Late nite trailer lite repair

[bjr]

Had to leave early morning this last Saturday to haul a found on Craigslist pickup (200 mile round trip) home for the 19 year old Grandson. It's his very first in his name vehicle. It's a '97 F-150 extended cab with a blowed up v-6, 4.2 engine with manual transmission. Well I borrow a buddys 2 axle hay trailer/car hauler and of course the lites hadn't worked in years. After a couple hours of frustration of just not getting any power back thru the truck trailer connector, I finally grabbed my DMM and checked the battery voltage, 5.9 volts and this is after recleaning the terminals. The truck had been turning over rather slowly and was over 5 years old. By now 10:30 pm, so after quick trip to the local Walmart Super Center (Open 24 hrs) got a new battery in the truck and all trailer lite issues quickly resolved at 1:00 am and left at 6 that morning. Got back home at noon. This is stuff you'd only do for a very close relative. I was tired when I got done. Kind of a adventure, just to break the boredom of the work-a-day living. Oh, the moral here, Check your battery voltage first (automotive electrical 101). bjr

 

[stuckmotor]

If the bad battery was in the tow vehicle it looks like the trailer lights would have come on when the altenator was running.

 

[flyerdan]

At less than half voltage indicating dead cells, the battery shouldn't have even tried to start the pickup.
As an aside, it's good to have a set of those HF magnetic lights that you can use in a hurry to avoid having to rewire or troubleshoot. Wait for a sale and get them cheap.

 

[zzvyb6]

Could you have towed your truck home with the 'new' one ? That would have been a great family story for a few generations.

 

[Ed of all trades]

The last time I was up working on trailer lights I ended up rewiring the whole trailer. Got it done just in time and the people left on their trip. When they got home they told me that my rewiring job did not hold up. The tongue of the trailer broke off as they pulled out from a stoplight and the trailer was setting in the middle of the road. They git the tongue welded and the wiring redone and finished the trip. Ed

 

[MF283]

The last time I was up working on trailer lights I ended up rewiring the whole trailer. Got it done just in time and the people left on their trip. When they got home they told me that my rewiring job did not hold up. The tongue of the trailer broke off as they pulled out from a stoplight and the trailer was setting in the middle of the road. They git the tongue welded and the wiring redone and finished the trip. Ed

You must have used some strong wire ties to break the tounge off:laughing: I got in a hurry one time, all new wiring & light's on a boat trailer, everything was crossed or reversed or just didn't work.
I went to set on the trailer tounge & it rolled off, yep, wasn't grounded to the truck:ashamed:

Ronnie

 

[2458n]

I have dragged many purchases home late at night with the stick on magnetic harbor freight lights. Before they raised the prices on everything in the store they were a must have. Could not figure how they could sell them so cheaply. Fixing one set I learned that the strands of wire only had 4 thin wires in each colored cable. Brought a hay baler home that might not have fit on any empty trailer that was at the house. Saved several hours by not having to go and get a trailer.

 

[hosspuller]

Grounding ... Yup... Chased an intermittent brake/light problem for two days. Fixed a broken ground wire in first hour, fixed a bad ground wire connector first day, fixed a crossed wire in the trailer connector the second day. After every "fix" the trailer would work then stop a little later. Only after I jumped the truck & trailer with a jumper wire, did I figure the ground was through the trailer ball. That was the intermittent cause. When I unhitched the trailer, I was then able to trace the now isolated ground circuit. All except the last fix was not completing the ground circuit. Three faults in the ground circuit!