Troubleshooting Right Tail Light on Trailer that Stays On with Vehicle Ignition Off
Question:
Right trailor lights stay on when i turn off ignition of truck
asked by: Randy M
Expert Reply:
When a trailer's tail light remains on when the vehicle is shut off, this usually indicates some kind of short in the wiring.
I first recommend using a circuit tester like # PTW2993 to check the vehicle side connector. You will want to see if there is constant power coming from the tail light circuit on the connector (brown wire). While there, also check for any corrosion or debris inside both the vehicle and trailer side connector and simply clean out as needed.
If you are in fact receiving a signal with the lights off in the vehicle, this indicates that the issue is on the vehicle side. Check to make sure that the brown wire is securely connected to the running light wire at the rear of the vehicle. Also make sure the ground (white) wire is connected to a clean bare metal surface.
If everything checks out fine on the vehicle side and you do not receive power at the connector with the vehicle off, then the issue is most likely on the trailer side. Check to make sure all of the grounds are secure and attached to bare metal surfaces free of dirt and corrosion.
If you are unable to resolve the issue, please let me know and I will be happy to look into this further. I have also attached a troubleshooting article that you might find helpful.
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Jimf
4/11/2024
Regarding: “Right trailer light stays on when I turn off ignition of truck”… My issue is similar - with the difference being that the right tail/running light on the trailer stays on all of the time: when connected to the truck, when not connected to the truck, when the trailer is plugged into a residential (120v) outlet, when the trailer is running off the (12v) battery, etc. If I disconnect the battery & residential outlet, it shuts off. I’ve inspected all wiring (which looks very good - the trailer is only 3 years old) with the exception of the actual plug - because it is molded directly to the wiring (doh !!!). I’m suspecting the issue might be with that - but checking for your thoughts…