Boy do I feel dumb

[1st grady]

I recently purchased a 2004 Chevy PU to haul the boat as the Admiral was not pleased with the Yukon Denali. :cry: Hooked up the trailer electrical connector to the chevy to find that there was no right turn lamp operating on the trailer. First I took apart the trailer tail light assembly and found a wire just barely hanging on to the bulb socket. I attempted to solder it on but still had no power. Well off to the boat shop to purchase some LED tail lights. Left side worked like a charm, right side nada. Continuity from the lamp to the trailer connector was good. Ok, up to the connector on the truck. No power to the connector. OK, so there is a problem with the wiring harness to the connector. The truck lamps worked fine so I discounted any fuse problems. Fussed with the wiring harness cleaning the connectors without success. So far, $100 spent and about 1 1/2 hours Friday night before hauling to the marina the next morning at 4 AM. At least I had running lights and a left side brake lamp. (not keeping me at peace when things are not perfect) Well, we got to the marina 90 miles away without a problem and fished the day away. Well, if anybody else is like me, I dwell on things like this light problem until they are fixed.
I decide to do some internet research and find out that there is a dedicated fuse for the right turn trailer lamp connector, low and behold, the fuse is dead, DUH
Now the boat and new LED trailer lights are at the marina and I have the truck at home. I had no idea they had a dedicated fuse for each trailer circuit, Right turn trailer, left turn trailer etc. That is some smart GM engineering though. I wish I would have known this before. The LD's do look nice.

 

[lodgecreekgrady]

Not just on GM. I did the same with my F150 Ford. No fire on left trailer turn signal wire but worked on the truck so I looked for a broken wire for a while until I decided to check the owners manual and found a dedicated fuse that was blown.

 

[VeroWing]

Well, at least you just helped out the rest of us that did not know this.

 

[no problem]

I learned something new today. Thanks, I can't imagine how much time I would have wasted chasing that one down. I would definitely have had to use my "phone a friend" lifeline. :wink:

 

[blackgrady]

almost all of the car companies that offer a tow package set their trailer wiring up that way. my nissan is the same. i did the exact same thing, don't feel dumb!

 

[Daman858]

Is that Ford fuse on the fuse block? I have the same problem with my wife's horse trailer. Replaced the light (it is sealed, must replace the unit, not just the bulb) and nothing.

 

[Bob's Cay]

Yep, happened to me on an Expedition. I was somewhat lucky in that I had pulled out the manual to even find the fuse box and happened to notice the seperate fuses listed in the diagram.

 

[Parthery]

Its happened to me too....I started at the trailer 7 way plug though. Found out almost immediately with my tester that there was no power. From there it was simply a matter of figuring out which fuse it was. As you correctly indicated, it was under the hood and not under the dash.

I find the internet incredibly helpful for troubleshooting all sorts of things. My nav lights were hooked up incorrectly. Found the correct diagram on the net. Was having trouble with my trim sender...found out there were two different Yamaha senders that would fit my motor, etc...