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  • dankspeed

    April 25, 2011 12:31 p.m. dankspeed Reader

    I have an enclosed trailer that has a generator mounted on the tongue of the trailer. A couple nights ago the power cord that plugs into my vehicle to power the electric brakes and lights had a section of it burned by the generator exhaust.

    Heres my problem, The trailer lights wont work and I'm not sure if the electric brakes are working ( i assume they aren't ). The control box on my dash is still lighting up. Are there fuses for the lights and/or electric brakes I need to replace and thats it or is there more work to be done to fix this? If it's fuses where would the fuse box be located?

    My cord is a 7 prong . Hope that helps

    Thanks Dan

  • Dr. Hess

    April 25, 2011 12:42 p.m. Dr. Hess SuperDork

    First off, did you replace the burnt up section? Next, measure the voltage on the trailer side of the plug and see if you have brake lights there and work your way one way (forward) or the other (back). You also don't mention what your tow vehicle is or if the electrical connections are OEM or aftermarket. I have seen fuses in OEM tow packages for the trailer lights, like on a Ford 1 ton. Aftermarket setups usually just tie into the tow vehicle's lighting and if it shorts, blow out the tow vehicle's tail light fuse.

  • cwh

    April 25, 2011 12:43 p.m. cwh SuperDork

    How much wire was burned? Is it possible to just cut out the burned section and splice back together? I would cut the line clean and meter the wires before the bad section to see if you are getting what you need, if so, add appropriate wire to correct again. Please solder and shrink wrap the connections. If the wires were not powered, and I assume so or the genny would not be running, you should not have blown fuses, unless you now have a short and you connected the trailer and hit the brakes. A VOM is your friend.

  • dankspeed

    April 25, 2011 1:28 p.m. dankspeed Reader

    Dr. Hess, No I did not replace the burnt up section. It's pretty thick cord ( maybe an inch thick) I was hoping I could get away with wrapping it with electrical tape to repair.

    My tow vehicle is a 98 expedition. It came with a 4 prong from the dealer but I had a 7 prong wired up for the trailer I have now. My trailer is an 18ft enclosed trailer.

    At the time this happened the truck was turned off but the power cord for the trailer was plugged in. The generator powers the electric for the interior of the trailer. It has nothing to do with the exterior lights or brakes. Those are all powered thru my tow vehicle.

    If the power cord is not plugged in to my tow vehicle and I try to read it with a VOM am I even going to get a reading?

  • Dr. Hess

    April 25, 2011 1:45 p.m. Dr. Hess SuperDork

    Of course you'll get a reading. 0V and infinity ohms are both readings.

    I think this is getting over your head. I think a bit of professional help is in order. I don't know what a 1" think "cord" is doing on your trailer, and what is burned up inside it. If you want to try to tackle this yourself, split that open and inspect what's inside. Check for proper signal at the truck connection. Go from there.

  • dankspeed

    April 25, 2011 1:45 p.m. dankspeed Reader

    Ok so I climbed under the trailer and looked in the junction box. I also took a closer look at the power cord. It burned thru the outer rubber sleeve that covers the seven inner wires but it doesn't look like it burned thru the inner wires insulated sleeves.

  • SVreX

    April 25, 2011 8:41 p.m. SVreX SuperDork

    dankspeed wrote:

    Ok so I climbed under the trailer and looked in the junction box. I also took a closer look at the power cord. It burned thru the outer rubber sleeve that covers the seven inner wires but it doesn't look like it burned thru the inner wires insulated sleeves.

    Good sign. Are you sure? Be sure.

    If it has only damaged the outer sheathing, then use the tester like others have said. If the readings are right, and you are sure it is just the outer sheathing, you can tape it up. That's not the best fix, but it will work.

    Use a lot of tape. Final thickness of the tape should be similar to the thickness of the original sheathing.

 
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