Troubleshooting Intermittent Trailer Connection that Loses Connection Over Bumps
Question:
I just purchased my camper on July 30th. After pulling out of the lot with the camper in tow, I immediately began getting an error message on my truck dash screen stating Check Trailer Wiring but then immediately says Trailer Connected. It did this back and forth the whole time it took me to turn around and go right back to the dealership with it. They claimed it had to be a truck issue as they checked all the wiring before I picked it up that day. I drove the camper home and listened to that error for 1.5 hours. I have asked around and no one has an answer really. We tried making sure the ball and hitch cup had a good connection by removing any paint that might prevent a solid connect as I was told this is a negative connection. No help. Tried adding Terminal Grease to the ball. No help. Checked that the trailer plug wiring was correct according to the wiring diagram. Thought I found an issue as the Charge wire had some strays sticking out the bottom of the wire nut. Fixed that, but still doing it. Added a negative wire from the negative on the plug to the battery directly. Didnt fix it. I am at a complete loss. I have hooked my truck up to another flat auto hauler trailer that had a 7 point plug and I never got an error message. I have noticed that it mainly does it when the hitch and ball may have separation such as: when Im turning, going over bumps, etc. but not always. I can be driving smoothly down the interstate and it does it out of no where. When parked, I shook the plug attached to the truck vigorously and it didnt pop the error message. I then shook the hitch connected to the truck to the point of making the connection wiggle and the error message would pop. I have a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4x4 Z71. Camper is a 2017 Heartland Mallard lightweight. I have the weight distribution system in place as well as the sway control arm. The technician weaved my emergency cable for the camper brakes through my chain that connects to my truck. Not sure if the camper has LED lights Any ideas or ever had this happen to them??
asked by: William F
Expert Reply:
What you described is a classic insufficient trailer ground. What you will need to do is run a jumper wire from the ground wire on the trailer connector (7:00 pin on the 7-way) to the trailer frame and the intermittent issue will go away.
What is happening is that your trailer harness doesn't have a sufficient ground so it is trying to ground through the hitch ball. Since this is a solid connection you are getting the intermittent connection.
Make sure the wire you are running is connected to a clean, paint-free surface. If the trailer frame is aluminum you would need to run this wire to every circuit individually since aluminum does not conduct well.
Product Page this Question was Asked From
Tekonsha Prodigy P3 Trailer Brake Controller - 1 to 4 Axles - Proportional
- Trailer Brake Controller
- Proportional Controller
- Electric
- Electric over Hydraulic
- Automatic Leveling
- Under-Dash Box
- Dash Mount
- Up to 4 Axles
- LCD Display
- Up to 360 Degrees
- Tekonsha
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