Troubleshooting No Trailer Lights on Tilt Bed Utility Trailer with 2002 Ford F-250 Super Duty

Question:

Hello, I have been trying to figure out what is wrong for what seems like weeks now. I am not getting any power to my tilt bed utility trailer lights when hitched with my 2002 Ford F-250. I began by making sure I have power to my 4 way plug on the truck. I cleaned the ground on the truck and confirmed, I have good power to that plug. RH and LH turn signals are good and the running lights are good. I tested this with a multi-meter as well as 4 way LED trailer tester. All is good on the truck side. On the trailer side, I ensured that the ground was clean, connected to bare metal on the frame. I still get no power to any function on the trailer. I have tried this on another test vehicle 2007 Chevrolet Colorado and all lights function properly on the trailer, which has me stumped. The only difference is on the Ford F-250, I am using an adjustable trailer hitch mount as apposed to the traditional 2inch hitch on the Chevy Colorado. Could this be my issue? The adjustable trailer hitch mount is giving me the problem? I look forward to hearing your thoughts! Thank you.

asked by: Derek S

Expert Reply:

Tilt trailers can sometimes create grounding issues because of how the bed attaches to the frame. Since the ball mount seems to be making a difference that also makes me think it's a ground problem since sometimes on trailers with bad ground harnesses they can still ground through the hitch if available. What you will want to do is try running a jumper ground wire from the lights back to the ground circuit of the trailer harness. I can almost guarantee that's going to fix the problem.

expert reply by: Jameson C