09-09-2021, 04:19 PM
One more item to add to all the other things that need to be checked on a regular basis.
Over the past few months, when hooking up my towed vehicle, I noticed my rear directional turn signals on my towed vehicle was getting quite dim The brake lights and running lights seemed fine, although I would have liked a bit more illumination.
This past week when setting up for a move from South Carolina to Florida the turn signal lights finally stopped working completely. After checking all of the obvious suspects, I was unable to get them working again, however, the brake lights were working and seeing as this was a daytime drive and I needed to leave the RV park within the hour I headed out. Being careful along the way to limit my lane changes and add additional space when needing to lane change.
When I got to my destination I checked the turn signals and they were operating again however even dimmer then in the past. It occurred that this might be an umbilical related issue I tested the ohms between the 6 pin an 7 pin plugs. Sure enough one of the wires was showing about 30 ohms with the remaining between 0.2 and 0.8 ohms. Opening up the 7 pin connector showed everything was clean, as seen in the 1st photo below. The 6 pin however was heavily corroded (2nd photo) and it was evident why I was having a problem.
I remembered that I had the towed vehicle wiring set up at a Phoenix RV repair facility. What they had done was take a 7 pin umbilical cord and replaced one end with a 6 pin plug. When they wired up the 6 pin plug they did not use any kind of sealant or corrosion mitigating techniques. Simply filling the connector with dielectric grease would have probably been enough to keep things from corroding. Considering the differing alloys present in the plug its no wonder the corrosion was so severe. Also the open end where the cable entered the plug faced towards the direction of travel and Being mounted on the top of the bumper it directed the rain and road sludge directly into the plug interior.
I replaced the corroded 6 pin plug, first tinning the wires before locking them down and then filling the plug interior with a non-corrosive silicone sealant. Hopefully this will eliminate all corrosion.
Once again, I'm reminded that no one cares about the details as much as I do, and once again, I'm doing things twice correcting other peoples sloppy work. However, each time I make some item on the coach proper, it does bring me that small step closer, if not perfection, to at least "good enough"
A Big hello to all the Gurus out and about having fun and living life.
Mike
Over the past few months, when hooking up my towed vehicle, I noticed my rear directional turn signals on my towed vehicle was getting quite dim The brake lights and running lights seemed fine, although I would have liked a bit more illumination.
This past week when setting up for a move from South Carolina to Florida the turn signal lights finally stopped working completely. After checking all of the obvious suspects, I was unable to get them working again, however, the brake lights were working and seeing as this was a daytime drive and I needed to leave the RV park within the hour I headed out. Being careful along the way to limit my lane changes and add additional space when needing to lane change.
When I got to my destination I checked the turn signals and they were operating again however even dimmer then in the past. It occurred that this might be an umbilical related issue I tested the ohms between the 6 pin an 7 pin plugs. Sure enough one of the wires was showing about 30 ohms with the remaining between 0.2 and 0.8 ohms. Opening up the 7 pin connector showed everything was clean, as seen in the 1st photo below. The 6 pin however was heavily corroded (2nd photo) and it was evident why I was having a problem.
I remembered that I had the towed vehicle wiring set up at a Phoenix RV repair facility. What they had done was take a 7 pin umbilical cord and replaced one end with a 6 pin plug. When they wired up the 6 pin plug they did not use any kind of sealant or corrosion mitigating techniques. Simply filling the connector with dielectric grease would have probably been enough to keep things from corroding. Considering the differing alloys present in the plug its no wonder the corrosion was so severe. Also the open end where the cable entered the plug faced towards the direction of travel and Being mounted on the top of the bumper it directed the rain and road sludge directly into the plug interior.
I replaced the corroded 6 pin plug, first tinning the wires before locking them down and then filling the plug interior with a non-corrosive silicone sealant. Hopefully this will eliminate all corrosion.
Once again, I'm reminded that no one cares about the details as much as I do, and once again, I'm doing things twice correcting other peoples sloppy work. However, each time I make some item on the coach proper, it does bring me that small step closer, if not perfection, to at least "good enough"
A Big hello to all the Gurus out and about having fun and living life.
Mike
2008 Newell #1223 4 slide, Cat C15 with ZF 12 spd, 2004 Chevy Silverado 4x4 Duramax 6.6