Boat Trailer Pulled by 2001 Chevy 1500 Has Lights That Will Not Work When Brakes are Applied

Question:

2001 chevy 1500 pickup with towing package. hooked up boat trailer lights as per instructions. everything worked, turn signals, tail lights, parking lights. when brakes are applied the lights go off. WHY?

asked by: Tom D

Expert Reply:

I would suspect a poor ground connection on the trailer. Most trailers use a ground connection at the front of the trailer, with each lamp picking up its ground connection by its physical contact with the trailer frame, in effect, using the trailer itself as part of the ground circuit.

Take a look at the grounding point for the trailer connector, it can usually be found on the trailer tongue near the coupler. Make sure that this ground connection is tight, and connected to clean metal. If the connection point is corroded, remove any corrosion and reconnect. Check the attachment of each lamp assembly. Make sure that the connection point of each lamp is clean and not corroded.

Some trailers are grounded differently. Each fixture will have a ground lead that connects to the ground lead from the trailer connector. If this is the case with your trailer, make sure that the ground circuit is continuous from the trailer connector to the ground wire for each lamp.

expert reply by: Mike L