Keeps Blowing Fuse ??

[rgibber34]

I tow my boat with a 97 Pathfinder. It keeps blowing fuses. I use an adapter to go from a 6-pin round plug on the trailer to a flat 4 pin on the vehicle. I tow another boat with a flat 4 to flat 4 and never have any problems. I don't know where to start to fix the problem. How do you find a short in trailer wires?? Could it be the adapter?? Thanks

 

[Bondo]

Re: Keeps Blowing Fuse ??

The Easiest Way is with an Ohm Meter.......

 

[crab bait]

Re: Keeps Blowing Fuse ??

yes,all the above..<br /><br />findin' a short can be a challenge even for a pro..<br /><br />take one thing at a time.. start somewhere an go until you find it..<br /><br />take out the trailer bulbs,, now ringout the wiring.. open is good ..closed is a short..<br /><br />the purpose of bulb removal,, is when left in,, you will read thru the bulb filament as a short.. <br /><br />good luck...

 

[fireship1]

Re: Keeps Blowing Fuse ??

Hello, Depending on how old your trailer is and the condition of the lights and wiring it might just be easier and less of a headache to replace everything as a kit. When I first picked up my used trailer I had similar troubles. I didn't pop fuses, but none of my lights worked right. I don't know the extent of your mechanical and troubleshooting experience, but I can tell you this...It is a lot easier to pick up a complete kit that has new trailer tail lamps, side markers and wiring harness and flat four plug. The kit is between $35-45 dollars. VERY easy to install, takes an hour or less. You'll have peace of mind, everything is new and it works good! Just a thought, might be simpler than trying to track down multiple shorts! Hope this helps!

 

[OBJ]

Re: Keeps Blowing Fuse ??

Gotta throw my hat in with Fireship on this one. Wireing can be a real pain in the patut, specially if it's old. If the wiring is old....shoot....replace it with a kit. Ya' might even find the short while tearing out the old wiring.

 

[punthouse]

Re: Keeps Blowing Fuse ??

You could spend hours and hours looking for the short or spend 30 bucks, get a complete wiring harness, lights and peace of mind that all is new. True, you don't get the satifaction of fixing the short directly but it is OK this time.

 

[Oldsaltydog]

Re: Keeps Blowing Fuse ??

It may or may not be a short. I had a similar problem with blowing fuses until I finally figured out that I had too many tail and marker lights for the 10 amp fuse in my 4Runner. Since each bulb uses about one amp, the eleven marker and tail lights, plus the two on the truck, were placing too much of a load on the circuit. Now I am down to six marker and tail lights plus two on the truck and all is well so far. Your problem may be similar to mine. Putting a bigger fuse into your vehicle may also work or it may just lead to the melting down of your car wiring -- a risky proposition.<br /><br />Another option is to wire inexpensive inline fuses (low amps) into both the left and the right side (on the trailer) of a suspicious circuit and see what happens -- it will help to narrow down the problem area. Good luck.