Community Forums

GerryB54 · 08-27-2007, 06:27 PM

Well, driving the new (to us) 2005 Bounder home today, at dusk, checked tail lights, Bounder & Jeep toad lights not working...decided to run flashers (were working on both) till I could get to a service center, soon they stopped working...stopped at a weigh station on I-95 NB MP 92 and now brake lights also don't work on the Jeep toad (thru the hitch connection) but still work on the Bounder.

Summary - Bounder has no rear tail lights/no front or rear turn signals, no emergency flashers...Jeep (thru Bounder hitch electrical connection) has no lights at all, no signals, no flashers, no tail lights.

Disconnecting the Jeep has no effect.

Checked the fuse panel under the hood, pulled tail light fuses, all ok, pulled hazard fuse, ok, replaced hazard fuse, no change.

Can anybody help a stranded RVer?

GerryB54 · 08-27-2007, 06:27 PM

Well, driving the new (to us) 2005 Bounder home today, at dusk, checked tail lights, Bounder & Jeep toad lights not working...decided to run flashers (were working on both) till I could get to a service center, soon they stopped working...stopped at a weigh station on I-95 NB MP 92 and now brake lights also don't work on the Jeep toad (thru the hitch connection) but still work on the Bounder.

Summary - Bounder has no rear tail lights/no front or rear turn signals, no emergency flashers...Jeep (thru Bounder hitch electrical connection) has no lights at all, no signals, no flashers, no tail lights.

Disconnecting the Jeep has no effect.

Checked the fuse panel under the hood, pulled tail light fuses, all ok, pulled hazard fuse, ok, replaced hazard fuse, no change.

Can anybody help a stranded RVer?

MikeT · 08-27-2007, 06:51 PM

Did you check fuses under dash? Usually auto circuits are under the dash ---

GerryB54 · 08-27-2007, 07:24 PM

Hey Mike!

Yes, checked, pulled the fuses on the inside fuse panel, MH signals are now working, as well as the Jeep...nothing was burned out, not sure what happened.

Still no tail lights or hazard/flashers.

rvten · 08-27-2007, 09:37 PM

Do not blame WCC. FW re-wired everything. Could it be in how you wired your toad? I had feed back to the MH once. Toad was not wired right. This caused the MH lights to malfunction.

Argosy · 08-28-2007, 04:29 AM

Since you have lights on the mh working that aren't working on the toad I would check the connections on both sides of the toad hookup and where the plug wiring taps into the wiring harness for the rear lights. If you unhook the toad wiring (better if you can unhook a connector at the mh harness) will anything work?

John-D · 08-28-2007, 05:44 AM

What happened... There are several possible answers

1: Oxidation on the contacts of the fuses, pulling and replacing them cleaned the contacts. NOTE: this is fairly common

2: There is a virus, a genuine biological virus, that loves to grow in places where electrical current flows.. Removing and replacing the fuses would have disturbed it enough as well (NOTE: this was a real bugger back in the early computer days when everything was socketed)

3: Something else that was disturbed by the act of messing with the fuses,,, Including a bad connection where the wires come down out of the steering column, IN accessing the fuses you may have brushed against this connector.

GerryB54 · 08-28-2007, 10:12 AM

Well, we limped home today, boy do I hate NJ roads!

I'll post my sequence of events as soon as I get other things in order...new motorhome, had to move the Class C out of the way, fit the Class A in my RV parking spot with three slides and be able to open them, make sure I cleared driveway with levelers, drain all water systems, fill and drain holding tanks, hook up electric, cable, water...clean out the new RV, and just spent the last two hours transferring all my outside basement stuff from the Class C to the new Class A!

I do have a Thursday appointment with a WH service center in Vineland, NJ, we'll see if I keep it...

PLEASE stay tuned and I'll post the sequence of events, maybe someone will be able to point me in the right direction.

Just stopped for an adult beverage, sitting in the new RV, slides out, watching US Open tennis on cable with the AC on and typing to you...also have to league bowl tonite at 8:00 pm if I have any strength left...so stay tuned, I'll try to post what happened exactly as I remember it tonight before bowling.

Thanks in advance!

PS - I still love the new (to me) Class A!!!

wilanddij · 08-28-2007, 03:15 PM

If you have a blue coiled electrical cable to your toad, pull the connector covers off both ends and make sure the set screw that holds each wire into its pin is secure. When they loosen up and the wires pull loose they cause all sorts of havoc; especially if they touch ground.

travel · 08-28-2007, 03:48 PM

We had a simular problem with our Bounder and it was on a mountain road. Got to our dealer and they found that there was a short in the area above your left foot under the dash. Retaped the spot with electrical tape and it has not caused us any problems since. I made a hook to hold up the el. bundle so it would clear any sharp points. Good Luck!

GerryB54 · 08-28-2007, 07:31 PM

Here's the best I can recall on the sequence of events:

FYI - Jeep toad lighting system is totslly separate from Jeep lighting system, 4 pin flat connector runs to rear light enclosures to two separate two filament light bulbs for tail, signal and brake lights...no diode box or fuses of any kind.

Okay, first we checked all RV lights with prior owner (no Jeep toad hooked up yet)..all lights were working EXCEPT the curbside lower red marker light...thought that was no big deal.

Connected Jeep toad to RV, used round to flat adapter and wire section that I've used many times before to connect the tow hitch electrical outlet to the toad flat 4 wire plug.

Tested connection but only checked the turn signals, working on both the RV and toad. Never checked brake or tail lights on toad.

Drove 400 miles in daylight, at dusk stopped and checked toad lights, found both RV and toad had no tail lights. Started hazard flasher they worked on both RV and toad. Also, streetside lower red marker light now also not working.

Drove another ten miles, hazard flasher stopped working in RV, stopped and checked toad, found no hazard flashers, brake lights, tail lights, turn signals on either now.

Pulled into weigh station in darkness, started looking for fuse boxes, ultimately found both inside dash and outside engine compartment fuse boxes, checked appropriate fuses, all okay. Used spare fuses from outside engine compartment to replace suspect fuses, no change. Started examining inside dash fuses, pulled a couple and reinstalled, turn signals now working again on RV and toad.

Waited till morning, disconnected toad wiring from RV hitch adapter, left hazard flashers in toad vehicle on (running off toad battery), limped home with RV brake lights, turn signals operating and toad flashers operating.

Pulled lower red marker lights covers, no filament damage found.

RV Headlights, running lights (except lower red marker lights on rear L&R), brake lights and turn signals all working, no tail lights or hazard flashers.

I guess I need to troubleshoot RV lights, get them operating correctly, then re-introduce the toad lighting again and see what happens with that...phew...long winded sequence...any ideas?

Bob (WA0MQE) · 08-29-2007, 02:29 AM

Don't overlook critters. Squirrels, mice, etc. can play havoc with wiring in RV's.

A couple years ago I was readying our previous motorhome for a snowbird trip and routinely checked the rear lights and noticed the left tail light wasn't working. Brake and turn signal was okay. I pulled the light out of it's recess and the space behind where the light fits was full of twigs, and debris. i.e., a nest. Some of the wires, including the cable to the backup camera were chewed completely through. Ended up being a squirrel.

GerryB54 · 08-29-2007, 02:31 AM

Bob, I looked all over/under this RV before buying, thanks for the idea...but the way the various light functions kept dropping off while driving leads me in another direction this time.

Working w/DriVer today troubleshooting, I'll keep you posted.

GerryB54 · 08-29-2007, 11:12 AM

Well, Workhorse fans (and foes), with the help of our forum moderator DriVer (Mike) on the telephone today and a trusty 12V test light, we found and corrected 90% of my issues.

With DriVer directing me over the phone, we tested various fuses and found the one fuse that burned out causing the tail lights to not operate. We also determined that the hazard/flasher module is okay by swappping the non working one with the working one on the turn signals and it works there (same part number BTW),

When I try the signal flasher module back in the hazard flasher connection it doesn't work...decision is that it might be the snap in electric connection at the hazard switch or the switch itself.

The two red rear side lights was just a connection issue, I removed the housing, unplugged and re-plugged the two wire connections on either side and they both work now...had to pinch the bulb connector contacts tighter on the original bad side because moving the assembly was causing the light to flicker.

Also one license plate light had a burned out bulb so that is fixed.

Took my Jeep toad and wiring to a long revered local hitch shop (who had installed everything when Jeep was new), tested the wiring there, all okay. I left the wiring with him to replace the hitch end with the round six way plug, eliminating the adapter I was using.

With DriVer's help we fixed the tail light problem, got an indication of how to fix the red side lights, and narrowed down the hazard flasher problem.

My cost, minimal, end result, priceless...thanks Mike, I'll keep you posted on the end result.

Regards,