Troubleshooting Blown Reverse Light Fuse on Dodge Dakota When Hooking up to Boat Trailer  

Question:

Helpful Expert Reply:

It sounds like there is a short somewhere either on your Dodge Dakota wiring or with the wiring on the boat trailer that is causing the reverse light fuse to blow everytime you connect with the trailer. If you have a 5-Way connector on the Dakota that you have wired into the vehicle's reverse light circuit wire, I recommend starting by checking this specific connection. Make sure there aren't any damaged or exposed sections on the wire going from the reverse light pin on the connector to the reverse circuit wire on the vehicle, fixing/replacing as needed. Make sure the connection is secure.

If this wire looks good, try testing the connector on the Dakota with a circuit tester like # PTW2993 while you have a buddy run through the signal functions in the cab. Make sure you get appropriate power at each of the pins with the corresponding light function activated. If this tests out fine, turn your attention to the trailer. Check the trailer side connector for any debris or corrosion built up around the pins that need to be cleaned out. Then try and inspect the wiring on the trailer for any exposed areas that might be contacting bare metal or a neighboring wire that would cause a short.

If everything looks perfect, then it's possible that the trailer lights are simply drawing more power than the Dodge Dakota can handle. You can test this by just disconnecting some of the lights on the trailer and then hooking up to the vehicle again to see if you have the same issue.

If you still aren't able to resolve this, please let me know and we can continue to troubleshoot.

expert reply by: Chris R

1