Turn signals & brake lights not working

I just came back from a trip and found that the turn signals and brake lights on my 3023 are not working. The running lights work fine. I checked the car side of the jack and the power is there for the turn signals. Does anyone know if there is a fuse that might be blown? or any other ideas?

[scrubjaysnest]

Open the lower refrig compartment and you will find a bunch of bullet connectors. You can check there as a mid point, or at least on the 2720's. Otherwise lot for a lost ground at the tail lights. There may be other ideas from others on the forum.

[Redtail Cruiser]

The problem could be in your bargman connection or a bad ground. Clean the contacts on your bargman first with Emory cloth or sand paper. If that doesn't resolve it then check the ground connections at the tail lights. If it still doesn't work, then try the butt splice connections under the fridge. Good luck.

[Bill]

If the lights on your car are working, then there is not a fuse problem. Check the bullet connectors, especially if you have a digital voltmeter (everyone should have one) or test light. That will at least tell you if power is getting through the Bargman and into the TM wiring harness. Be careful of sanding the connections in the Bargman connector. They have a thin metal anti-corrosion coating that should not be removed. If the bullet test says that the Bargman is at fault, and if you sand the connectors, then get a tube of dielectric grease from the auto section of any hardware store, WalMart, AutoZone, etc, and coat the sanded areas.

The universal anwer to this problem - which is relatively common - is a bad ground in the tail light assemblies. There is an electrical diagram in your blue binder that will tell you where the ground is, but if you pull the lenses off the tail light assemblies, and look at the ground wires and wiggle them, you are 95% likely, I think, to come across the problem. Good luck.

Bill

If both of the lights (left and right) are not working, but voltage is at the bargman connector of the tow vehicle, would that not eliminate the ground at the lights? It would seem unlikely that a loose ground at one light would effect the other light fixture.

[scrubjaysnest]

Originally Posted by msager

If both of the lights (left and right) are not working, but voltage is at the bargman connector of the tow vehicle, would that not eliminate the ground at the lights? It would seem unlikely that a loose ground at one light would effect the other light fixture.

The answer is no, you have connectors half way down the trailer in the refrig compartment that have caused problems in the past. But like Bill said most of the time it is a ground problem at lights themselves. All it takes is a little corrosion.

The lights are grounded to the skin of the TM using one of the fixture mounting screws. There are three dissimilar metals involved ( skin, wire terminal, screw) and it doesn't take much corrosion to cause a high resistance connection. Use a meter to check the power at the light between the bulb fixture and a good ground point on the TM Frame. If you don't have a meter, use a short piece of jumper and connect to the ground lug on the light and a good frame ground. If there is power there, you have a ground issue. Also not the case here, but for others who search this thread later. Some vehicles ( especially trucks) have a separate set of fuses for trailer lights so TV lights can operate while trailer lights will not.