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Airborne6 · 05-11-2015, 01:27 PM

Just curious if the tail lights on a 2015 23D normally have two LED remain eliminated while plugged in to 15 amp shore power? Thought maybe it was just a reflection at first but is not. Night light perhaps??

HowieE · 05-11-2015, 01:35 PM

They are 2 completely different electrical systems and have nothing in common.

The shore power is 120 volts ac and the tail lights are 12 dc.

Considering the age of the trailer I would ask the dealer or call Jackson Center.

Are you saying if you unplug the shore power those lights will go out?

**DKB_SATX** · 05-11-2015, 02:13 PM

Is the trailer hooked up to the tow vehicle when this happens?

Also, I note that it's pretty wet in the photo... is the end of the umbilical dry and clean? It doesn't take much juice to light an LED, so (at a stretch) could be a tiny amount of current from the 12v hot on the umbilical to the input for this light (signal or running lights) and those 2 LEDs are more sensitive than the rest.

bwpaint · 05-11-2015, 02:24 PM

This happened on my trailer also. I had just washed it, and I noticed the tail lights were glowing slightly. Turned out my umbilical had gotten very wet not being plugged into TV. Unplugged trailer from shore power and dried the cord. I plugged back in and all was fine.

HowieE · 05-11-2015, 02:46 PM

There is no appearance of shore power in the umbilical cord. That cord is only used with the 12 dc system.

Now if the cord was wet and if there is a "whisker of wire" free inside the connector on the umbilical cord you might have a connection between the battery wire and the tail light wire.

The storage switch isolates the trailer lighting from the batteries. Not sure if it isolates the umbilical cord also. I would assume it does not.

I would open the connector and inspect for a floating whisker of wire between Black and Brown wires. They are the battery and right hand directional terminals.

If it is not the right hand light that is on we have a different ball game.

bwpaint · 05-11-2015, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwpaint

This happened on my trailer also. I had just washed it, and I noticed the tail lights were glowing slightly. Turned out my umbilical had gotten very wet not being plugged into TV. Unplugged trailer from shore power and dried the cord. I plugged back in and all was fine.

May have had my battery switch in store position, no 12v available, or I may have only noticed after I plugged the trailer into shore power. Either way air hose and time to the umbilical fixed it.

Airborne6 · 05-12-2015, 10:18 AM

Thanks all for your responses. It has been raining here on Lake Superior for a few days. I had added a dust cap to the umbilical cord witch is great for keeping dirt from the connections but if hanging the wrong way will collect water like a tiny kiddie pool.

. Pulled the cover and dried it out. No more lighted LEDs in tail light. Thanks again. Great forum.

idroba · 05-12-2015, 10:37 AM

Those dust and dirt covers do more harm than good. As noted they can easily become a water collector and cause issues such as the one Airborn6 found. I always position my cord so the end hangs down and in free air so the water cannot get trapped inside.

A leaky cover or a backward sloping outlet on the tow vehicle can also cause issues. I had one once which had live + 12 volts all the time for charging the trailer batteries. A little leak and road grime and the power leaked from the +12 volt pin to ground and/or the other pins and the result was a green corrosion mess like you can find on a car battery terminal. It did so much damage to the outlet over the winter that I had to replace it entirely.

ChuckFeldt · 05-12-2015, 01:15 PM

I had this problem. Found the umbilical had been pinched. Shorting the taillight wire to the 12v wire.

HowieE · 05-12-2015, 02:23 PM

They will all eventually find that is the problem. Water does not conduct 12 dc power to the extent it will light an LED. If they open the connector they will find a whisker almost touching between the 12 volt terminal and the right hand directional terminal. The connector on the umbilical cord is an extremely cheap and poorly designed system. If extreme care is paid while connecting the wires all sorts of problems can occur.

Such a design would never pass any cord requirement.

Airborne6 · 05-12-2015, 07:25 PM

HowieE. My particular problem eluminated both left and right tail light. It only effected two LEDs in each tail light. As soon as I pulled the dust cover and blew the water from the contacts the eluminated LEDs went out. All seems to be good now.

bwpaint · 05-12-2015, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HowieE

They will all eventually find that is the problem. Water does not conduct 12 dc power to the extent it will light an LED. If they open the connector they will find a whisker almost touching between the 12 volt terminal and the right hand directional terminal. The connector on the umbilical cord is an extremely cheap and poorly designed system. If extreme care is paid while connecting the wires all sorts of problems can occur.

Such a design would never pass any cord requirement.

Sorry to contradict your theory, but my problem was water in the umbilical. No wire whiskers here.

cwf · 05-12-2015, 09:33 PM

I "drape" my umbilical under the LP tank cover. Hard to get water or dirt up there. If your cord is "molded" it should be watertight at the wire end and the "cap" could keep it clean and dry under the LP tanks. I won't use the cap for the very reason you experienced.

HowieE · 05-13-2015, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwpaint

Sorry to contradict your theory, but my problem was water in the umbilical. No wire whiskers here.

Did you open up the umbilical cord and check? Unless you opened the connector there is no way to get air to the area in question

Airborne6
If both lights were on it is in the parking light circuit. Open up the connector and look for a bridge between the Black and Green wire terminals. I don't think water allow will carry enough current to supply the 9 volts necessary to light an LED.

To ensure that road vibration and general stress on the cord don't cause a short between terminals I solder each connection and wrap each with electrical tape.

Airjeep · 05-13-2015, 07:45 PM

Last May we had our tail lights glowing. This was during a rain storm and the cord was not connected. This was of great concern until the cause was found. The end of the umbilical cord was wet and some corrosion was noted on one of the contacts. Dried the end, cleaned the connections and no more lights.

Now the end of the cord is tucked under the propane cover.

Cheers, John