Boat Trailer Short

[cedavis]

When I hook my boat tailer to my Nissan titan pickup and turn on the lights I blow fuses in the truck. They are hard to get to and cost $90 to replace. The dealer says I have a short in my trailer wiring. How do I go about finding it? Thanks

 

[steve6]

Re: Boat Trailer Short

I would dissemble all the lights and look for anything pinched, or shorted.

It could simply be a bad bulb socket. If there is nothing visual with a pinch remove the bulbs and inspect.

If still not found, I would remove any black tape anywhere in the wiring and check. I would then start by powering up each circuit separately using a battery (see below) (eg, brake system, and running lights). Clean up any wiring that is tie wrapped, taped or damaged.

I would probably wire up a battery to the wiring instead of the truck at that point if its $90 for a fuse, until you can find the issue.

 

[Kender]

Re: Boat Trailer Short

Do as stated above. If you still can't find the problem you can pick up a whole new trailer harness for less than $20, I got mine for $10 at harborfreight. The dealer is bending you over with no lube....$90 to replace a fuse is total BS. The fuse is probably going to be in the dash for the circuits that the trailer uses, although it could be under the hood. Either way the dealer would know which one to open and it would take all of 2 minutes to check all related fuses and replace it. The fuse is all of 25 cents so they are charging you $90 for a 2 minute job. If you are not able to change your own fuse then at least find a different mechanic.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Boat Trailer Short

I would probably wire up a battery to the wiring instead of the truck at that point if its $90 for a fuse, until you can find the issue.

Me too...or a battery charger with a low amp output so it will limit the current.

 

[ifallsguy]

Re: Boat Trailer Short

If you have access to a meter with continuity try this.

Check each wire. You will probably need to make a jumper to reach from one end of the trailer to the other. Just put a probe on the end of each wire and see if the wire checks continuous. Then test each end by putting a probe on it and the other to ground. No need to be hooked up to the truck since the tester supplies the power.

Unless you are testing the ground wire, each wire should test good for continuity when testing end to end. And not give you a tone when you test from one end of the wire to ground.

This may involve a little work to isolate the bulb end of each wire, but I've done this to isolate a bad power wire without having to rewire an entire trailer.

 

[ifallsguy]

Re: Boat Trailer Short

$90 to replace a fuse is total BS. The fuse is probably going to be in the dash for the circuits that the trailer uses, although it could be under the hood.

Look through your owner's manual. Unless Nissan wants to keep it a company secret, it should list where the fuses are located as well as the type and amperage of the fuse. I really wouldn't be surprised if it's a circuit breaker that resets after it cools off.

You might want to check into this forum for help:

http://www.titantalk.com/


If you ask where to look for that fuse, I'm sure someone there would be able point you right at it.

 

[Wingedwheel]

Re: Boat Trailer Short

actually with a meter you shouldn't need to go from end to end. If its blowing fuses wouldn't it be shorting to ground? One lead to a power pin on your plug and the other to the ground pin. A short should show between the two and tell you which wire is the culprit. IMHO

 

[MXHalofan]

Re: Boat Trailer Short

Problems like this have plagued me for years until I finally realized you must check grounds first when having any electrical problem. Remember this.

I had the same exact thing happening with my old 88 chevy, turned out the trailer wiring t adapter ground was partially broken. It would test good ground with a probe pushing against it, but when plugged into the connector, it lost continuity. I shined a flashlight into the socket and could see a crack in the pin. I'd inspect and test your grounds very carefully. If you cant find a bad ground, I'd make a new ground, then start looking for an obvious short. Are you using a 4 pin system? If so, should be only three wires with power.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Boat Trailer Short

Before going crazy ---and your dealer SHOULD KNOW--- find out if your tow vehicle needs an isolator with a separate power supply to the trailer. Your trailer may not have a short. Some vehicles definitely need this isolator to limit amperage draw on the tow vehicle wiring, otherwise they blow a 90-100 dollar fuse in the lighting circuit. Yes, it is not B.S. it costs that much. If the dealer does not know, write or email directly to the manufacturer.