2019 ford ranger review....

[Oaktree]

It took me some time before I realized it won't allow power back there unless its on the tow ball. Then you have to keep it on or if its was turned off, I'd have recycle it back to through "trailer is attached" mode again. What a pain in the !&%#!!

Are you saying there's no power whatsoever to the connector unless a trailer is attached? Weird, makes no sense to me.
How does it know? Is the only trailer light ground thru the hitch?

 

[ArlyA]

Are you saying there's no power whatsoever to the connector unless a trailer is attached? Weird, makes no sense to me.
How does it know? Is the only trailer light ground thru the hitch?

That's is correct, the truck knows weather there is a trailer there or not. I have no idea how it can do that. Maybe it senses the mass via ground wire?? I tried working on the lights without it being attached via the ball and it would not give me power to the lights. I also tried actuating the "trailer mode" button on the dash which didn't help.

I do not ground the trailer lights via the ball. Doing that's is a poor setup in my book.

 

[Bearsixty7]

That's is correct, the truck knows weather there is a trailer there or not. I have no idea how it can do that. Maybe it senses the mass via ground wire?? I tried working on the lights without it being attached via the ball and it would not give me power to the lights. I also tried actuating the "trailer mode" button on the dash which didn't help.

I do not ground the trailer lights via the ball. Doing that's is a poor setup in my book.

I'd say that's exactly what was happening, if you have a ground wire on the trailer connector, it probably has corroded, torn or something or detached from the trailer and not providing a ground so it was being grounded by the trailer ball connection. The truck just "senses" the trailer by the electrical load of the lights on the trailer.
Think of it acting like an ohm meter and measuring across the running light/tail light power pin and the ground, no connection equals open or no resistance equals no trailer, plug in the connector thereby completing the circuit from the power pin through the running lights and back through the ground pin equals some resistance equals trailer connected.

 

[KennyG]

Now I'm going to have to check my F-150 and see if that's how it works. If I hitch the trailer and don't hook up the electrical, I'm pretty sure it doesn't know there is a trailer, but I haven't connected the lights without the hitch.

 

[lilranch2001]

Me either, but hooking up the wiring is always the last thing I do

 

[cqaigy2]

Come to think of it, hooking up the wiring is the last thing i do too.

 

[ruffdog]

Are you saying there's no power whatsoever to the connector unless a trailer is attached? Weird, makes no sense to me.
How does it know? Is the only trailer light ground thru the hitch?

That's what it sounds like to me......a bad ground.

 

[ArlyA]

You guys might have the "poor ground" thing right. I originally had 2 lights quite so I was trouble shooting that, I found a poor connection when I moved the wires they'd go on and off.. All in fun. Thanks for your idea's!

 

[ArlyA]

Well, I had a fawn come out of the ditch and "clunk" into the drivers door. Was pretty loud and he was big so i assumed it dented the door. Lots of hair but no dent! :thumbsup: We're getting nearly 30 MPG on the road while not towing. Happy!

 

[ArlyA]

Here are photos of da Ranger this fall. Anyone else have some to post?? Any questions about the truck??