trailer lights not working...again.

[The motor guy]

Alright well the passenger side light doesn't work. I think it's burned out again. I just replaced the entire light assembly and even the bulb that was in it brand new was damaged. The running light works but not the brake portion. Anyways the point here is that both of them never seem to work at the same time. What do you guys do as far as the police are concerned? Cause i'm tired of messing with these things. This is a boat trailer. Trailers that are not put in the water usually don't have a problem. Will the cops actually write you a ticket? It's not my fault they are poorly designed.

 

[andyd]

wild guess is that the ground isnt very good.

 

[Silk]

Something I do nearly every day - most trailer light problems are the plug.

 

[RANDYZ]

Yes they will ticket you. If someone hit you from behind because your light is out they could sue you. Sound like a ground problem. They normally ground through the bolt that attaches the light to the trailer. Also make sure to unplug the lights before you put them in the water. The bulbs get very hot and when they hit the water they go bad.

 

[The motor guy]

This time it's a burned out bulb so I guess i'll throw a new one in. Every boat trailer I see only has one tail light working.

 

[The motor guy]

Do they usually just give you a warning to let you know it's out. I'm going on an 80 trip on sunday so I was curious.

 

[The motor guy]

80 mile trip*

 

[97f150]

Why would you knowingly go on a trip with defective equipment and your only concern is whether or not you will be bothered by law enforcement? There isnt much to trailer wiring, I would replace the whole light set before I knowingly set out on a road trip opening up a hazard for myself or others.

 

[The motor guy]

Originally Posted By: 97f150
Why would you knowingly go on a trip with defective equipment and your only concern is whether or not you will be bothered by law enforcement? There isnt much to trailer wiring, I would replace the whole light set before I knowingly set out on a road trip opening up a hazard for myself or others.
I take it you haven't spent enough time messing with trailer lights to understand. I replaced the bulb yesterday and it was working but now it's messed up again. Doint the same thing.

 

[97f150]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Originally Posted By: 97f150
Why would you knowingly go on a trip with defective equipment and your only concern is whether or not you will be bothered by law enforcement? There isnt much to trailer wiring, I would replace the whole light set before I knowingly set out on a road trip opening up a hazard for myself or others.
I take it you haven't spent enough time messing with trailer lights to understand. I replaced the bulb yesterday and it was working but now it's messed up again. Doint the same thing.


I have. Its always a loose ground or connection. I never tire enough of it to potentially compromise my safety by ignoring it. Since I began soldering and shrink wrapping connections I dont have nearly the problems I once did. Oh and actually use the ground wire on the lights and dont depend on the trailer/truck connection to complete the ground. This all learned through trial and error on work trailer lights. Meanwhile I still took the time to make the lights on any personal trailer I was pulling was functional as well.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: 97f150
I have. Its always a loose ground or connection. I never tire enough of it to potentially compromise my safety by ignoring it. Since I began soldering and shrink wrapping connections I dont have nearly the problems I once did. Oh and actually use the ground wire on the lights and dont depend on the trailer/truck connection to complete the ground. This all learned through trial and error on work trailer lights. Meanwhile I still took the time to make the lights on any personal trailer I was pulling was functional as well.


Agreed. My trailer doesn't leave the property unless every light is working correctly. I won't risk either my safety or the safety of others because I didn't want to take the time to do it right.

 

[The motor guy]

What would cause the bulb to burn out quickly? It takes about 5 minutes to change out a bulb. They work fine when i'm putting it back together. It's always the passenger side brake light that goes out. The running lights on both sides always work.

 

[The motor guy]

I think i may be using the incorrect bulb. I replaced the entire assembly last time and the new one was busted before I even installed it. So I used another bulb I had which was identical as far as looks go but I read they could be a different wattage. So i'll have to see if I can get the same part number as the bulb that's on the first one.