Troubleshooting Reverse Lockout Solenoid On Boat Trailer Not Allowing Trailer To Back Up

Question:

The solenoid switch on my pontoon trailer has two wires coming off it. One is blue and the other is white. The blue one I connected to the blue wire that it was taken from. The white one to ground. Still no reverse on trailer. Can you help?

asked by: Red E

Expert Reply:

You've wired the solenoid correct, so there are a few things to check.

Do you have a 5-way or 7-way connector on your trailer and vehicle? You can't use a 4-way connector as you need an additional pin to go from the reverse lights of the vehicle to the solenoid. If you have a standard 4-way on the trailer and vehicle you'll need to replace the trailer end with the 5-way # HM37908 with the blue wire going to the solenoid, and adding the # C57187 to your vehicle.

You will need a circuit tester # PTW2993 to find the reverse light wire on your vehicle to splice the blue wire to.

If you already have these parts then remove the blue wire from the solenoid and connect it to the positive terminal of a 12v battery and verify that the solenoid is working. If when connected directly to 12v power the solenoid is still not allow you to back up then it has gone bad and you'll need a new one # DM11993.

Let me know what you find and I can narrow down the solution for you.