Dear Gary,
I have a 1999, 37-foot motorhome. It has a six pin connector for the tow vehicle. My tow car is a 1995 Geo Tracker. The Tracker has different bulbs for brake and turn signal. The car was towed by the previous owner with all the lights working. I cannot get my lights on the car to work with my motorhome. The wire colors on the car are brown, yellow, green and white. I ran a diode between the brake light and the green and yellow wires on towed car. Still no lights, I can however, get the lights to work by running another ground wire from my RV hitch receiver to the tow plate on the car. What concerns me with this is that with the coach lights on I get a spark on the extra ground wire when I hook it up or move it. What am I doing wrong? – Joe DeRado, (Port Charlotte, FL)
Answer:
Joe, because you have independent stop and turn signal bulbs you definitely need that diode kit. And I suspect that you have already found the problem. It is likely that a ground wire is broken somewhere and therefore the circuit cannot find a decent path to ground.
The reason the extra ground wire is sparking is because the coach lights are on and the current is trying to flow to the tow vehicle lights. As soon as that ground wire is connected, the current is finding its ground path thus causing the spark.
You should find that if the lights are off and the ground wire then connected, no spark occurs. You would also get a spark if you were short circuiting the wiring, but this would result in a blown fuse and no lights operating. In fact it could blow the coach fuse as well.
To properly fix the problem I would begin by carefully inspecting the connector plugs. You can rule out the towed vehicle wiring as the cause since you obviously didn’t have a problem with the car by itself; neither did the previous owner.
The two most likely causes are faulty connections at the ground pins on the plug or receptacle or the motorhome frame ground. Keep the plug and receptacle free of dirt, rust, corrosion, etc. Also make sure the pins on the receptacle make good contact with the mating plug.
It is possible that the motorhome frame ground wire is either broken, damaged, or dirty and no longer making good contact. This is fairly common and can be easily remedied. Wire brush or sand the frame area clean, and then, using a new self-tapping sheet metal screw and a star washer installed between the frame and the ring terminal, secure a new connection to the clean vehicle frame. If it still does not work correctly, run a new ground wire from the plug connector to the motorhome frame as described above.
(Please feel free to comment, however, please also note that due to the volume of communications I receive from multiple channels I cannot guarantee a personal response in every instance. However, questions of an overall general interest may be considered and published in an upcoming RV Doctor column.)
Guido 47
Hope to see the responses here to know that the comment / answer worked. I am getting ready to be pulling a Tracker as well, and have not wired it up yet. I’m always weary of acting on what seems to be too easy: sometimes it’s not always as easy as it looks or sounds. 🙂
Thanks.
Geoffrey Pruett
Your response on this on brings back memories. In the late 50’s my tuition to college was covered more than once adding a ground lead to a fiberglass custom add on /repair to a classmates vehicle.
The idea of completing the loop still seems to be elusive. Many really good mechanics had trouble with and would argue about this concept.
The “must be a short” theory is still common even among electronics students!
Our current motor home is plastic bodied, every light has at least two leads but in electrician style, black is the hot (12 volt) side.
John Adam
Hey that not so simple, as i had never tried to do so far, it works, nice blog & thanks for your information,
Rob Cook
Hey that nicely updated reply by RV Doctor Joe, n also impressed with his clarification abut what are the point to be taken to resolve the problem, this will be very help full to me, I like to Book Mark this Site. thanks for posting this article
ben towing
Towing trucks are used to move vehicles from one location to another without having running the engine.
Towing trucks are also sometimes called “wreckers.”
The three main types of towing trucks are hook and chain, axle cradling and flatbed. The type of towing truck you choose to use depends on the reason for towing the vehicle, as well as other factor.
While hook and chain towing trucks are commonly used for moving disabled vehicles to a repair shop, or towing illegally parked vehicles to an impound yard, flatbed towing trucks are often used to transport vehicles longer distances.
This can be necessary when delivering a vehicle to a new owner.
The owners of cars that have broken down or will not run often call towing companies to get their car to the shop.
Police often call towing companies to accident scenes. Some towing companies have flatbed towing trucks and use flat bed trucks for towing
Online Backup
You need to be a part of a contest for one of the finest
blogs on the net. I will recommend this blog!
Pingback: I've said that least 2573477 times
Pingback: Spite
Pingback: Anestowilders
Pingback: self hypnosis
Pingback: Ston
Pingback: Tam
Pingback: generic viagra
Pingback: viagra
Pingback: cialis
Pingback: Ambien Overnight
Pingback: android application management
Pingback: Cialis
Pingback: viagra online without prescription
Pingback: viagra online without prescription
Pingback: Viagra
Pingback: ambien
Pingback: replacement windows harrisburg pa
Pingback: roofing lancaster pa
Pingback: wedding photographer philadelphia pa
Pingback: presentation skills training
Pingback: barn cupolas
Pingback: viagra
Pingback: oak furniture
Pingback: homes for sale lancaster
Pingback: cialis
Pingback: viagra online without prescription
Pingback: Adderall Overnight
Pingback: buy vicodin online
Pingback: xanax
Pingback: computer repair columbus
Pingback: used cars york pa
Pingback: online backup
Pingback: computer repair miami
Pingback: lancaster pa attorneys
Pingback: contract packagers
Pingback: defense contractors
Pingback: viagra without prescription
Pingback: xanax online
Pingback: xanax
Pingback: adipex
Pingback: buy arcade games
Pingback: used cars lancaster pa
Pingback: kitchen remodeling lancaster
Pingback: restaurant lancaster pa
Pingback: virginia retirement communities
Pingback: paving contractors west chester
Pingback: auto repairs lancaster pa
Pingback: laptop repair fresno
Pingback: heating system lancaster
Pingback: flexible pvc
Pingback: Purchase Cialis
Pingback: cialis
Pingback: compact binoculars
Pingback: window tint harrisburg pa
Pingback: lawn care delaware
Pingback: networking long island
Pingback: computer repair memphis tn
Pingback: acupuncture in lancaster pa
Pingback: roofing lancaster pa
Pingback: carpet cleaning lancaster pa
Pingback: funeral home lancaster pa
Pingback: pa orchards
Pingback: storage albany
Pingback: home security harrisburg
Pingback: vlc converter
Pingback: clonazepam
Pingback: oxycontin
Pingback: http://kathysowder.com/education
Pingback: ambien
Pingback: Cialis Without Prescription
Pingback: Buy Viagra
Pingback: Klonopin
Pingback: Buy Oxycodone
Pingback: Levitra
Pingback: hard drive recovery
Pingback: Viagra No Prescription
Pingback: shiitake
Pingback: ophthalmologists cedar rapids
Pingback: computer service boston
Pingback: audio recording
Pingback: free burgers
Pingback: Buy Phentermine Online
Pingback: Viagra Without Prescription
Pingback: Buy Viagra
Pingback: Phentermine
Pingback: Cialis
Pingback: Viagra Deals
Pingback: Levitra
Pingback: Xanax
Pingback: Ambien
Pingback: Ambien
Pingback: Xanax Online
Pingback: adipex
Pingback: Buy Viagra Online
Pingback: Xenical
Pingback: Propecia
Pingback: Buy Ativan
Pingback: Buy Viagra
Pingback: cialis
Pingback: ambien
Pingback: Cialis
Pingback: Xenical Online
Pingback: Buy Cialis
Pingback: Levitra
Pingback: Discount Cialis
Pingback: Cheap Viagra
Pingback: Buy Levitra
Pingback: Buy Valium
Pingback: Buy Valium
Pingback: Viagra
Pingback: Clonazepam
Pingback: ambien
Pingback: Cialis
Pingback: I thought about this
Pingback: Maureen Gibbs
Pingback: buy twitter followers cheap
Pingback: Look At This