Troubleshooting Trailer Wiring on a 2013 Kia Soul that Lights Up Trailer Lights All the Time

Question:

I wired my vehicle, a 2013 Kia Soul, with your kit #118637 in 2013. The lights all worked fine on the trailer. This year when I hooked up the trailer, the tail lights came on as soon as I plugged in the connector, even with the ignition off in the vehicle. The brake lights and turn signals do not work now. The lights on the trailer work fine when I hook up my other vehicle to the trailer.

asked by: Sherron B

Expert Reply:

It sounds like there was a short on your trailer that developed over the winter and when you connected your Kia Soul to it the short took out the converter box of the # 118637. If you want you can test to verify this, but I am very confident the box has shorted out and needs to be replaced.

What you will want to do is test the wires going into the box of the converter box for voltage with a circuit tester like the # PTW2993 to see if there is voltage going into the box when the taillight functions of your vehicle are applied, and then test the output side of the box to see if the current is making it through the converter. If not then the problem is that the converter box has shorted itself out and would need to be replaced.

Before you replace it you will want to inspect the wiring of your trailer to see if you can find anything that would cause the box to short out like corrosion or cut/exposed wiring. These boxes don't usually go out unless there is a short on the trailer that takes it out.

expert reply by: Jameson C