Thread: Trailer Wiring ???

Richard and Beahears are right.
I just had another thought. In the old days they relied on the ball for the ground connection. Sparking chains means they are making a better connection than the ball and the ground wire. Check the truck side to see if a rodent did not chew it up and damage the ground plus the wire for the dead half.

At each light there is a connector for power and a ground wire going to the trailer via tapped screw. And the main hardness going down the trailer frame on inside held on by zip ties or wire ties with screw. Good luck on your search! Remember to pull hard on every connection to check if the wire is rotted inside the jacket.

A complete new wiring harness is the best way to tackle it, if one wire has rotted and shorted you will be chasing the issue on others for the next few years and its not worth a ticket on your way home from fishing. It can be a parking lot job, as its just laying out the wires and connecting each light via the connectors or butt connector and shrink wrap. Its much easier to do with the boat off the trailer

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Problem should be solved. I pulled the tail light and found some of the connectors were loose. My lights are plug and play and the female end got a little wollered out. I crimped the female end a little bit to make the hole tighter and everything is working now. I bought a tester for my truck plug and it is working. If those connectors get loose again I'm gonna learn how to solder.

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Good deal, the tester will come in handy iffn you pull trailers often.

Glad you found problem. Also thanks for sharing fix.

As others have said, I'd check the ground wire. may need to remove it and clean it up with a wire brush/wire bit. I had the same trouble with my duck boat I built last year. Gringinged down to bare metal and no problems since. Is your boat home or is it down at the lake? I could come by and a take a look if you'd like.

See post # 13. Problem is fixed.