trailer board lights

[davis]

can anyone tell me why the indicator lights flash on both sides out of sequence with each other when I indicate on one side only, also the tail lights flash as well, fed up trying to fix tail boards every year, anyone have a better idea or is there a better quality one on the market

[willk]

They are a PITA, right 'nuff. Pull a plug wiring diagram off the net and when you're checking the connections (both ends, including bulb seating/blown bulbs) slap a multimeter on the various cores and test for a circuit.

[doggypaddle]

Bonkers flashing on trailerboards is usually a poor earth.
make sure you have a good earth, and find where the fault is by turning all the lights on and measuring the voltage along the earth wire which is the white one. start at the back of the trailer socket on the tow vehicle, then the plug rear, then where the white wire enters the board etc etc. the point at which you start to measure voltage is where the fault is. While doing the one lead of your multimeter ie the negative should be connected straight back to the neg battery terminal on the tow vehicle or other known good earth.
a volt or so at the board is inevitable due to the length of the cable, but look for sudden rises across connectors and the like.
alternatively run a separate wire from the tow vehicle battery neg to the plug/socket/board etc, when everything starts to work as it should you have bypassed the fault and should be able to pinpoint it.

[davis]

Thanks for the info, I will have a go at it

[BogMonster]

+1 for poor earth as the cause

[Lets go boating]

i had that problem replaced the socket in the landy swamped it with wd40 the plug too and everything was a ok

[9D280]

Yep, it's a poor earth allright. Ford Escorts are another common place you''ll see that!

Basically the electricity can't get back to the battery by the easiest route, so it finds a way through the rest of the loom. As the bulbs' earth wiires are usually "commoned" up inside the fitting, the electricity ends up going via other bulbs, and Ohms Law for things in parallel, series and a combination of the two then applies!

Net result- random disco effects on your lighting board.

If you can find nowt on the lighting board, have a grovel under the back of your car - it may be the socket has a loose ./ broken connection

[doggypaddle]

Originally Posted by 9D280

Yep, it's a poor earth allright. Ford Escorts are another common place you''ll see that!

yep, that lovely connector on the back cluster with the contacts made out of zinc pladed steel, usually rusty as an old horseshoe

[sarahscottiedog]

7 pin plugs and sockets are useless ! The new 13pin plugs now very comon in caravanning is FAR superior, well worth swapping over to save loads of checking connections at the plug & socket in the future !

[Erin]

I've got the 13 pin sockets on my towing electrics. Seem to behave themselves most of the time, but they still froth and foam a bit if they get a dunking in the briny.

[sarahscottiedog]

Same as anything electrical ! Dont dunk it in the briney !

[jwalker]

3 for bad earth. Clean the pins/sockets with an emery board or rolled up wet-n-dry. Splay the pins by wedging a small screwdriver into the pin slots. Go easy there. Check connections inside the plug and socket and lather the lot in grease inside and outside over all the connections and pins. Water resistant grease is best. It'll last years in good condition then.