Not All Trailer Lights Power On with Trailer Connector C55486 on a 2000 Toyota RAV4

Question:

I have installed correctly and connected to the trailer. The turn light turns on one side only sometimes or both sides for a short time. Now nothing works. More I read the material on your site, it seems we need to have a ground line from the convector to connect to the car body. But 55486 does not have one. Do we need to connect, the white ground line to the car body? Because it worked on and off, I am sure I connected correctly all wiring. I also tested each pin of connector, and verified the power is coming from the tail light . Please advise what to do?

asked by: Harry M

Expert Reply:

Since the 4-Way end on the # C55486 harness is working then the issue is most likely a ground on the trailer and/or a dirty connector. Make sure the trailer side connector is clean and free of corrosion. Then make sure the main trailer connector is grounded to a clean and corrosion free bare metal surface. Do the same with each of the trailer lights. If you have an aluminum frame, tilt bed, or folding tongue on the trailer then you will need to run jumper grounds from the lights to the main trailer connector ground.

If your trailer has a lot of lights on it, it may be too much draw on the converter. The converter is rated for 3 amps per circuit for stop/turn lights and 7.5 amps total for running lights. If your lights exceed this it could explain why not all the lights are working.

expert reply by: Michael H