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trailer plug ripped off..need color code

Hi all,

I have a bit of a problem. My 4 pin plug for my trailer wiring has been ripped off the wires. Can anyone tell me (or link me to) the color codes for what wire is what?

I have searched the forum with no luck. I need to fix this tomorrow so I can use my trailer.

Online all I find are the replacement ends with these colors (see attachment).

Thank you,
Brian

This is a 2000 Mercury Mountaineer.
 

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A little confused... Can you not see the color of the wires where they were ripped away from the plug?
In any case a fail safe method, if you have a VOM, is:

1. To find 'tail'; select 'Volts' and turn your lights on. Put one probe to a ground anywhere on the vehicle, then, one at a time, put the other probe to each wire. One of the will show around 12 volts.
2. Turn your lights off. Turn your key on and 'left turn signals'. Do the same as in (1) above using the remaining 3 wires. Of course the Voltage will be on-off-on-off.
3. Do the same for the right turn signal with the remaining 2 wires.
4. The remaining wire will be Ground.

If you do not have a VOM you can do the same test with a 12 Volt lamp and a couple wires.
 






Thank you. Yes in theory I can see the wires. It was dark and I was trying to get the trailer home without getting hit.

I have a 12 volt test light. Thank you.

I presume the left and right turn signals are also the brake lights?

I do apologize for the weird questions. Vehicle electrical has always puzzled me.
 






Yes, brake & turn signals circuits are always combined.
 






Thank you. What a day. First no "voltage" for the left blinker at the plug in behind the light. Fixed that. Everything was good. Soldered the new end on. All was well. Hooked up the trailer. All was well.

Replaced a busted light on the left side of the trailer. Wired (soldered) the new one in the same as the old. Now...lights are all weird...dim..etc.

Found out a bulb was backwards in the brand new light (out of the package). Fixed that. Now I have both blinkers and brake lights..but no running lights. Hmmm...

Traced the wires again. No voltage at the vehicle plug. Found the #3 fuse was blown. I picked up some fuses...but wont have a chance to see what happens until Tuesday. It has been a frustrating day.

Any clue what the #3 fuse (7.5) is really for?
 






I am guessing that your passenger compartment fuse block looks like mine...
ford fuse 3.jpg


If so then you have the following fuse assignments (which makes sense for #3)

ford fuse 1.jpg

ford fuse 2.jpg


Something you might want to consider... For the investment, a subscription to an on-line manual from ALLDATA, IMHO, is well worth the bucks. (Thats where I obtained these images).


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Thanks. I am aware of alldata. I used to know a guy who had it in his repair shop. Up until now..I have never had any issues with my 2001 explorer (I rolled when I fell asleep in 09) or my 2000 mercury I replaced it with.

If that fuse is out (according to your chart)..the brakes\turn signals\hazards should not work. Yet..it is just the running lights that are dead. I will try to figure it out Tuesday.

If I cannot get it to work..I will just cut the one wire and hook it direct like it should be. Engineers just love to change things that work. :confused:

Thank you so much for your patience and help.
 






#3 fuse

. . . Any clue what the #3 fuse (7.5) is really for?

According to my 2000 wiring diagrams that should be the same as your 2001 the #3 fuse (7.5 amp) in the central junction box is the power for the trailer connector left turn signal and stoplamp (yellow wire). #7 fuse (7.5 amp) is for the trailer connector right turn signal and stoplamp (dark green wire). The power for the trailer connector tail lamps (brown/white stripe wire) comes from the switched contact in the trailer tow park lamp relay located in the auxiliary relay box #2. Power for the switched contact comes from fuse #30 (15 amps) in the central junction box. The relay solenoid is grounded via the black wire to chassis which is common with the white wire in the trailer connector. The relay solenoid receives power from the park lamp relay. If your vehicle park, side or license plate lamps work then the park lamp relay is functional.

Assuming that your trailer tail lamps wire is connected I suspect fuse 30 is blown. It is only used for the trailer tail lamps.
 






According to my 2000 wiring diagrams that should be the same as your 2001 the #3 fuse (7.5 amp) in the central junction box is the power for the trailer connector left turn signal and stoplamp (yellow wire). #7 fuse (7.5 amp) is for the trailer connector right turn signal and stoplamp (dark green wire). The power for the trailer connector tail lamps (brown/white stripe wire) comes from the switched contact in the trailer tow park lamp relay located in the auxiliary relay box #2. Power for the switched contact comes from fuse #30 (15 amps) in the central junction box. The relay solenoid is grounded via the black wire to chassis which is common with the white wire in the trailer connector. The relay solenoid receives power from the park lamp relay. If your vehicle park, side or license plate lamps work then the park lamp relay is functional.

Assuming that your trailer tail lamps wire is connected I suspect fuse 30 is blown. It is only used for the trailer tail lamps.


I just printed that. Wow..complicated. I will check stuff and get back with you. Thanks.
 






I just printed that. Wow..complicated. I will check stuff and get back with you. Thanks.

Brian,
Actually, its not all that complicated in terms of what you need to know.
After reading "StreetRods" post I realized I had not really researched the issue like I should have. In any case, consider this, if my 2004 Sport Trac is wired up anything like your Mountaineer...

As discussed, both the trailer left turn/stop (fuse F2.7) and right turn/stop (fuse F2.3) lamps receive 12V+ from a different source than your trailer tail lights (fuse f1.23).
Your trailer taillights receive 12V+ from a relay in the "Battery Junction Box (F1)" (under the hood).
In my case, the circuit that passes through that relay is fused at station F1.23 (15a). Apparently, its fuse '30' for StreetRodder.

So all you really need to do (hopefully) is replace a burned out fuse at F1.23 (or 30).

While I found it more than just a little confusing to ferret out how this works (nowhere in my manual is there a reference to "Trailer tow tail lights"), only "Trailer Tow"), it all actually makes sense.

When a trailer is hooked up Ford assumed there would just be one more lamp in each stop/turn circuit. That 7.5a fuse can easily handle the extra lamp.
But they have no way of knowing how many more lamps are going to be in the 'tail light' circuit (i.e numerous side clearance lamps, the longer the trailer, the more lamps). So they include a relay in the circuit that can handle 15 amps. Now you indicated that automotive electrics is not your strong suite but just know this... including a relay (F1.47a) in a circuit like this allows
the controlling switch to close the 15 amp circuit by passing just a fraction of an amp (to energize the small electromagnetic coil in the relay) through that switch. (Passing a lot of amps through a switch is what burns them out).

The timing of you post worked well for me. I am currently getting my Sport Trac setup for towing. Knowing exactly where that "Tow tail light" fuse is just might come in handy some dark and stormy night.

Oh yea, please don't go cutting and spicing wires... get it working the way it is supposed to work. Anything else turns newer cars into older cars.



ford f1 01.jpg

ford f1 02.jpg

ford f1 03.jpg

ford f1 04.jpg


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Ok...just an update. the 15 amp fuse (#30) on mine is fine. I even tried a brand new fuse just to be sure. No voltage to the "running lights"..tail lights..whatever ford calls them on the 4 wire plug.

All my lights on the vehicle itself work perfectly. According to what streetrod posted...the relay is fine based on that.

Is there yet another fuse or relay somewhere that could affect this?

As far as the older vehicle..I very much prefer them. My totally stock 56..has 3 fuses period. While I love my mountaineer..I would swap it for a stock "shoebox" in a heartbeat.

EDIT: I am running out of time. I loaded a garden tractor w\plow on the trailer tonight. I have not strapped it down yet..but I leave Friday morning around sunup with it. I may just have to run without "tail lights" and hope no one hits me.:scratch:
 






OK, on to the next step. In my experience, it is an extremely rare thing for a relay to go bad but...

There are two identical relays in your "Battery Junction Box" at positions 45A and 46A.
45A is for your fuel pump.
46A is for your trailer lights.
Swap 'em. That's the easiest way to test.
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That is the black box under the hood right in front of the driver?

Thank you all so very much for your patience with me. This is driving me nuts...all this because a connector was hanging out and got ripped off. :( I have it zip tied up under there now. Too late for this time.

I sure wish I had noticed it worked loose. :( I tend to drive places I should not. :D
 






Brian,
In for a penny, in for a pound...
Yes, the black box just behind the battery. That makes me wonder... did you replace the fuse in this "F1" fuse box or in the "F2" box on the left side of the dash? This is the box that has the #30 fuse location you need to check.
Here is another test that can conclusively determine if the wire running from the "Battery Fuse Box" to the trailer connector is good. I know. I just did it.

Cobble up a test lead... just a foot or two of wire and a spade connector.
Pull the 46A relay (Tow relay).

There are 5 pin locations under the relay. Ignore the forward-most 3.
The rearmost pins are 3 and 5. One is from the fuse, the other is to the trailer connector.
Fuse your test test lead and connect it to 12V+. Then insert it in 3 or 5.
(My manual indicates 5 runs back to the trailer connector but actually its 3. No cause for concern if you get it wrong since that would be to the 12V+ source.)
If you get trailer lights from one (or the other), that wire run is good.
If this test indicates that wire is bad
Another (shade tree) option, since you are out of time (and I have done this very kind of thing) is to just run a (fused) wire from any 12V+ source (like the positive battery post), tape the wire down, run it back to the trailer connector and splice it into the BRN/WHT wire. Then just unplug the connector when you are stopped. Big chance of getting a citation with no lights. Gawd I hate getting those things!

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ford f1 10.jpg
 






Auxiliary relay box #2

Ok...just an update. the 15 amp fuse (#30) on mine is fine. I even tried a brand new fuse just to be sure. No voltage to the "running lights"..tail lights..whatever ford calls them on the 4 wire plug.

All my lights on the vehicle itself work perfectly. According to what streetrod posted...the relay is fine based on that.

Is there yet another fuse or relay somewhere that could affect this? . . .

Your vehicle parking lights working only verifies proper operation of the Park Lamp Relay which provides power to the solenoid of the Trailer Tow Park Lamp Relay located in the Auxiliary Relay Box #2. I suggest that with the trailer disconnected you test for continuity from vehicle chassis ground to the white wire in the connector. There is a splice that connects the white wire to a black wire that goes from the low side of the solenoid to chassis ground. The splice may have been ripped out with the connector. The splice is located near take out (point where group of wires branch off the harness trunk) to liftgate washer pump motor. If the continuity test fails then you need to either fix the splice or ground the low side of the relay. Auxiliary Relay Box #2 is located at the left rear of the vehicle, above the wheel well. I can't tell from the drawings but I think the relay is behind the removable panel where the jack is stored at the top front. It looks like a hard place to access so I would concentrate on finding a dangling white or black wire that should be spliced to chassis ground.
 






Thanks guys. I will print this and try to find this issue. This is why I strongly dislike electrical in modern vehicles.

I may end up just running a wire for now...just like the old days. :thumbsup:

I can rebuild an automatic transmission..but electrical..im lost. (although the last few transmissions I have been in had wires running everywhere to solenoids too :( )
 






Well guys.....im perplexed now. I was going to "redneck" a wire direct tonight to keep from getting a ticket tomorrow. I hooked the trailer up and everything mysteriously works now.

I will check it in the morning before I leave..but there has to be a short somewhere. I hope it does not go out on the road somewhere. Anyway, thank you so much for the help again. I truly appreciate it.
 












Connecting the trailer may have provided a path to ground to energize the solenoid.

Hmm..maybe? Odd that the rest worked with my test light..but not the one.

Who knows. I will check them when I make stops.

Did I mention electrical issues drive me nuts? :confused:
 



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