Assuming that everything checked out fine in Step One, the problem is not the truck. Step Two: Ensure a good connection between truck and trailer. Check the truck fuses (look in your owner’s manual) and if they are all good, there is a problem with the wiring. If some work and some don’t, it could be a fuse or a supply wire problem. If none of the pins have electricity, it could be a problem with the ground wire, or possibly a fuse problem. This same pin serves the right brake light so when you step on the brakes, power should flow continuously to this pin. Because it flashes, electricity will flow in an on-off pattern so the needle on your tester will go up and down. For example, when testing the right turn signal pin, turn on the right turn signal in the truck. For these, the function must be activated for it to have power. If the truck’s lights are on but the needle on your meter does not move, there is no electricity coming to this pin. If it does, there is electricity flowing to this pin. The needle on the meter should go up (don’t worry about how much). On our truck the ridge is on the top, but yours could be on the side or even the bottom. Everything is oriented to the raised ridge on the connectors. Notice that the TRUCK connector is a mirror image of the TRAILER connector, which if you think about how they fit together, makes sense. If you have a different type of connector, it’s okay the basic concepts are the same (you should be able to find a diagram of the pins online try here). I have a 7-way so that is what I am showing. On some trailers, accessories such as tack room lights.Left turn signal and brake signal (ditto above).Right turn signal and brake signal (flashes when you turn the blinker on and is steady red when you apply the brakes).Running lights (the ones that are always on if the truck lights are on).Each pin on the connector (plug) supplies a different light or function. When you plug the trailer into your truck, electricity is directed to various lights or other functions on the trailer. The return pathway is called “ground.” Remember this. If it there is no return pathway, the light won’t work. Think of it as flowing from the battery, dropping off some power to a light, and continuing back to the battery. Unlike water flowing through a pipe, electricity has to flow in a circle, or “circuit.” It can’t just dead-end at a light. Pretty simple, right? Unfortunately there is a little wrinkle. In your truck, electricity flows from the battery to a fuse box and from there to lights on the truck as well as the connector at the back of your truck (also known as the wiring harness) and from there to the various lights on your trailer. It helps me to think of electricity like water flowing through a pipe. It’s worth knowing the basics because it might be something simple you can fix on your own and, even if it isn’t, pinpointing the problem can save your trailer professional diagnostic time (and impress them with your knowledge!). I discovered that it’s not as difficult as I thought it would be. She explained the anatomy of trailer wiring and walked me through how to isolate a problem. To answer this question, I got together with my friend, Liz Miner, who is an electrical engineer and a lifelong rider. But how do you figure out which one of these it is? You’re smart enough to know that the problem could be the truck wiring, a bad trailer wire, or bad light. If you’ve ever had a light (or all the lights) go out on your trailer, you know that trouble-shooting it can be really intimidating.
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