wire harness - my dumb mistake, any suggestions?
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Topic: wire harness - my dumb mistake, any suggestions?
Posted By: MontyD
Subject: wire harness - my dumb mistake, any suggestions?
Date Posted: 20 May 2015 at 10:05pm
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Thrilled! I got home with my brand new Pod today! Hurray!
I'm irked! I did a dumb thing. How do I solve this: As soon as I got home with my new 178, I parked it in my driveway, disconnected the hitch, put down the stabilizers and started to move my tow vehicle. Guess what I forgot to do - disconnect the wiring harness! I heard a noise. "Uh-oh! That's not good," I thought. All of the wires from the tow vehicle side were pulled out of the plug except for the ground. I don't know which wire goes to which pin. I figured I'd try to find out, like this: I connected a long piece of wire from the ground on the TV end to its mate on the trailer end. Then, turning on a turn signal on my TV, I connected another long piece of wire from one of the loose wires that used to be in the plug to the plug on the trailer, and touched each pin. Not one pin that I touched made the trailer signal blink (now that I think about it, I should have tried the other loose wires). But I thought I heard something pop, but maybe not. Does anyone know how I can find the pinout for the TV end? There's an RV service place not far from me but I don't think they're very good, and besides, I'm afraid of getting a ticket before I get there. Any suggestions? Thanks. |
Replies:
Posted By: Pooterpod
Date Posted: 20 May 2015 at 10:40pm
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-VYf5MltgI Here you go.
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Posted By: marwayne
Date Posted: 20 May 2015 at 11:08pm
 ------------- If you want something done right, do it yourself. 2011 RP172, 2016 Tundra 5.7 Litre, Ltd. |
Posted By: CFWARREN
Date Posted: 20 May 2015 at 11:28pm
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Anyone on here familiar with the works of writer Pat McManus....?? One of his short stories had to do with trailer wiring, just came to mind for some reason.... :) ------------- 2016 179 - Hood River Edition 2008 Nissan Xterra |
Posted By: Podster
Date Posted: 20 May 2015 at 11:29pm
------------- Cliff & Raelynn Ranger 4.0/178 (1/2 ton 5,800lb tow capacity) |
Posted By: MontyD
Date Posted: 21 May 2015 at 12:04am
| A couple of pictures are worth a couple of thousand words. Thanks |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 21 May 2015 at 1:37pm
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Just remember when you are looking at the BACK side of the plug and outlet (to screw the wires back on), all of those connections are mirrored. So on the back side of the truck connection pin 4 is now on your top-left. In other words, when you are doing the wiring job look at the trailer diagram when you are wiring the truck, and vice-versa. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: MontyD
Date Posted: 21 May 2015 at 3:15pm
Further question - The R-Pod dealer I bought from gave me a different color code from the picture Podster posted above, and as I began re-attaching the wires I saw the terminals were identified on the connector just as the dealer had told me. Nevertheless, after re-attaching the wires, no lights work still. So, do you know (1) the dealer said there is a fuse to the trailer's battery, either in-line or in the battery box, but I couldn't find any. Is this something I should check and if so, where is it? (2) The connector has a place for a red wire but I don't seem to have a red wire, nor is there any sign that there ever was a red wire. Is that a problem? By the way, this picture (below) is from http://etrailer.com/faq-wiring.aspx, and it agrees with the ID on the plug and with what my dealer told me: 
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Posted By: Podster
Date Posted: 21 May 2015 at 3:54pm
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Wire colors will vary, but the position on the plug should be the same. As far a I know, all of the fuses for all 12v systems are located inside the POD power panel. The fuses manage the 12v system, and the breakers manage the 120v system.
EDIT: You may need to ohm things out (continuity) to sort things out on the trailer.
------------- Cliff & Raelynn Ranger 4.0/178 (1/2 ton 5,800lb tow capacity) |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 21 May 2015 at 9:56pm
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Usually no fuse on the battery. How many colors do you have? ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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Posted By: MontyD
Date Posted: 21 May 2015 at 9:59pm
6 ... black, brown, blue, white, green, yellow. I connected them according to my dealer's order (and the diagram I posted above) and the only light that worked was the right tail light when I turned on my headlights. So it seems to me that maybe either I don't have a good connection on some of the terminals I connected or they are not in the correct order or maybe I should be checking some fuses somewhere. I have most of my tools & test equipment packed away because I'm preparing to sell my house & move. |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 22 May 2015 at 2:03pm
Just flash your headlights when you are going to make a right turn.  6 wires takes care of the main functions. Usually blue is brake controller output, yellow/green/brown are for left brake/turn, right brake/turn, and running lights (not sure which), white and black for power and ground (not sure which). I would narrow down the failure points by leaving the pod out of the equation for now. Use a voltmeter or light bulb on the connection on the TV to figure out which pin is for brake light, right turn, left turn, etc. Use a known good ground on the TV and not the wire you think is ground.
------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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