Battery Negative connection

[Stew]

Heads up out there....
So went camping this weekend. I hooked the rv up, raised the jacks, and let the slides in. All was fine. Drove a whopping 20 miles to the site, short one this time, and when I tried to operate the jacks to disconnect I had zero power to the controller. Started troubleshooting with the test light finally tracked it down to a broken screw that secures the battery ground and ground for the controller directly to the rv frame. It is located directly behind the battery box so it had not been contacted by anything. So drilled new hole and installed new screw with some better strain relief on the wire. Works like a champ now. As a temporary fix so I could disconnect while waiting for my kid to bring some screws and my drill, I connected one side of my car jumper cables between the wire connectors and a good frame ground.

[xrated]

That was using your noggin .....hooking up the jumper cable to provide a temporary ground until you got things sorted.

[ctbruce]

Originally Posted by Stew

Heads up out there....As a temporary fix so I could disconnect while waiting for my kid to bring some screws and my drill, I connected one side of my car jumper cables between the wire connectors and a good frame ground.

That is genius! What a great idea. You have given me an idea to try to solve an intermittent grounding problem I'm experiencing....



Chip Bruce, RPh
Kansas City, MO
2016 Fuzion Impact 312
2015 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ
WELL....THAT WAS FUN!

[xrated]

Originally Posted by ctbruce

That is genius! What a great idea. You have given me an idea to try to solve an intermittent grounding problem I'm experiencing....



Chip Bruce, RPh
Kansas City, MO
2016 Fuzion Impact 312
2015 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ
WELL....THAT WAS FUN!

Chip....you got any details of the issue? I'd be glad to help if I can.

[ctbruce]

Originally Posted by xrated

Chip....you got any details of the issue? I'd be glad to help if I can.

Thanks! I have the infamous "Check Trailer Wiring" warning on the info center. I've had the dealer check it, he can find nothing. I've cleaned up the grounds, it helps a little. I was thinking of making an easier to get to ground point than laying under the tongue to tie it all together. It's frustrating. Some tomes we can drive all day with no problem. Some days it's 3-4 times a mile. No rhyme, no reason.
I font want to hijack the thread because I think what was done will help someone else and is commendable!

Chip Bruce, RPh
Kansas City, MO
2016 Fuzion Impact 312
2015 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ
WELL....THAT WAS FUN!

[JRTJH]

Chip,

I'd guess (without further information) that you've fallen into the "Vehicle OEM vs Trailer OEM" trap....

There's nothing wrong with your truck and there's nothing wrong with your trailer... The issue comes from the "Truck end connector" being "high quality" and the "Trailer end connector" being "China quality"....

There are a large number of threads on the forum (and I had the same problem on our F150) with the "Truck info center" giving a fault message such as: "TRAILER DISCONNECT CHECK WIRING" or "GROUND FAULT CHECK TRAILER WIRING"... The problem is that the truck manufacturers use Pollak brand connectors and the trailer manufacturers use "Lippert supplied Chinese connector umbilibals".... The two work fairly well together (at first) but with several uses and some wet weather, corrosion sets up in the trailer connector. That causes a problem with the truck computer "reading the trailer information". When the computer doesn't see what it expects to see, it gives you a "fault message"...

How to fix it? Two ways, first, get a piece of emery cloth and clean the contacts on both the truck and trailer connectors. Then go to any hardware store and get a tube of "di-electric grease". Use a Q-tip to freely and liberally coat the umbilical connector contacts. If that works, just continue to annually clean/recoat the contacts.

Sometimes that won't work. If your trailer connector is "too far gone" to clean and function, then buy a new POLLAK umbilical cord and just replace the entire cord/umbilical set on your trailer. On the tongue (or mounted to the trailer frame behind the tongue) is a 4x4" metal electric junction box. That is where the umbilical cord connects to the trailer wiring. It's all "held together" with "twist on" connectors and it's really quite simple to replace the "cheap Chinese cord" with a POLLAK cord.

The problem stems from (I believe) two different metals being used in the connectors and a small difference in the connector size. The truck "connector pins" are just a "tad bit smaller" and the trailer "slots" are just a "tad bit larger" than each other. So the small space difference allows moisture to stand making corrosion inevitable.

Clean it up, coat it and your "TRAILER WIRING FAULT" message should be "history"............

Good Luck,

[ctbruce]

Thank you John, you're always a great help. I've tried a lot of things but replacing the cord with a good umbilical was not one of them. The dealer replaced the plug end but probably with a Lippert part. Next time it warms up on KCMO I'm making the mod and will test it in the spring. WHICH CAN'T GET HERE SOON ENOUGH!

Chip Bruce, RPh
Kansas City, MO
2016 Fuzion Impact 312
2015 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ
WELL....THAT WAS FUN!

[Stew]

Thanks for the kudos...it kind of just popped in my head. In my experiences 9 out of 10 times with DC if there is a problem it is a ground problem. In another McGuyver moment, we had a C-130 with a dead battery in a bad place one time several years ago. Everyone's racking there brain to get a new battery shipped in. I found a HUMMV and used a set of jumper cables to connect it up to the plane, both are 24V systems. Got the airplanes APU up and running so we could start those big fans and get the hell out of dodge...

[xrated]

Originally Posted by ctbruce

Thanks! I have the infamous "Check Trailer Wiring" warning on the info center. I've had the dealer check it, he can find nothing. I've cleaned up the grounds, it helps a little. I was thinking of making an easier to get to ground point than laying under the tongue to tie it all together. It's frustrating. Some tomes we can drive all day with no problem. Some days it's 3-4 times a mile. No rhyme, no reason.
I font want to hijack the thread because I think what was done will help someone else and is commendable!

Chip Bruce, RPh
Kansas City, MO
2016 Fuzion Impact 312
2015 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ
WELL....THAT WAS FUN!

Chip, I'll send you a PM with what I did on the F250 trailer plug setup....

[JRTJH]

Chip,

I wasn't aware that you'd already replaced the trailer connector. It may be a POLLAK connector, but doubtful if the dealership did it. So, one more possibility, probably a long shot, is the connector at the back of your truck 7 pin plug. The way all three manufacturers build the system is to run the truck harness to the back of the truck and install the 4/7 pin connector on the bumper. Then they plug the harness into the connector. This gives them the flexibility of adding a "in bed fifth wheel connector" by just unplugging the 4/7 pin connector, installing the "bed plug" and reconnecting the truck wiring harness. It makes for "modular adaptability" but adds one more place for a problem to occur.

Next time you're under your truck, check the back of your trailer connector. There "should be" (never say never) a seal lip on the plug connection. Sometimes that gets 'bent over" or "torn" during installation. That would allow moisture to get into the pins on the back side of your truck connector. Disconnect that plug and clean/coat it with di-electric as well.

The problem with "good trailers showing fault messages" is common and usually is caused by either the "front side of the connector being different from the trailer connector" or in a few situations, the "back side of the truck plug" being corroded.

Again, good luck chasing it down.

[xrated]

Well, since we've gone into a discussion about the "trailer fault", I'll post here in Cliff Notes form of what I just PMed to Chip. I have done all the above....replace the rcpt. on the truck, replace the plug on the trailer (I'm talking about my 7' x 16' enclosed trailer that I sold when I bought the Impact 303). So after both of those items didn't help much (after cleaning and electrical contact grease on all the male/female pins/sockets), I came to the conclusion that the fitment between the plug and recept. seemed a little loose, even though the door of the recept. has a latch to help hold the plug in place while travelling. So I bought some Velcro straps and once I plug in, the Velcro strap goes around the plug and door as snug as I can get it. I've not had one "trailer disconnected" warning since I started doing that. So maybe that will be the magic trick to help you out.

One other thing......I bought a rubber cap that would fit over the trailer plug when not in use. That helps protect the contact terminals inside the plug from weather/rain/tarnishing/etc.

[Mover480]

i had an intermittent brake light on mine. In addition to the emery paper and di-electric grease, found that tightening/closing the gaps on the female connector worked well. Just take a screw driver and pry the connector pieces closed from the side. This tightens the connector up and seems to make it work better. With many connections/disconnections, they tend to loosen up.

[Pull Toy]

Years ago I remember having a problem of BARGMAN and POLLAK connectors not playing well together. Can't remember the exact issue, but by swapping out the connector on one end to match the other end (ie. Bargman / Bargman or POLLAK / POLLAK) it solved the problem.

On one other occasion I had a horse trailer with dim marker lights no matter what I did tot he harness. By using an extra ground wire with a clamp on the end that hooked to the truck, and a self threading screw into the trailer "A" frame, the lights brightened.

Good Luck!