Trailer Lights Not Working on a Camper Towed by a 2002 Oldsmobile Silhouette  

Question:

Expert Reply:

A fuse blowing indicates to me that there is a short. If it happens when you connect the trailer to test the lights then that would indicate a problem on the trailer side.

Lets first look at the wiring harness on the van. Make sure the ground wire is attached to a clean metal surface. Moving the ground might help. When you plug in the 4-Way to the adapter, # 30717, make sure the connection is good and tight. You must have the ground wire from the adapter also attached to the vehicle frame.

This will give you the basic light functions on the 7-Way. You already mentioned capping off the blue wire. The black wire is for 12 volt power if the trailer needs it and the yellow wire is for reverse lights if needed. If the trailer does not require either of those you can cap them off as well.

Once you have everything installed the 7-Way vehicle side connector will have the functions as indicated in the picture I have provided. These pins you can test with a circuit tester like # PTW2993 if needed to determine if they are working properly. If they are not, that would indicate an issue with the converter box on the van and it will need to be replaced.

On the trailer side, make sure the main ground is intact and attached to a clean and corrosion free bare metal surface. Do the same with the trailer lights. Most trailer lights ground through the mounting studs unless there is an obvious ground wire. Some trailers have a large number of running lights that, when on, can be too much of a draw on the vehicle wiring system causing some lights not to work and could blow fuses.

You can also trace the wiring on the trailer looking for nicks with exposed wire that may be touching the metal frame. that can cause a short as well. I have included another picture showing how the trailer side should be configured. If for some reason the trailer and vehicle sides are not matching up, that can be the cause of the problem. Look at the functions in the pictures, not the colors because those do not always match up from one trailer to the next.

expert reply by: Michael H

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