights have the correct bulbs in them. Pull the bulbs and look in the sockets. If the socket has two contacts, make sure the bulb base has two contacts.

[word]

Don't know if I have markers without the rear lights...haven't checked. Lights are wired correctly. Appreciate the wiring diagram BB, what doesn't make sense to me is why when I disconnect the brown wire (tail lights / side markers) I still have side markers? Does it just sound like it is wired up wrong? I sure hope not, cause all the wiring is running under the floor. No idea how to get to it without tearing up the floor?

[BB_TX]

Trailer wiring diagram

[K_Charles]

Check how you hooked up the rear lights. Maybe a ground wire hooked wrong. Do you have markers if you remove the rear lights?