Troubleshooting Pop Up Camper Light Signal Working With One Vehicle and Not Another

Updated 10/03/2016 | Published 10/01/2016

Question:

Two identical tow vehicles with identical connectors - There is power to the right tail light/brake light registering on the LED tester on both tow vehicle connectors. However, when one vehicle is connected to the pop up camper the right tail/brake light does not work, when connected to the other vehicle, they do. Again, the tester registers power for right turn/brake light at both tow vehicles. What could possibly be the problem?

asked by: Dave

Helpful Expert Reply:

It sounds like your issue is being caused by a weak ground on the pop up camper. The best place to start troubleshooting is with the ground for the right tail/brake light.

It is important to ground the light to a spot on the trailer that is clean of paint, dirt, debris, rust, and corrosion. Anything between the ground wire's ring terminal/ground post of the light and the steel frame of the trailer can cause issues with the ground. If the light does have a ground wire, you can also check to make sure the wire hasn't been damaged to cause an issue with the ground. This ground wire can be routed up to the main trailer ground for an even better ground location than if the light is grounded to the frame close to the light's location.

The reason I think it is a ground issue on the trailer even though it works with one tow vehicle and not the other is because some vehicles are better at overcoming weak grounds than other vehicles. Even though you have 2 of the same vehicle, it is possible that one is simply better at overcoming the weak ground than the other.

If this does not solve your trailer light problem, feel free to let me know and we can look into further troubleshooting steps.

expert reply by: Victoria B