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Old 03-10-2008, 03:41 PM   #1
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Our 2003 National RV Islander is on a Country Coach chassis. Our brake lights stopped working just before the last National RV Rally (before National declared bankruptcy). At the rally the National techs got them working by using the connection from our tow package. They were unable to fix it otherwise, although the two techs worked on it for over 3 hours. We thought all was working until after the rally when we started traveling. Now the brake lights work, but if we have either turn signal on as soon as the brake pedal is engaged the turn signal stops flashing. As soon as the brake pedal is released the turn signal will flash.
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Old 03-10-2008, 03:41 PM   #2
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Our 2003 National RV Islander is on a Country Coach chassis. Our brake lights stopped working just before the last National RV Rally (before National declared bankruptcy). At the rally the National techs got them working by using the connection from our tow package. They were unable to fix it otherwise, although the two techs worked on it for over 3 hours. We thought all was working until after the rally when we started traveling. Now the brake lights work, but if we have either turn signal on as soon as the brake pedal is engaged the turn signal stops flashing. As soon as the brake pedal is released the turn signal will flash.
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Old 03-10-2008, 05:15 PM   #3
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Sounds like a loose ground connection, unless they butchered up the wiring connecting it to the towing connection. The original problem probally was a ground issue. Do the parking lights come on also when you step on the brake?
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Old 03-12-2008, 09:15 AM   #4
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A couple of questions.
1. With the turn signal on, does the turn signal light dim and go to steady, when you step on the brakes? Also, is there a dimming of the brake lights when the T/S is turned on?
2. What happens to the toad lights when it is hooked up?
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Old 03-12-2008, 09:21 AM   #5
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Its a ground or bulb problem. Pull all the bulbs and clean them and put them back in if you still have same problem than look for a bad ground.
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Old 03-12-2008, 09:29 AM   #6
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by MtManLee:
Its a ground or bulb problem. Pull all the bulbs and clean them and put them back in if you still have same problem than look for a bad ground. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I totally agree except the technicians have messed with the wiring.
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Old 03-12-2008, 02:30 PM   #7
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Something you might try to help determine whether its a bad ground or not, is to take a piece of wire if you have one long enough to go from the ground post on the battery, run it all the way back to the taillights and connect it to the ground wire or metal shell of the light if available, and see if the problem goes away, if not the problem is probally elsewhere. If it does go away then you definitely have a loose or broken ground some where. If you cannot find it still, run a new ground wire to the frame of the MH. Be sure to clean the metal where you atach it with sandpaper until it is shiny, then after connecting the wire spray paint the connection to help prevent rusting.
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Old 03-14-2008, 01:53 AM   #8
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Does your coach have a separate bulb for brake and a separate bulb for turn signals? By this I mean do you have , say a bulb in the red area of the lens and your blinker is in the amber part of the lens. If this is the case, there is probably some kind of a diode(?)that takes the separate signals and somehow combines them for the single, double filament bulb on a trailer. I know I had a Ford Explorer that had separate bulbs for brake and turn as opposed to a double filament bulb (1157,2057, 2157 for example). I needed to purchase this diode to in effect combine the electrical signals to work with the single bulb. Otherwise it was hook it up to either the turn signals or the brakes. If they wired your lights from the trailer harness you are turning on the blinkers getting the pulsing current, then when you step on the brake the continuous current is going to the same bulb, in effect "overriding" the blinking signal. I hope I made sense here....
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Old 03-14-2008, 02:17 AM   #9
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All that said, your origional problem could have been a ground, Especially if they are a separate bulb altogether. The fact that your trailer harness has power rules out things like brake light switch etc. Is it possible that there is a separate fuse for the main brake lights and the trailer brake lights?
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Old 03-18-2008, 04:25 PM   #10
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by adj:
A couple of questions.
1. With the turn signal on, does the turn signal light dim and go to steady, when you step on the brakes? Also, is there a dimming of the brake lights when the T/S is turned on?
2. What happens to the toad lights when it is hooked up? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

1. There is no dimming of any of the lights when I step on the brakes.
2. The toad lights do the same as the motor home.
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Old 03-18-2008, 04:39 PM   #11
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by 4gone:
Does your coach have a separate bulb for brake and a separate bulb for turn signals? By this I mean do you have , say a bulb in the red area of the lens and your blinker is in the amber part of the lens. If this is the case, there is probably some kind of a diode(?)that takes the separate signals and somehow combines them for the single, double filament bulb on a trailer. I know I had a Ford Explorer that had separate bulbs for brake and turn as opposed to a double filament bulb (1157,2057, 2157 for example). I needed to purchase this diode to in effect combine the electrical signals to work with the single bulb. Otherwise it was hook it up to either the turn signals or the brakes. If they wired your lights from the trailer harness you are turning on the blinkers getting the pulsing current, then when you step on the brake the continuous current is going to the same bulb, in effect "overriding" the blinking signal. I hope I made sense here.... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

My coach uses a single bulb for the brake and turn signal.
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Old 03-18-2008, 04:43 PM   #12
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Hillbilly2:
Sounds like a loose ground connection, unless they butchered up the wiring connecting it to the towing connection. The original problem probally was a ground issue. Do the parking lights come on also when you step on the brake? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The parking lights do not come on when I step on the brake.
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Old 03-20-2008, 01:01 AM   #13
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My coach uses a single bulb for the brake and turn signal.[/QUOTE

Your bulbs should be duel element. The bulb socket is the ground path for both circuits. Do as MTManLee suggests. Pull the bulbs and check for dirty/corroded contacts and sockets.

You said the toad was doing the same as the MH.
Does this include prior to the MH being worked on? If so, I suspect a power problem since ther is another ground path for the toad.
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Old 03-31-2008, 06:55 PM   #14
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As part of the techs. trial and error method of troubleshooting did they replace the flasher itself along the way....possibly installing the wrong one, so that when they did get it working, it created this new problem? Other than that, I'd look for a loose or rusty chassis ground, also.
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