Troubleshooting Top Clearance Lights Not Working on 2016 Dry Van 53-Foot Trailer

Question:

No clearance lights on top. 2016 dry van drought on 53 ft

asked by: Sonny M

Expert Reply:

If only some of your clearance lights are not working, but others on the same circuit DO still work fine, then I suggest checking the wiring to the problem lights using a circuit tester like # PTW2993. This will allow you to see if signals are reaching the lights and the lights are the problem, or if there is no power reaching them and your problem is in the wiring. You can refer to the linked video to see how the tester is used.

If an entire section of clearance lights is out, then I would check the wiring first. It is unlikely that several individual lights would all fail at the same time.

Multiple lights can draw a lot of power, so you want to check your grounds. If the lights use a wired ground, rather than grounding through a mounting stud, then trace that main ground back to where it connects to the trailer frame. The ground wire should be tightly attached to a clean bare metal surface to ensure a good ground connection.

You can also directly test the individual lights if you have a spare 12V battery. Apply the battery power directly to each light, one at a time, to see if they work. If they DO work when powered directly, then this tells you that the issue is in the wiring.

expert reply by: Adam R