Newbie caravanner here! We are about to go away for the weekend but after hitching up, the drivers side side lights, front, back and numberplate, are not coming on. Other half has taken out all the fuses one by one, but the remaining side lights stay on!
We assume that there must be a fuse somewhere (goodness knows where) that works the lights, but maybe not. Could some kind person please message back if you know what the problem could be, otherwise we cannot go....boo hoo...sob sob.
Thankyou
Ruth
no..nothing happens...do they have a fuse somewhere or is it likely to be a broken wire or something? It is strange that it is all three lights on the one side, but the indicators and brake lights are working ok.
I am fast going off caravanning!
yes...checked the plugs, checked the fuses, pulled the connector out, wiggled it about, bashed it, unscrewed it, swore at it....nothing! Looks like we will have to head off in the morning and make sure we are not out after dark!! Arghh!
Sounds like you need to find an autoelectrician amongst your mates somewhere. The have the tool to plug into the socket to test the wiring. Alternative for you is to undo the plug & check the connections & trace the cable into the chassis & it'll end up in another juvnction box, check to see if any of the wires have come out inside there.
Second place to check is the car. Look where the cables go up into the back of your car, follow them inside & look to see if any of the scotch locks have come undone or aren't making good contact. If you look you'll see which wires go where.
All the best
BB
If you have some lights working it has to be a wire job.
It looks like the problem is the connection plug and the socket it goes into. The contacts are probably corroded and are not working. The male and female brass fittings need a quick clean with fine emery paper rolled up tightly so that it will insert inside the contact. Same with the other connection, clean the outer part of the male fitting and this should work...Hopefully...Failing this it's got to be faulty wiring somewhere. Floyd.
Thankyou for all your replies. We will try them out in the morning.....too tired now :(. Annoying thing is, the caravan site has already been paid for...ah well...c'est la vie!
Hi Ruth , it sounds like a broken earth connection going to the drivers side lights on the caravan , to prove this , remove the rear light lenses and run a wire from one side to the other , connect the wire to the outside part of the bulb holder on each side of the side lights , do they now work ? If not , then it will be a faulty connection with the brown wire that supplys the lights on the drivers side , the fault could be inside the plug that connects the caravan to the car , inside the socket on the car , inside the car boot where the wire joins the car wiring loom . To check this find where the brown wire connects to the car wiring loom ( normally near the rear light clusters ) , now trace the wiring where it comes inside the caravan and locate the brown wire . Now run a wire between the 2 places and see if the lights now work .
There are easier ways to find the fault , like using a multi-meter , but i'm trying to explain how to track down the problem with just a length of wire which is easy to get hold of , and fairly straight forward to check with .
PS, new towbar, new sockets & new plugs fitted approx. 6 weeks ago, so I doubt there's any corrosion there..... Front side light has been intermittent once or twice, but was okay after a small tap.
I had the same problem , with mine it was simply not enough power coming from the car rear lights to power the van as well. Some towbar fitters only use on set of side lights to power both sides of the van lights, when they should connect right car lights to right van lighst and left to left, if yo uknow what I mean.
Breynia we had a problem with road lights working intermittently.we couldnt find a fault with plugs sockets etc.When we arrived at site we asked another caravannner to hook up to our van to make sure if the fault was at the car or van(if you see what i mean).Our problem was at the car. The towing electrics cable is run under the car body and up through the floor beneath the drivers seat and into a connection block there. Because of a poor connection, when the carpet moves the connection opens and closes causing the lights to go on and off.Any trailer /towbar fitter such as Indespension will have a lights tailboard to connect to your car to trace the fault.Hope this is not a red herring.Enjoy your trip
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Topic: URGENT HELP NEEDED!!
