Exterior Lights - Newbie Question

[Weberpa]

Hi All,



We just purchased an Salem Light/Forest Rive 171RBXL travel trailer and took it for a spin the other day. Can someone confirm that the back five upper lights (see attached picture) are reflectors and not powered lights? I can't tell.


thanks,
Newbie Paul

[NavyLCDR]

The top five should be powered real lights and should come on with taillights/parking lights.

Also, there is a backup camera pre-wire below those lights that should also have 12 volts DC on the wires in there which also comes on with those lights.

[kenandterry]

Originally Posted by Weberpa

Hi All,



We just purchased an Salem Light/Forest Rive 171RBXL travel trailer and took it for a spin the other day. Can someone confirm that the back five upper lights (see attached picture) are reflectors and not powered lights? I can't tell.


thanks,
Newbie Paul

As mentioned already, yes they are powered lights when you have your parking or full headlight system turned on. There should also be 5 yellow ones out front. They’re officially called your clearance lights for future reference.

BTW…..whereabouts in Ontario is your home area?

[Weberpa]

Yes, well you got to my next question. These lights don't seem to be working and neither does the connection for the rear camera. I bought a Yakry camera but the back camera never powers up though I have it connected. I've checked fuses. I'll run through the whole thing again tonight and double check things, I may be missing a step. So much to learn!

[NavyLCDR]

Sounds like a wire is disconnected somewhere. They will be wired from bulb to bulb.

[Reverse_snowbird]

On our tt, sometimes we had to make certain the plug into the truck was firmly connected for those lights to work.

[MarsbarsCT]

On my old camper, I occasionally needed to spray some electrical cleaning spray on the plug and receptacle to get everything working, and/or bend the plugs straight.

[Weberpa]

Somehow it all works now. It may have been I had the car light switch set to a dim position or something else.



I have a feeling this won't be my last post! We're headed to PEI in August that will be the real test.

[kenandterry]

Originally Posted by Weberpa

Somehow it all works now. It may have been I had the car light switch set to a dim position or something else.



I have a feeling this won't be my last post! We're headed to PEI in August that will be the real test.

Glad to hear your problem is fixed, but having your dash lights on dim is unrelated to running lights working.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by Weberpa

Somehow it all works now. It may have been I had the car light switch set to a dim position or something else.
I have a feeling this won't be my last post! We're headed to PEI in August that will be the real test.

You should follow MarBarsCt advice and clean the electrical contacts between the truck and trailer. If it's like our old tt, the electrical connections have to be tight to light the marker lights. Occasionally ours would come loose on the road and the lights would go out on the trailer.

Have a great trip and we'll be here if you need an opinion on a repair.

[Weberpa]

Thanks Ken and Terry, yes, I probably didn't describe the issue well. I meant my lights in the SUV were not turned fully on. They were set to the fog light setting, as soon as I switched it up to regular light setting the back and side lights turned on.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by NavyLCDR

Sounds like a wire is disconnected somewhere. They will be wired from bulb to bulb.

First, a dumb question to the OP. You did have the tow vehicle headlights on, right? No headlights, no marker lights.

I would have suspected no power from the tow vehicle. As you know, commander, most tow vehicles have separate circuits and fuses for the trailer lights. The tow vehicle will have running lights, stop lights, and reverse lights, but the trailer could be missing any of these.

The quickest way to test this is:

• Unplug the trailer from the tow vehicle.
• Hold the trailer umbilical connector facing you with the outside rib at 12 o'clock. Insert a stiff U-shaped piece of wire so it bridges the contacts at 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock. If you don't have a wire, a fuse is the right size and will work. This will cause the marker lights to be powered from the trailer battery, completely independent of the tow vehicle.
• If the lights come on, start checking fuses on the tow vehicle. Read the tow vehicle owner's manual to find out where to look. Our 2015 GMC has three separate fuse panels covered in the owner's manual.