trailer light problem

i checked the maxi fuse and it is fine...when i got the truck it was blown but i replaced it...and i also have the correct connecter hooked up underneath the bumper on the left...yet my lights still dont seem to work...any suggestions where to go from her to solve this problem?

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WHICH lights don't work? have you checked the connector with a simple 12V test light? have you checked for blown fuses other than the Maxi fuse?

Power distribution box, Fuse #8 (20A) feeds the trailer stop, turn, and park lamps. (Not a MAXI fuse).

-Joe

none of the trailer light work...i have been using a trailer light tester so i know its not my lights...the license plate light works when i plug it in so i know the port is getting power at least to that...the only fuse listed in the manual that has anything to do with trailer lights is a 20a maxifuse under the hood...i went through the entire list and there are no #8 20a fuses

Fuse #8 in the battery junction box under the hood feeds power to the switched side of ALL of the relays for the trailer (there are three: Right stop/signal, left stop/signal, and marker lights) That's right from the schematics. If there is no fuse #8, then that may be the problem. The fuse diagram should be on the under-side of the lid of the fuse box.

Now, if you said you have power to the connector, have you checked for a good ground back to the trailer?

the license plate light works when i plug it in so i know the port is getting power at least to that

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Now I'm confused.... When you plug in what? When you plug in the trailer connector? If you get power on the license plate lights, but not the rest of the parking lights, you have a ground or power issue at each light. If that's the case, you're obviously getting power for the parking lights through the connector, and a ground back to the tow vehicle...

Seriously, 10 minutes with a simple 12V test light will pin the problem down. There's about a dozen things that could be wrong, all of which involve chasing down open points in the circuit.

the license plate lights on the explorer...it gets power through the same plug as the trailer lights and i know that works when everything is plugged in...ill check that fuse you were talking about and then do a circuit test on the plug...what prongs are ground?

so i checked the plug coming from the vehicles wiring harness and everything is fine...so i hooked the connecter back up and i got nothin...i pulled it back off and checked the current through all the wired and everything checked out eccept the left tunr signal wire...so everything should work eccept left turn right?...but it dosnt...when i checked the vehicle wiring harness i used the chassis as a ground the the plugs ground...didnt know which one it was...i guess this points to the connector but the damn thing is just wires....no moving parts or anything...no damadge either...things like that dont jut go bad for no reason

The license plate light on the Explorer is not fed from the same wire. It's that same circuit which triggers the relay for the trailer parking lights, but it's not the same circuit that feeds power to the circuit.

To check the connector on the tow vehicle, turn on the parking lights and 4-way flashers. Connect the alligator clip from the test light to a chassis ground (I usually use the rear tow point, but direct to the frame or a bolt head works as long as it's a good connection). Probe the contacts in the connector. The three shielded connectors are yout right stop/turn, left stop/turn and marker lights. The fourth exposed terminal is the ground, but don't use that as the ground initially. If that's bad, it'll make the other three appear to be dead, even if they're getting power. (that's the second part of the checks)

Now, back to the fuses for a minute.... Under the hood, in the power distribution box, there are 14 MAXI fuses (we'll call this end 'up'), and right 'below' them there are eight small fuses. Those small fuses are the ones you need to be looking at, NOT the MAXI fuses.

Now, I've just discovered an interesting discrepency... The service manual section on the trailer towing adapter clearly shows that the Trailer/Camper adapter is fed from Fuse #8 (20A) and does not call it out as a MAXI fuse, which would generally lead me to believe it's a standard mini-fuse. However, the section on general power distribution for the truck clearly shows the trailer adapter as being fed from Fuse #7 (a 20A MAXI), contradicting the trailer towing section. Also, page 154 of your owner's manual clearly lists the trailer park lamp and stop lamp circuit to be MAXI Fuse #7 (20A). Looking at the fuse box, that should be the middle one on the 'right' side of the bank of MAXI fuses. Clearly there is a discrepency there.... If I was a bettin' man, I'd say that the owner's manual is correct, and that you were looking at the correct fuse earlier... My apologies for any confusion there.

(On a side note, it amazes me that in 12 years, nobody has ever caught it and reported it at the dealer level!? Crazy!)

Hope that helps!

shibby_cbs said:

so i checked the plug coming from the vehicles wiring harness and everything is fine...so i hooked the connecter back up and i got nothin...i pulled it back off and checked the current through all the wired and everything checked out eccept the left tunr signal wire...so everything should work eccept left turn right?...but it dosnt...when i checked the vehicle wiring harness i used the chassis as a ground the the plugs ground...didnt know which one it was...i guess this points to the connector but the damn thing is just wires....no moving parts or anything...no damadge either...things like that dont jut go bad for no reason

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You replied while I was typing...

I have seen those connectors go bad.... just dangling in the breeze can fatigue the wires a lot... They can break up inside the insulation where you'll never see it.

So if I understand correct, using the chassis ground, you had power at all three terminals, correct? We can rule out the afore-mentioned fuse as the issue.

Using the ground terminal on the plug, only one of them was bad? I find that surprising..... I would suspect the alligator clip didn't have good contact there... although it's possible that if you changed your grip on the wire, a broken conductor in the insulation could certainly cause it.

The good news is that a replacement trailer harness isn't expensive or difficult to find.

-Joe

(On a side note, it amazes me that in 12 years, nobody has ever caught it and reported it at the dealer level!? Crazy!)

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hah no doubt...im shure not suprised tho...my findings are a couple posts above^^^^

yea...as much as i dont wanna spend money looks like im just gonna buy a new connector and see if that fixes it...hope walmart carries this so i can just exchange it...ugh unemployment sux...thanks for yur help...if the new connector dosnt fix it ill let ya know

Take two pieces of very long wire. Attach them to the bolts holding you lights on to the trailer (one on each side). Run the wires to the front of your trailer and attach them to the white wire that would be grounded to you trailer frame. If this works it is just your ground is back. Most time this is the problem with trailers.

Help With Trailer Lights

I have Ford Explorer 2002

Problem: Trailer lights do not work.

What I have done to figure this out: Check Maxi/small fuses under hood. All are working well. Traced a red wire from battery post all the way to the 4 plug standard fitting and it was hot all the way to the converter. When I stick the test light in each prong I get no power to none of them.

Question: What is wrong? Can this coverter be bad? and everything I plug into wont work? Or is there something else I need to be looking for or need to buy?

FYI: All the lights on my explorer work fine just dont have trailer lights working?

What do you mean by converter? Is your 4 pin hooked up to a 7 pin connector? The easiest way to check your 4 pin is by the cheap 4 pin tester for about $4.00 or less. But the volt meter is okay. The tester is just easier, plug it in, press your brakes, then turn signals and then running lights (lights on the tester turn on and off if it is working, two people make it easier). If everything is fine with the tester then it is the trailer.

2002 Explorer Trailer Lights stopped working

martin123 said:

What do you mean by converter? Is your 4 pin hooked up to a 7 pin connector? The easiest way to check your 4 pin is by the cheap 4 pin tester for about $4.00 or less. But the volt meter is okay. The tester is just easier, plug it in, press your brakes, then turn signals and then running lights (lights on the tester turn on and off if it is working, two people make it easier). If everything is fine with the tester then it is the trailer.

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I think I have the same problem. This weekend the trailer lights were working just fine when I hooked up the trailer, but sometime between when I hooked it up, and when I got out of the parkinging lot (200ft) they quit working. With a multimeter, the entire connector seems dead. I checked the fuses listed in the owners manual and they were fine. What am I missing? It's got to be a power fuse somewhere, as none of the trailer lights works (brake, running, turn signals all dead). Someone else hooked to the trailer and the lights are fine. The vehicle lights work fine. It's and 2002 Explorer with the trailer tow factory option with the large 7 pin connector.

Is anyone aware if the owner's manual might be wrong on which is the trailer tow fuse?

"I have a 96 EB with this harness behind the bumper. The factory-made jumper harnes was inside the left panel near the jack. When I hooked the jumper to the trailer, it blew a couple fuses. I spent most of a day looking for a short before realizing the wires in the jumper harness were in the wrong cavities. Once I figured this out, I used the colors of the wires to match up with the trailer wiring. There is a factory bulletin on this issue. Once straightened out, it works great. You might be able to find info on this at google or else go to a dealer. I hope this saves someone some time and trouble.
Mike"


I posted the above reply about a month ago to a similar question. You might want to check it out but I would think Ford would have fixed the issue considering they even came out with a bulletin on it. Maybe they use a manufacturer to make the trailer harness and they didn't get the bulletin. I would look there just to make sure. Mike

hi all,

can anyone help me with the trailer lights to be fixed? 95 explorer