Stuck-Up.... what do I do?

[hitekcountry]

I have never seen a trailer that does not have wiring problems and I've got a few choice words for the people that cut corners and wire trailers so that every connector is guaranteed to fail over time.
The problems stem from the crimp connectors they use on the wires. They are not water ans air tight and after some time they corrode and then you get things that don't work. The wire to connector connection is where the corrosion starts.
I can't count how many trailers I've had to fix the wiring on. If you get to it before the wiring itself gets too badly corroded then you only have to fix the connectors. But if you are not lucky then the corrosion works it's way up the wire from the connector and then you have to replace the wiring too.
The best fix is to take the connectors off the wires and solder new ones on. You must use solder as that keep moisture out. Then use heat shrink tubing to seal the wire/connector from moisture further. If you want to spend a little more money, get the heat shrink tubing that has glue in it. Sometimes I put a drop of silicon glue in the heat shrink tubing before I shrink it with the heat gun.

I always wonder how many accidents have been caused over the years by trailer brakes not working or lighting not working due to crimp connectors put on at the factory. These crimp connectors are the ones that you buy at the local auto parts store and use a hand crimper. The connector to wire connection is not water or airtight and corrosion is guaranteed to happen.
The crimps that are machine made (as in cars and tractors) are tight and will last for years even exposed to water. But even they fail after 10 or 20 years when exposed to the elements.

So my advice to you is to take a few hours of your time and replace every crimped connector on the trailer. Use a soldering gun and heat shrink tubing and you'll save yourself many frustrating hours of tracking down electrical gremlins in the years to come.

That’s interesting. Now that you mentioned it, it’s been no more than a week since I was told the right brake light wasn’t working. I’ve got plenty of other projects I’m dealing with, I don’t need another one right now, but I sure don’t need these problems. Yea I need to fix the wiring before I use that trailer again.

 

[JerryG]

Tee into the hoses on each side of the existing valve. Putting a hydraulic pressure rated ball valve in the middle of the new line. That way if it happens again, all you will have to do is pull the ball valve handle to let it down. Surplus Center Item Detail

 

[Bedlam]

Maybe old school but mostly cheap, I use solder on the joints, far better than a crimp conector , but more work.

 

[hill]

I'd prolly change the solenoid if it's available.

Until you get it fixed put a small ballpeen in the truck for rapping on that valve body and tapping on that solenoid.

 

[dqdave1]

You probabaly could have jumped a piece of wire from positive battery post directly to solienoid connection to bypass all crimped connections.
They also make waterproof crimp on connectors. They have silicone in them that is released when crimped.

 

[hitekcountry]

Today I called the trailer dealer and explained what happened and the guy said “probably the first thing you might want to take a look at is the switch”. That made me a little suspicious that maybe this is a common problem, so I asked him “have you had problems with that switch before?” He says “oh no we haven’t had problems with it, but we have seen it happen.” Then he proceeded to tell me how to take the switch apart. Gee he sure is familiar with that switch.

I put my trailer in the garage to work on it and the first thing I do is raise and lower the bed a number times and several times it failed to lower. Raising the bed was never a problem, lowering it was hit and miss. I was glad to see that happen because now I can track it down.

Then I put a meter on the wire to the return solenoid and every time I pushed the down button and the bed dropped properly I was seeing 12V on the wire and every time I pushed the button and the bed failed to drop I was seeing 0v. Clearly it’s a bad switch and not the solenoid. Also one of the times I pushed the down button and it failed to work, I took a screwdriver and shorted from the 12v terminal to the solenoid and it worked properly.

 

[hitekcountry]

Took the switch apart and cleaned the contacts and than put it back together, but it still isn’t working right yet. I’ll deal with it tomorrow.

 

[mboulais]

It is a single acting cylinder and relies on gravity to lower the dump bed. In my experience gravity can be a little unreliable. I'm not saying it's not electrical. It probably was electrical, course as a mechanical engineer I like blaming the electrical systems for any problems.

As far as a bypass valve, not a bad idea. Tee in the line and back to tank. Eddie is right, don't just pick up a valve at Home Despot and stick it on there. Your fittings need to be sch. 80 too.

Next time check gravity too.

 

[patrick_g]

In my experience gravity can be a little unreliable.

IF you find a situation where the law of gravity is being broken, do the right thing and call the Newtonic Police!

Pat

 

[Redbug]

I do not think you got all the contacts in the hand switch. I believe the button pads in the front of the switch may be your problem. Dirt and crud enters as the thumb button is pushed down and works its way underneith. Same thing happens on TV remotes, etc. Take the front casing off and the buttons out... use alcohol to clean the contacts. I have one of those remotes on my dump trailer, too.

Good post about what to do in a bed up position. I have wondered about it, also.