Troubleshooting Shorted Out Powered Taillight Converter on 2007 BMW X5

Question:

Hello - I had the following product installed in my 2007 BMW X5 Custom-Fit-Vehicle-Wiring # C56200KIT It has been working fine for about a year - the other day i was pulling a trailer and started to smell something burning. I pulled over and found it to be the converter was melting ... it has a bulge and burn mark in the converter box wired to my truck. I unhooked it afraid of it starting a fire which it looked like it was close questions - 1 have you had issues with this in the past 2 now that i have all of the wiring in place, can i purchase just a converter and not need the entire wiring? 3 why would this not blow a fuse?

asked by: Kyle

Expert Reply:

The converter is designed to provide circuit protection, to isolate any shorts from the vehicle wiring. In this instance, it served its purpose perfectly by blowing its internal circuit breaker before anything on the vehicle could be damaged. The circuit breaker shuts down before the short can reach the vehicle wiring, which explains why no fuses were blown.

Before replacing the converter, I'd suggest you carefully examine the trailer wiring, looking for the short that caused the converter to fail. Beginning with the trailer connector, check the trailer wiring for loose connections, pinched wires or cracked or worn wire insulation that would allow the copper wire to short out on the trailer frame. Repair or replace any damaged wire.

The converter itself is not available as a replacement part. Because everything got pretty hot, you'd really want to replace the entire wiring harness in case any of the wire got scorched.

expert reply by: Mike L