The trouble with trailers...

[Great Dane]

Ok, so when I picked up my boat from the dealer, the right turn signal and right brake light did not work. They light up with the headlights, but do not flash on a turn or get brighter when you apply the brakes. (on the trailer, the truck lights function normally). No big deal, I was too excited to care and drove it home with no difficulties. However, after I backed it into the driveway the first time, I noticed some wear on the ball...



 

Is this normal wear of a new ball hitch, or is that groove there because my trailer breaks may have been engaged while backing it up the drive? (My driveway is uphill) I don't have any reason to suspect the breaks may have been on, other than the fact that my right turn signal did not work, and this groove...so maybe my tuck has some faulty wiring in the tow package wiring harness??

It's a 2004 Chevy Suburban with a original equipment tow package. I checked the connections and as far as I could tell everything looked good. I'm not sure how to begin solving a wiring issue with the truck.

 

[royal4]

5 pin wiring?  I'm just doing research on this and have to add a 4pin to 5pin converter on my tow vehicle and tie the 5th pin into the backup/reverse light. This will disengage the surge brakes on the trailer when in reverse. There is also a pin you can use to disengage it on some trailers that can be used in emergencies. When the tongue compresses (backing uphill or normal stopping) the surge brakes should engage from what I've been reading.

 

[Great Dane]

My truck has a round 7 pin connector. The trailer is a 5 pin deal. I bought a "5 to 7 connector" and figured I should be good to go...maybe I missed something?

 

[Maynard G. Krebs]

Your 5-7 connection should work fine, you have power to the right light since the running lamp lights up. Pull the bulb and see if one of the two filaments is broken, that would explain the loss of flasher and brake light. It would be really difficult to back a trailer uphill with the trailer brakes engaged. Easy enough to check on flat ground, the trailer should back up with very little throttle. If you have to gas it and the engine is struggling you'll hear it. 

Looks to me like you need to grease the hitch ball. That's not wear from just backing up, that's wear from towing home with metal-to-metal contact.

 

[SEMPERFI8387]

Check inside the tongue for a burr, but it looks like the latch rubbing. Grease it a little as Maynard said. 

 

[gnc1017]

Is this a new trailer or used? Is the 7 pin connector on the vehicle factory or installed afterwards?

If the vehicle connector is factory, I would suspect a bad connection in the trailer wiring or light housing is the cause for your stop/turn light not working. If all else seems to be working correctly, you have a bad connection on that wire somewhere. However, some troubleshooting with a meter may be needed to see where the problem is. Do you have another vehicle to plug it into to determine if the trailer, vehicle, or adapter? Although the adapter is unlikely unless it is used and corroded, worn, etc...

95% of the time I see trailer light issues it is a bad or broken connection in the trailer wiring. Again, you need to confirm but with factory OEM connectors on tow vehicles being much more common these days, bad connections on the trailer is usually where the problem is. It is a shame that on many brand new trailers, they still use 'scotch-locks' (insulation displacement type connectors) and rely on star washers through painted metal for ground connections. Especially on boat trailers where they are submerged in water (and all trailers for that matter), I much prefer soldered and sealed connections with grounds as screws into a good, solid ground connection (if using the frame as a ground). Granted, they are master welders and fabricators and do things in that area that I shouldn't even attempt, but a few simple lessons on electricity and wiring and how poor their wiring installs are would do many of these trailer manufacturers and their customers a ton of good. Of course, if your tow vehicle connector was not a factory installed option (and was spliced into the wiring, not using an aftermarket plug-in T-connector), you may have the same connection issues there. 

Sorry for the rant. Just a pet peeve of mine. I'm not in the trailer business but I can't tell you how many trailers I have had to fix and rewire for friends and neighbors. If I only had a nickel...

 

[BigKahuna]

I'm w/Maynard on the light bulb. Just changed a bulb on my trailer before my tow to NC and that was the exact problem. Light was working but didn't flash for the turn signal. Get the # off the bulb and change it......

Semp......looks to me that the latch is rubbing too. If that were the case shouldn't the marks be lower on the ball??? Looks kind of high up......

 

[Wild and Free]

Latch is set way too tight, there is a nylock nut on the latch under the hitch with a spring above it, back it off half to a full turn there is way to much tension on it to cause that gouge, it must be hard to latch I am guessing. Another thing with the lights is to  make sure the connectors inside your vehicle are clean of corrosion and not bent, there are several types of tools to clean the contacts inside trailer plugs along with electrical contact cleaner comes in an aerosol can like brake clean would.

 

[gnc1017]

I'm w/Maynard on the light bulb. Just changed a bulb on my trailer before my tow to NC and that was the exact problem. Light was working but didn't flash for the turn signal. Get the # off the bulb and change it......

Brain lapse on my part... I should have prefaced my comment with checking the bulb first (like Maynard and BigKanuna indicated). Assuming you have incandescent lights and not LED. That's an easy check. 

 

[Great Dane]

Your 5-7 connection should work fine, you have power to the right light since the running lamp lights up. Pull the bulb and see if one of the two filaments is broken, that would explain the loss of flasher and brake light. It would be really difficult to back a trailer uphill with the trailer brakes engaged. Easy enough to check on flat ground, the trailer should back up with very little throttle. If you have to gas it and the engine is struggling you'll hear it. 

Looks to me like you need to grease the hitch ball. That's not wear from just backing up, that's wear from towing home with metal-to-metal contact.

Check inside the tongue for a burr, but it looks like the latch rubbing. Grease it a little as Maynard said. 

I was completely unaware that ball hitches should be greased :huh:  ...I'll put a dab or two on it.

And I'll check those bulbs tonight, hopefully that is the problem.