LED Marker Lights on Trailer Stopped Working After 5 Years

Updated 10/16/2011 | Published 10/14/2011

Products Featured in This Question

Combination LED Trailer Tail Light - Submersible - 6 Function - 11 Diodes - Passenger Side

(1251)

$17.94

Hook Probe Circuit Tester

(60)

$13.72

Question:

2001 Holiday Rambler Endeavor. I changed all marker lights to LED 5 years ago. Work fine until last week, all five front marker lights only partially light. Some one side is out, or center 2 lights out, or 6 to 8 LEDs are out. They all went bad at the same time. I get 0.2 ohm reading between the ground wire and a metal frame nearby. Grounding the ground wire to the metal frame doesnt change anything. Two minutes after turning lights on, some more little LEDs come on. Could all five lights go bad at the same time? What am I missing?

asked by: Frank

Expert Reply:

Since you have checked the ground connection and tried a different grounding point. I would check to make sure the lights are getting power by using a circuit tester like part # PTW2993. You will want to inspect the power wires going to the lights to make sure there is not any frayed or shorted wiring in the system.

Then, I would inspect the vehicle and trailer side connector for corrosion. Corrosion in the connector could be causing a bad connection and preventing the lights from getting power. If the other lights on the trailer are not working, corrosion in the connector could be causing this.

The other issue is that if you have incandescent lights on the trailer, or have recently added incandescent lights, this could be causing your problem, as it is not recommended to mix LED and incandescent lights. The reason for this is because there is more power required for incandescent lights and LED lights draw so little power.

There is also the possibility that the LED lights are going bad and will need to be replaced.

expert reply by: Reno H