scotslad Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 Alright folks Wondering if any auto electricians/mechanics can give me a bit of advice on likely cuases for a wonky tail board Board has never been used althou been gathering dust in shed for last 5 or so years. Indicators (both sides/hazzards) work fine Side lights again no problem Brake lights aren't working at all (but bulbs must be ok as filament glows when sidee lights and hazzards on) The problem is when side lights and indicators/hazzards are on the both side lights flash the oppisate to the indicators (ie indicaor on side off and vice vesra), and if just 1 indicator on the oppisate side filament glows very slightly I have reflector covers off and had the 7 pin plug open all looks fine, no obvious shorts etc and its not the motor as does the same with my old motor too. Cable has never been outside so looks in good nick. Any ideas wot/where the problem could be? I'm going to go out in a minute ant plup a battery direct into the brake+negative pins to see wots going on Really can't understand it. And have seen it before on our boards/trailers so must be a common enough problem,.Hopeing there is going to be an easy fix Not even going to ask advice on the trailer lights. Finally gave up on them, think 5 years of c rap and road muck must off taken its toal on them, spent quite a lot of time this summer getting them all working and replacing joins etc, where all working as recently as last week now 1 by 1 all stoping working think must just be bad connections/busted cable in below. Does trailer wiring have a usual lifespan? Cheers in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bala Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 things working the way you say points to an earth problem somewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88b Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 things working the way you say points to an earth problem somewhere 9 times out of 10 it's an earth problem with trailer boards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIGHT SEARCHER Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 BAD EARTH on the board or the plug or socket. Suzie to car Earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted December 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 Cheers folks, Sorry to sound dumb but wot can i do to make the earth better? Tighten screws or redo the earth terminals? Grease in both the 7 pins sockets. Does ur nut in at times I usually manage to bodge about things and fix them throu trail and error and illimnation but had no idea where to start with this 1. Cheers again most appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
point and shoot Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 probably a poor earth on the light units so the indicators earth through the side lights Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted December 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 That makes sense to me! Is there anything i can do to help the earthing, i'm sure there both bulbs are held in the same piece of metal and it only has 1 earth connection. Is there anything i can do. I couldn't understand how the other lights were getting the power and thought it must be a crossed wire/short in cable but the above makes total sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bornfree Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 The first thing i would do is clean the brass connectors in both the plug and socket.get them nice and shiny then open the male connectors up a little with a screwdriver not to much or they wont go in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aga man Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 The first thing i would do is clean the brass connectors in both the plug and socket.get them nice and shiny then open the male connectors up a little with a screwdriver not to much or they wont go in. i would agree, clean up the brass in the plug and socket on the vehicle a bit of wd40 sprayed on the contacts won't do any harm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sishyplops Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 Have you checked your vehicle socket on another board , or vice versa, anyone you know have a caravan or trailer nearby ? Forgive me if you have or it worked ok before trying but it wasn't mentioned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypaint Posted December 13, 2013 Report Share Posted December 13, 2013 Check back of bulbs and holder's for corrosion that could arc through the rust Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted December 13, 2013 Report Share Posted December 13, 2013 Does a friend have a socket on their car? If so check it out on their car first before stressing. If it works fine on their car, then the fault is in your car wiring. If it still acts up then it's obv the board wiring. Check the screws holding the wires into the pins are secure and the wire is def in the pin. If all looks good with the pins tuen check the wires are not cut and shorting. Then if thats ok check the spade terminals on in the light fittings are clean and a nice tight fit to the metal plates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted December 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2013 A big thank u too everyone, managed to get it working this morning afore work, so thanks again. Would never have figured it out myself, never ever considered the bad earth. Not entirely sure wot fixed it but i think problem been at the board to car plugs, gave them both a wee clean, bit of a tweak with a wee screw driver and a spray of WD40 and all seems to be working, for now !!touch wood .atleast i know wot to look for if ever happens again Was convinced it was somehow shorting or frayed cables but i could not figure out why it didn't happen all the time if that was the case So cheers again folks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bb Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 Well having read all this, I decided to test my tow board this morning. Yes, exactly the same! So a quick squirt with WD-40 and a poke around with a small screwdriver & all is well again. Once the WD-40's dried out I'll stuff Vaseline all over the socket, it keeps the wet away and is also a good conductor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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