What does STEADY test light on left turn signal mean?

[Dale M.]

With the tail/stop/turn bulb out of rear sockets, there should be a total disconnect between the two separate circuits. IF you ARE seeing a short between the two and you are sure all wiring is separated and in tact (no shorts in physical wires or screws or nails through wires), replace the blankity blank connector You have about tested the system to death and come to same conclusion every time.......

If connector is not bad, space aliens are messing with your mind........

Dale

[Joe G]

....replace the blankity blank connector You have about tested the system to death and come to same conclusion every time.......

If connector is not bad, space aliens are messing with your mind........

Dale

I agree.

If you want to be completely sure that the connector is the problem before you replace it, do the following:

Cut the yellow and brown wires near the 4-pin flat connector. Test for continuity between the yellow and brown wire terminals on the connector. If there is continuity between these two pins, your connector is definitely junk.

If not....

[Hinermad]

I agree that the yellow and brown are shorted to each other and ground.

Jim,

If you had any marker bulbs at all in the circuit, the brown wire would show a connection to ground. Unless you've pulled all the bulbs, we con't conclude that brown is shorted to ground.

If you did have marker lamps in place, and yellow is shorted to brown, then yellow would appear to be connected to ground too.

The only place I can think of that might occur is in the 4 flat connector....

Or are marker lights a possible cause ? The marker lights only have 'internal' grounds, and if they shorted to the trailer frame that could create the path for brown and yellow to meet up???

That's highly unlikely. Did your marker lights work normally before? If they did, I'd say the brown wire is NOT shorted to ground. If it was, they wouldn't work and you'd probably blow a fuse in the vehicle (or in the converter module). If you see a connection from brown to ground, it's going through a marker lamp, which is as it should be. But if you see a connection from yellow to ground (assuming the left turn bulb is out), that's because it's shorted to brown.

About the only way for yellow to short to brown is where the wires come together, either at the connector or in a light fixture. I'd almost bet real money it's the connector.

Joe G has the right idea - if you want to confirm if the connector is bad, do the test he suggested. Leave enough wire sticking out of the back of the connector so that you can re-connect it to the trailer wiring, or else you'll have to replace the connector anyway.

Dave

[BrwBier]

Before I cut anything I would take all bulbs out and check only wires. I don't see a molded flat four connector as a week point. Its not impossible but in my mind just not the most likely. Like I said, all bulbs out and each wire checked from end to end. You will get through this, there is just something everyone is missing and when you fix it we will all say "why didn't I think of that". Good luck and don't get disappointed.
Brwbier

[kayakrguy]

...who was my 8th grade math teacher. Wielded a mean ruler, she did!
Oh no, pity me, I was abused as a kid, no wonder I'm so slow with electrical stuff!

anyhow....Hiner and Brew, I'll pull the bulbs on the front marker lights and re-test the wires before I cut anything. If wires do test out as shorted then I'll cut and replace....

Hiner....your point about a blown converter module--the shop that will replace my car's tow wires DID say that the module was fried....

'Course they're the people who wired the car with a 6 wire connector the first time....it's been downhill ever since!

Thanks very much guys!

Jim

[bobhenry]

Wow ! what a mystery. We need Nancy Drew !

Can we start an opinion poll on this one?

One more stupid thought have you tried a dedicated ground from vehicle to light fixture.

Then I vote cut the 4 way off and see how far you can throw it.

[bobhenry]

Well what was it ? inquiring minds need to know !

[kayakrguy]

First, the pics, just to keep MJ happy:





I did all of the steps recommended by BB+Hiner and some fuse blowers <g>

With the lamps out of the running lights, brown and yellow still showed connectivity. So, I cut the yellow wire by the left running light, tested with just the connector on the wires and STILL had connectivity. So, go get new connector. Come home, start wiring. But I'm a little older, wiser and learned a lot from folks on the board. So I add the new connector, put in the yellow and brown wires and go test for continuity just in front of the left running light.

STILL SHOW CONTINUITY! ?????

Now, some background. In February, I had the tongue strengthened by having the c channel closed with an additonal plate about 18" long and added some additional plates at the A bracing.

The wire you see was INSIDE the now 4 square tongue, and I discovered it when I pulled it out after putting the new connector on and STILL showing continuity between brown and green.

The wire got fried when the welder added the plates to the tongue. Now, if I had done the welding, I would have taken t he wiring out of the tongue while welding and then threaded it back through after everything was done. It simply did not occur to me that the wire would have been left inside the tongue while the welding was done!

So 'that's the rest of the story' I have learned a lot from this exercise.
One of the most valuable things about Mikenchell is that there are so many damn good teacbers here, for which I am grateful, believe me.

Miss Reynolds turned out to be right, sometimes the last answer is the best one...

Thanks, guys!

Jim

[bobhenry]

That's about what my 12 volt interior lighting wire looked like after a dead short.

" Been meanin' to fix that ma one of these days "


yes I have the fuse to go inline this time !

[madjack]

...glad you finally found the problem and learned a little...it's all good now, so y'all can head out on that vacation
madjack

[Hinermad]

Miss Reynolds turned out to be right, sometimes the last answer is the best one...

Thanks, guys!

Jim,

Gratz! I guess that's a lesson for me - just because it's usually a connector doesn't mean it's always a connector.

Dave

[kayakrguy]

Folks,

Here's a mystery for you...

When we got the hyundai and had the wiring installed at the trucking folks, they put the wrong wiring in--and it didn't work right with the trailer.

So, I took it back....they apologized, said they put in 6 wire connector---put in new converter...

Trailer, which I took with me the second time--and which worked (though left turn signal was decidedly week) worked when I came home from the truck place, went kerfluii when we went out two weekends ago.

So, I took car (only) back after my testing showed 'steady light on left turn signal'--which is why I came here to the bo
here's the mystery--

*********

Now, truck folks said, converter fried--ordered another and replaced it for the second time...free again, no additional charge.

Now in the meantime WE (you and I) went through the testing tutorial until I found the fried trailer wire.

I ASSUMED the fried wire happened when the welding was done....

COULD it have happened when the first--incorrect--converter was put in by the truck folks? Or is that a question that can't be answered after the fact?

Just curious...

Jim

[Hinermad]

COULD it have happened when the first--incorrect--converter was put in by the truck folks? Or is that a question that can't be answered after the fact?

Jim,

Oh, that question can be answered quite easily - just have your truck folks put in the same wrong stuff and see if it happens again. But it's probably not worth the expense, and if you show up at the shop again they might get suspicious.

The blackening on the wire in the photos you posted does remind me of wire that's been overheated due to excess current. (We won't talk about how I know what that looks like.) But for that to happen the wire would pretty much have to be shorted to ground, not to another light wire.

Dave

[bobhenry]

I'd say you welder killed 2 perfectly good converters. A direct short to ground of one of the hot wires will stop a converters little heart from beating ever again!

[kayakrguy]

Folks,

This is a bit different than the question that brought me here, but rather than start a whole new thread, I'll ask it here...

A lot has been written on the 'lectric board about grounds and how important and troublesome they can be. Many words expended about whether trailer is adequate ground etc. Importance of grounding lights to frame etc.

Now, my question is straightforward. Why not just ground the lights to the front of the trailer with the ground from the car? That would seem to be the most direct way to do it. Given that ALL the trailer lights I have seen have 'internal grounds'--I assume that is a connection to the bolt that attaches the light to the frame--it needs all the help it can get! I am not looking to start a firestorm of conflicting opinions, I'm just looking for information about the pro/con of what looks like a possible solution to me...

Jim