Please forgive the lengthy post but I feel the need to provide as much detail as possible in the hopes someone can provide a possible solution.
The truck – 2014 Ford F350 Diesel
The trailer – 2014 Palomino Columbus 320RS
The Problem – Continue to blow fuse and lose trailer lights (brakes, turn signals, and flashers)
After the first two times we used the trailer each time we reconnected to head home we lost all of the above noted tail light functions. We did retain the solid lights (running light functionality).
I checked and found a 25 amp cartridge type fuse under the hood had blown, identified as the #100 fuse for turn signals, which is on a separate circuit from the truck. At no time did I ever lose these functions on the truck itself.
If I replaced the fuse and restarted the truck I then had all tail light functions and would head home. Once home, if I turned the truck off then restarted all functions were no longer working and the fuse was once again blown and needed replacement. My Ford dealer has tested the receptacle in the bed of the truck and found no issues. As a favor however they did replace the it, retested, and confirmed the truck has no issues. They drove it for over an hour with their tester connected and again it found no issues. They are confident the truck is working properly.
The trailer has been to the dealer at least three times on this issue and to date they have done the following:
-Replaced the pigtail
-Replaced one of the tail lights (LED) as two of the 6 bulbs were not lighting correctly
-Cut out a section of the wire running to the rear tail light as they felt it did have a nick in the wire possibly causing the short. They said the bedroom slide was pinching that wire.
-They also tested the trucks plug and found no issues with it on more than one occasion.
After all of the above we thought the tail light was the problem and after they replaced it I started the truck and turned it off several times. Each time the fuse did not blow so we all thought, myself included, that we had found the problem so I drove it home. Two hours later my wife and I went to take the trailer to the storage lot and when we checked the lights before heading out, again not working and had to replace the fuse. I restarted and all of the lights worked so we dropped it at the RV dealer instead telling them we still had a problem. I did not turn off the truck and went to check the lights and they did not work. Somewhere during the 35 mile trip to the dealer the fuse blew and the lights failed as a result.
They have contacted the Palomino rep and he was no help. They called my Ford dealer and two others asking them if they had any ideas and they had none. My Ford dealer confirmed they had tested and found no issue with the original receptacle but that they also replaced it as a favor to me and tested that one as well.
The RV dealer then connected our trailer to someone else’s truck and drove it around for about an hour and could not get the fuse to blow and never lost lights. I will pick it up tomorrow as we leave Thursday for a long weekend trip and I have my fingers crossed but really don’t think the issue has gone away.
Would really appreciate any ideas especially from anyone that owns this truck and trailer. Or from anyone who has had a similar issue and was able to resolve. When both dealers say they have done all that they can quite frankly it makes you feel a bit helpless. I do not know much of anything when it comes to electrical issues and am at their mercy.
I sit here tonight typing this and feel we have one of those nightmare issues where no dealer or factory rep has any idea on what is causing or how to fix. None of the testing equipment can point to a problem. Since the RV dealer was not able to replicate they say they cannot do anything else at this time. I am running out of patience and replacement fuses.
I am probably breaking a rule on the forums but will post in the technical issues area as well since I am desperate for help on this problem.
Look forward to hearing from you, Tigerbug
Linear Mode
