Our side lights are still on!

[Dee]

Hi, We have our brand new 21' sitting in the driveway, awaiting our first camping trip next weekend. This morning I noticed that the amber and red sidelights are on and I don't know how to turn them off. I assumed that I had left the interior lights on - but no, they are off.

Help please!

Deirdre

[padlin]

On my trailer that means the lights are on in the tow vehicle.

[Brian B-P]

That sounds like side marker lights (on the side, amber near the front and red near the rear). These are lights that the trailer has because it is a vehicle and are run by the tow vehicle - they're not powered by the trailer's battery or controlled by any switch in the trailer.

If the tow vehicle is attached, the tow vehicle's marker/tail lights are presumably on. If the tow vehicle is not attached, there must be a wiring fault which has the battery power connected to the "tail" circuit of the lighting wiring. It is most likely in the wiring from the tow vehicle: this could happen at the 7-pin connector (if it is damaged or has a fault in the way the wires are connected), or anywhere in the 7-conductor cable attached to it (perhaps the cable has been cut or pinched?), or at the box of connections at the end of that cable.

To avoid running the battery down, the temporary fix is to disconnect the battery (which you would likely need to do at the battery terminals, not just flip the storage switch off), or to plug in the shore power cable so that the converter/charger can keep the battery charged up despite the lights being on. I wouldn't want to leave the lights on for days at a time until this is fixed, so I would disconnect the battery if I couldn't find the fault quickly.

[Bill and Earline]

Find a multi-tester or have a friend come over who has one, then call Escape in the morning.
They will likely be able to walk you through a couple of quick checks with the tester.

[steve dunham]

If you look at a wiring diagram for the 7 pin cord cap on your trailer the wire feeding the running lights and the charge wire going to your battery are adjacent to each other
The two connections may be accidentally shorted by contamination or a stray stand of wire
Even a small leakage current between the two wires can cause an LED to glow
I would check the 7 pin cord cap

[Iowa Dave]

The stray strand of wire theory has messed me up more than once, also moisture in the plug . One strand of wire will glow the bulbs.
Iowa Dave

[Dee]

Fantastic information! Many thanks!!
This forum is an amazing resources for us rookies!
D

[Donna D.]

I don't know if you've fixed the problem. But, I remembered a member having the same issue, but with a rear tail light. Doing some searching, I found the thread: http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f9...maly-9605.html

[scubarx]

Your 7-pin connector on the trailer most likely has water inside and is shorting the positive with the side marker lights providing them with power. Shake it out real good and see if that helps.

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

I don't know if you've fixed the problem. But, I remembered a member having the same issue, but with a rear tail light. Doing some searching, I found the thread: http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f9...maly-9605.html

As a follow-up, I was the one who had the problem and started the "anomaly" thread to which Donna D provided the link. The problem was solved by cleaning corrosion on the power and marker prongs that are located adjacent to each other on the 7-pin cable, getting the cover in the link below to cap the cable end when not in use, and also locating the cable up under the propane tank cover when not in use.
https://www.ebay.com/i/201771661063?chn=ps
For those who might be curious as to how this happened in the first place (at least for us), we had our 21' delivered to us in February of 2017, and it traveled through some pretty nasty winter weather between ETI and Alabama. While in transit, the pig tail was left exposed, and it appears that road salt splashed up into the copper prongs resulting in some pretty serious oxidation/corrosion considering it was a brand new camper, so much so that some of that blue-green copper oxidation material built up across the power and marker prongs. I picked and filed the oxidation material off and shined up the copper prongs as best I could. Problem solved.

[Iowa Dave]

If you have a Dremel tool and a good selection of bits at your hardware store you can get a soft abrasive tool that will buff up those pins. You should not use something as aggressive as a wire wheel or a sander of any kind. If you have the bit for a cutoff wheel with the screw that centers the disc you can trim down A pencil eraser and shine things up pretty nice with a pencil eraser disc. I’ve restored some pretty rough looking cutting tools that were rusty and corroded and had hard to get at corners with the Dremel.
Iowa Dave

[Oldtimer]

. This might help also

[Mike G]

DeoxIT D5 could be used to clean electrical connections that are corroded or oxidized, and then DeoxIT Shield will help protect the surfaces.
https://caig.com/deoxit-d-series/#
https://caig.com/deoxit-shield-s-series/

Hmm, Oldtimer has linked to a kit that contains some DeoxIT! Nice little brush, too.

[Dee]

Problem solved! When we took the cap off the 7 pin plug-in on the trailer, rainwater poured out and the lights went out right away. Just knowing where to look was the first step. Now, if we have any future trouble, we will know what to look for, including a short or corrosion.
Thanks for all the great information.
D

[cpaharley2008]

Is there a cap on the 7 pin connector now?

[Eggscape]

When not in use I keep a bag over the tank cover, jack head and connector. Saves cleaning the white tank cover all the time and keeps the other stuff reasonable dry.

[arniesea]

Originally Posted by Eggscape

When not in use I keep a bag over the tank cover, jack head and connector. Saves cleaning the white tank cover all the time and keeps the other stuff reasonable dry.

Great Idea! My trailer cover doesn't cover the tanks or jack so every spring I have PNW mold to clean off the nooks & crannies of the tank cover.

[Eggscape]

Our summer cover is a little short as well.
In the winter I use the same cover directly on the trailer due to snow load.
Both leave the tanks exposed to what ever crap is in the air.

[cpaharley2008]

I have installed one of these on my last 2 Escapes and currently plan in replicating it again on the new one, installed on either the front box or propane cover...https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Eggscape]

You could also use a normal vehicle connector...connecting a switch and flasher to the terminals as seen below. This will flash all your parking lights should you have a medical emergency in the middle of the night and need to help emergency responders locate your trailer.

More information here in a past post.

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f8...tml#post279752