Tail lights / Clearance Lights

DaveJordan · 01-11-2015, 11:13 AM

So...

I discovered last night that I don't have tail lights or clearance lights. Everything else - turn signals, brake lights, backup lights, four way flashers - seems to work ok.

I've looked at various threads on the topic and it appears that there should be a relay / fuse board somewhere. Here's a picture from another thread:

I don't know if this board (or one like it) is still being used for my 2015 24R. I have looked pretty much everywhere I can think of and haven't seen anything like it. I do think something like it should exist. Any ideas where I might find it?

Thanks

Dave

Loefflerh · 01-11-2015, 02:45 PM

I have 2013 R
That panel is hidden behind and to the right of a black door in the left rear compartment where your power cable is....right next to the water filter...

DaveJordan · 01-11-2015, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loefflerh

I have 2013 R
That panel is hidden behind and to the right of a black door in the left rear compartment where your power cable is....right next to the water filter...

This doesn't appear to be the case for my 2015. The space behind the black door includes a variety of wires, the two slide out control modules, the water pump, and some hoses.

My shore power connection is on the side of the coach, not in a compartment and the water filter is under the front driver's side corner of the bed.

I think I'm down to three possibilities and I'm not sure how to access any of them. One is the area under the toilet. Second is under the shower. And third is in the wall between the living room and the bathroom. This last seems a bit more likely as there are a variety of electrical things already in that wall - but, again, I don't really know how to access the inside.

One possibility for that wall is the mirror - one coach I owned had a hole behind the mirror to access the inside of the wall...but I don't know if that's true for the Solera.

Any further help or info greatly appreciated!

Dave

mckirby50 · 01-11-2015, 10:10 PM

Dave, that was the problem with our 2012 S ! Mine was hidden behind s panel at the rear where my electric cord stores in the sewer drain area! We ended up having a dealer replace it cost roughly $500. Wasn't covered by any warranty( long story) we had less than 12k miles on it. What was frustrating they would work and then quit!

donanddona · 01-11-2015, 11:15 PM

My money is on your umbilical cord. either the plug (I don't think so) or the wiring in the cord or connections at the other end. Before I would spend $500 bucks I would replace it plug and cord as a single unit.

DaveJordan · 01-11-2015, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donanddona

My money is on your umbilical cord. either the plug (I don't think so) or the wiring in the cord or connections at the other end. Before I would spend $500 bucks I would replace it plug and cord as a single unit.

Yes, I tend to agree. Now if I could only locate the board with the fuses and relays, I could begin to diagnose the problem. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Dave

donanddona · 01-12-2015, 12:22 AM

My umbilical cord ties together at a junction box up in the king post. I'm not aware of a control board or fuses. If all other lights are working then the bet is a bad cord.

DaveJordan · 01-12-2015, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donanddona

My umbilical cord ties together at a junction box up in the king post. I'm not aware of a control board or fuses. If all other lights are working then the bet is a bad cord.

I'm not familiar with a "king post". Where would I find such a thing on a Solera Motorhome?

Thanks

Dave

donanddona · 01-12-2015, 12:28 AM

Only on fifth wheelers. Sorry...

JLeising · 01-12-2015, 01:01 AM

2015 24R should be in warranty.
Someone posted a GREAT temporary solution - buy a seven pin trailer connector and short (fused) the 12 volt pin to the running light pin. Plug in the connector to turn on the MH running lights, unplug it to turn them off. Good way to get along until warranty fix.
I believe someone else found a bad fuse in the Mercedes cab fuse box. A place to start looking.
Good Luck-
Jim

**bclemens** · 01-12-2015, 10:24 AM

Just a heads up, the 2015 does NOT have the same board that the older models had that were experiencing the problems. We have started using a CURT control module that is available off the shelf instead of being proprietary. SO the old threads would not be applicable for new models.

DaveJordan · 01-12-2015, 11:38 AM

Though I haven't fixed thing yet, I have made a bit of progress. I found the Curt control module - it was mounted right behind (well, in front, I guess) of the hitch. It's a small box, maybe 3" x 4" x 5/8", with a variety of wires and connectors in the area.

I also determined that I have a short between the tail /clearance light hot and ground. I found this first by pulling one of the clearance bulbs out and checking the two connections with an ohm meter - both went to ground. I verified this by checking the wiring at one of the tail lights - the tail light hot also went to ground.

Now I could just take all this to the dealer but I've got a couple of reasons for holding off on that. First, who knows how long the dealer will take to sort it out? I can play around with it here and, with a little luck, track it down (and maybe correct it) myself. Second, I did add some tie downs and such to the rear storage compartment. I tried to be careful to avoid wires, etc., but, if I were to guess at this point, I'd guess that the short is the result of one of the screws I put it.

Anyway, I'll keep plugging ... and keep you posted.

Dave

mike.t · 01-12-2015, 06:02 PM

Check the 7 pin connector.

DaveJordan · 01-15-2015, 06:22 PM

Well, I gotta say it's not easy going trying to sort out the wiring at the back end of the motorhome. Lots of things are pushed up into narrow crevices, held by difficult-to-cut nylon cable ties and difficult-to-remove hardened foam.

I have managed to track split the failure - there are two brown/white coming together behind the lower driver's side clearance light...one of them is shorted to ground, while the other isn't. With the two wires separated, the clearance light on the lower passenger side no longer shows a short. But the clearance light high on the back, on the driver's side, still shows the short.

From this I conclude that the short exists somewhere in the wiring connecting the lower driver's side clearance light to the upper...or in the wire from one or the other to the original 12 volt source. So I'm still looking.

In the meantime, I've been trying to track down that 12 volt source...without success. Since the coach hasn't burned to the ground and the batteries still seem to work, I've concluded that there should be a blown fuse ... somewhere. I pulled out my handy-dandy "Sprinter Fuse Allocation Supplement", straight from our friends at Mercedes-Benz and looked for some mention of a tail light fuse. No such luck. The closest I could come fuse 20 in fuse block F55/5 - "License plate lamp / perimeter lamp / indentification lighting". Seems like a possibility, except that I don't have fuse 20 in fuse block F55/5. I don't have that fuse block at all. F55/5 is one of five fuse blocks shown as being under the driver's seat, but I've only actually got F55/3, F55/4 and F55/6. F55/5 and F55/7 simply aren't there.

I've check pretty much all the fuses I can find - those by the driver's left foot, those under the driver's seat, and those in the fuse and breaker panel in the kitchen. Nothing seems to be labeled indicating anything to do with tail lights...and nothing seems to be blown. Anyone have any suggestions as to where else I might find my blown fuse?

I'm also wondering about that hardened foam - at some point I'll have to put some back in to hold everything together, but I'm not exactly sure what type of foam to use - minimally expanding? maximally expanding? something else? Any particular brand or type?

Anyway, thanks for reading...this was a bit longer than expected!

Dave

DaveJordan · 01-20-2015, 08:14 PM

Yup, I put a screw through one of the tail / marker / license light hot wires. It took a fair amount of pulling things apart to locate the spot where'd I done it ... and then there really wasn't enough access to tape up the wires. So I ended up cutting a 3x3 (inch) hole in the side of the rear compartment tub (well, of course, it was right where I'd put a screw...so once I figured that out, it was easy to know where to put the hole!)

Anyway, I got access to the wires and taped them all up. In tracking this down, I'd taken a bunch of connectors apart to isolate particular wire runs. So I put those all back together and ran power from the 7 way connector and all the various lights came on correctly.

Now I was sure that there'd be a blown fuse (or circuit breaker) somewhere. In tracking the problem down, I'd connected the +12 volt from the 7 way connector, through a fuse holder, and into a test lead. Any time I hit a wire connected to the bad one, the fuse blew immediately. So the big surprise was that, once everything was back together, the lights all just worked when the light switch was in either the parking or headlight position - no fuse to replace, no breaker to reset. I must admit that I'm a little baffled by this turn of events, but happy that I don't have to track down the fuse I couldn't find before!

I still have a bit of work to go - I have to bondo the tub back together, tie up all the wiring that I loosened along the way, and replace some foam here and there to hold stuff together and keep water out. But, all in all, it seems like this adventure is just about over.

Dave

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