Electrical mystery problem... HELP!

[zipz71]

Are the taillights on your car LED? You may have multiplexing or pulse width modulation going on that won't work with a standard converter (you didn't say which one you used).
You might need something like this.
http://www.towready.com/content/product ... %20&part=0

The following is taken from the instructions for the 119192.

c) Some vehicles combine stop and tail light
functions onto 1 circuit (such as Mercedes
R-class). These vehicles will require that you
attach the trailer light power module red "stop"
wire to that same circuit on the vehicle and then
ground the brown "tail light" circuit.

d) Some vehicles combine stop and tail light
functions onto 1 circuit and then also have
an additional tail light function wire that is
independent of the stop (such as the BMW X5)
These vehicles will require that you attach the
trailer light power module red "stop" wire to
the same combined circuit on the vehicle and
then attach the brown "tail light" circuit to the
independent circuit on the vehicle.

e) Some vehicles combine the stop, turn and
taillight function onto 1 circuit and then also have
an additional combined stop and taillight circuit
(such as the VW GTI). These vehicles will require
that you attach the trailer light power module
red “stop” wire to the 2 function vehicle circuit
and attach the trailer light power module turn
functions to the 3 function vehicle circuit
(yellow = driver side, green = passenger side).
Then ground the trailer light power module
brown “taillight” circuit.

[parnold]

Go buy yourself a set of magnetic trailer lights. Open the package carefully and use these to test. If they work then the problem is the trailer, if they don't work, the problem is a wimpy connection in the vehicle. Test lights, and meters don't tell you if you have a wimpy connection! I replaced my module, and rewired my whole trailer before I discovered a crappy connection in the car. I wasted hours of time. Solder all connections on the vehicle.. do NOT use crimp connectors (having said that, there will be several people who will post that they have used the crimp connectors successfully for years) So did I, until one failure reminded me that solder is final!)

By the way, return the magnetic trailer lights when you find out what the problem is.

[starleen2]

Go buy yourself a set of magnetic trailer lights. Open the package carefully and use these to test. If they work then the problem is the trailer, if they don't work, the problem is a wimpy connection in the vehicle. Test lights, and meters don't tell you if you have a wimpy connection! I replaced my module, and rewired my whole trailer before I discovered a crappy connection in the car. I wasted hours of time. Solder all connections on the vehicle.. do NOT use crimp connectors (having said that, there will be several people who will post that they have used the crimp connectors successfully for years) So did I, until one failure reminded me that solder is final!)

By the way, return the magnetic trailer lights when you find out what the problem is.

+1 AMEN to that
Did the same thing also - turned out to be a loose connection in the T-harness for my Jeep Commander. It about drove me nuts looking for the problem until I hooked up another set of lights and it did the same thing.

AND IF it is the converter (assuming that you have one) - then you can easily replace those - most aftermarket auto parts stores carry them - simply wire it into you harness

BTW - some of the newer Cars may REQUIRE a programming step for the wiring harness - some newer jeeps that have an OEM aftermarket harness installed must be reprogrammed for the new harness to work properly. Might want to check it out with the the dealership

[caseydog]

It got weirder yesterday.

I was messing around with the circuit tester, and TV and trailer, and all of the sudden, I see brake lights working. I thought, "What did I just do?"

Well, the last thing I did was open the tailgate of my TV. So I closed it, and the brake lights went off. Open, on, closed, off. WTF?

So, I went to the Volvo dealer, and they told me that aftermarket converter/harnesses don't work on newer Vovlos, because everything on the car is computer controlled. A service tech there who does trailer hitch installations said he's worked dozens of cars with aftermarket wiring, and they all do something weird -- although it's not the same thing from one car to the next.

So, I needed a Volvo converter, a Volvo harness, and a computer download from Volvo, which the dealer has to install.

I bought the converter and harness, and installed them myself. 250 bucks -- ca-ching. But, at least I save the labor charge. Tomorrow, the Volvo dealer is doing the computer upgrade. That's another 150 bucks.

CD

[parnold]

Holey Guacamole Batman!!

At least you'll have it solved, but that sure is a painful bill.

[Tumbleweed_Tex]

That's exactly what I wuz gonna say the problem wuz...

[Dale M.]

Did someone mention "converter" before....

Dale

[eamarquardt]

So, I needed a Volvo converter, a Volvo harness, and a computer download from Volvo, which the dealer has to install.

I bought the converter and harness, and installed them myself. 250 bucks -- ca-ching. .................. Tomorrow, the Volvo dealer is doing the computer upgrade. That's another 150 bucks.

CD

This is "progress" in automotive design and manufacturing?

The next vehicle I buy (looking at Chevy Traverse) will have the tow package.

Cheers,

Gus

[caseydog]

Did someone mention "converter" before....

Dale

The aftermarket harness I bought had a converter in it, but it was not compatible with the Volvo computer programming, which only Volvo has.

CD

[caseydog]

Holey Guacamole Batman!!

At least you'll have it solved, but that sure is a painful bill.

I took it in today for the software upgrade. They gave me a loaner car, and had it done in a few hours. It works perfectly.

CD

[eamarquardt]

Yup, a "deposit" of over $400 at your local dealer/garage usually fixes a lot of things.

Progress?

Cheers,

Gus