Turn signal (right) no worky!

FrankO · 03-15-2008, 01:50 PM

I have a very strange issue I have trying to fix for two weeks while on the road in Texas.
I just had hooked up a new toad and tried out my lights at home and all worked fine when we started the trip. The second morning we found that the right turn signal on the toad would not work. So that after arriving at San Antonio, I started to trouble shoot. Well this is the scenario, I have power to the front of the toad and rear until I hookup the light and test the blinker. Left blinker/brake works fin, so do the rear running lights, just my right blinker/brake do not work.
As soon as I place a load on the line, the voltage goes to less than 1 volt. Toad lights work fine when Not hooked to MH. MH lights work fine.
Not sure if or where the trailer wiring fuses are. Any ideas what may be the issue? Any and all advice will be much appreciated.
Thanks -- Frank O.
BTW We are in Kerriville and will be leaving for home in 2 days. Loved Texas Hill Country.

FrankO · 03-15-2008, 01:50 PM

I have a very strange issue I have trying to fix for two weeks while on the road in Texas.
I just had hooked up a new toad and tried out my lights at home and all worked fine when we started the trip. The second morning we found that the right turn signal on the toad would not work. So that after arriving at San Antonio, I started to trouble shoot. Well this is the scenario, I have power to the front of the toad and rear until I hookup the light and test the blinker. Left blinker/brake works fin, so do the rear running lights, just my right blinker/brake do not work.
As soon as I place a load on the line, the voltage goes to less than 1 volt. Toad lights work fine when Not hooked to MH. MH lights work fine.
Not sure if or where the trailer wiring fuses are. Any ideas what may be the issue? Any and all advice will be much appreciated.
Thanks -- Frank O.
BTW We are in Kerriville and will be leaving for home in 2 days. Loved Texas Hill Country.

rgrstndgby · 03-15-2008, 02:37 PM

Check all of your grounds Frank.. Sounds pretty typical to me.. Make sure that you have a good ground between the vehicles...rgr...

Dave from MN · 03-15-2008, 02:55 PM

As said, it could be ground trouble. I just went through just about the same thing. It was trouble on the ground lead. If you are using a diode system, that diode could be bad. I have separate bulbs installed on my toad.

FrankO · 03-15-2008, 07:00 PM

rgr - I would think that if it was a ground problem it would show up on all lights. My Left turn signal/brake works as does the running lights -- left and right.

I flipped diodes around and the problem is the same.
Frank O.

skigramp · 03-15-2008, 08:52 PM

Franko ..

I had a similar problem a few years ago ... the end of my cable (that attaches to the toad) had gotten corroded inside the plug ... there were only a couple of strands of wire that were making contact and it just could not carry enough current to light one of the bulbs.

I took that end off ... cut about 1/2" of the cable off ... reattached ... and it has worked fine since then ...

The wiring diagram for the plug on the motorhome is in my "Winnebago" plastic bound book in the big black bag ...

In my case there were enough strands to make the connection for continuity but not enough to carry the current to light the bulbs ...

Dsouthw524 · 03-16-2008, 01:56 AM

It should be easy to verify if it is ground problems by temporarly running a wire from the coach good ground to the toad and even directly to the left taillight.

gypsynut · 03-16-2008, 05:29 AM

I experienced a similar problem. It turned out that the cable plug attaching the cable to the toad was damaged internally. I'm not sure what the damage was because it was sealed within the rubber plug itself. The cable was brand new, so the defect came from the factory. I replaced the plug and all has been well ever since. Good luck on getting your problem resolved.

FrankO · 03-16-2008, 02:44 PM

I tried directly wiring the turn signal + and ground to the light and still have the same problem. 12 volts at the leads until I hook it up and then it drops to less than 1 volt. I tired the other light and with the direct hook up and same problem. switch it back to the running lights and it works. There is a small box that has the initials MME on it and there are 3 leads going in and 3 leads going out which are the turn signals and brake leads. This box is just before the 7-lead trailer plug out the back of the MH. Anyone know what the purpose of this box is. It is like 4 or 5 inches square and about 3/8 ths of an inch thick.
Frank O.

FrankO · 03-20-2008, 04:40 AM

If anyone ever has the same problem as I did, I found the problem and installed a fix. There is a 3 to 2 trailer wiring adapter between your lights and the MH trailer plug. Mine had gone bad. No visible evidence only the fact that it was not passing through enough amperage to light the right turn signal. I installed a new 5-4 adapter you can buy at Walmart which is part of a standard trailer wiring kit that combines separate stop and turn signals into combined wiring.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
BTW -- Winnebago help line is fantastic.
Frank O.

Ding-a-ling · 03-20-2008, 05:22 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by FrankO:
BTW -- Winnebago help line is fantastic.
Frank O. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Nice to hear things worked out for you with their help.