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Brake Lights (Trailer)
I recently replaced the 7 pin trailer plug on my bus. While replacing the plug I touched 2 of the wires together and they sparked. I am guessing I blew a fuse, however I cannot seem to find the fuse that controls the trailer brake lights. When I connect my tow car to the plug I have turn signals and running lights. The only thing not working is the brake lights on the tow car.
1998 Liberty XL
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9 Replies
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Do the brake lights work on the coach?
The Liberty toad lights I have dealt with on my coaches have all used the bus lights to close relays to provide 12V power to the toad plug. I cannot remember ever seeing a fues or CB between the relays and the toad receptacle. That does not mean there is none.
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You might find a set of fuses that apply in the horizontal box above the engine if it is like some I have seen.
Pres
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Why did the two wires spark? Did you have the key “on”? or the key “off”? Did you have the lights on? If you had the key “off”, then it appears you have a “hot” wire in the bundle, which is something I would not have expected. I’ve replaced the coach side RV receptacle twice, and I don’t recall any of the wires being hot with the key “off”.
If you want to have a key “off” hot wire in the RV plug, that’s fine. I wouldn’t want a key “off” hot wire because it could result in you finding the coach batteries dead because whatever the key “off” hot wire was hooked too had drained the batteries.
Keep us posted!
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Jon,
Yes, the brake lights work on the coach and worked on the toad before.
Dick,
I guess I didn’t think about why there was a hot wire. It is nothing I need or wanted and the plug was already installed when I bought the coach. I was just replacing it because the cover was broken on it. I had the key and lights off during the replacement.
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You likely have a 12v hot wire for trailer accessories such as an interior light or a hot wire maybe for the toad battery. Owners make all kinds of changes to suit their needs.
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I was looking more into the trailer brake light issue tonight and found that if I turn the switch from Amber turn signal to Red turn signal in the top of the engine compartment then I get the driver side brake light on the tow vehicle to work. There doesn’t seem to be any changes to the bus lights. Any thoughts?
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I won’t hazard a guess as to what’s wrong but I can answer your question.
The bus has separate (amber) turn signals and brake lights. In order for your bus to control a toad/trailer lights, the toad/trailer would have to have separate turn signals and brake lights like the bus.
Many trailers/toads have combined brake/ts lamps, ie. one bulb or filament within the bulb performs 2 functions. Ever notice how a lamp will flash on one side of a vehicle while the same lamp on the other side is on solidly for brake?
In order for the 2 functions on the bus (separate brake and turn) to function into a single bulb/filament, someone (probably the converter) has equipped your bus with a converter which will take the 2 wire input from the bus and change it to 1 wire (per side) output; hence your switch to route the current to the desired place. The converters are available in many auto parts stores but the current batch is pretty cheap. Uprated converters can be ordered or found on line and, as I recall, my 1990 Marathon actually used a converter installed series of relays to accomplish the switchover.
Obviously, your problem could be in the switch, wiring on bus or toad, the converter, etc. I would be testing (test light or voltmeter) from the source onward to diagnose.
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I know this is an old thread, but I was unable to get my recently purchased tow vehicle brake lights to operate, and found the solution, so I wanted to post for other towing newbies or fellow Liberty owners of similar vintage.
My turn signals functioned properly on the toad, but no tow car brake lights. I had tested the pins on the coach, and I had power at the trailer brake pin when applying brakes, but nothing at the right or left turn/stop light pin. After doing a bunch of online searching, I saw the reference to a switch in the coach for Amber Turn Signals or Red Turn Signals. This morning, I went searching for that…I looked in the electrical box above the engine on my 2002 Liberty XLII…nothing. A couple hours later, I tried tracing the wires from the trailer plug, and I noticed a box with a switch on the ceiling of the engine bay. A little cleaning, and it revealed the Amber/Red Turn Signal switch label. So, I hooked up the tow vehicle umbilical cord, flipped the switch to “Red Turn Signal” and we were in business! I’m attaching (or, at least, trying to attach) a photo of the unit on the engine bay ceiling.
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