"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 7 Jun 2008 14:31:19 -0400, "Ted" wrote:

I bought a boat/trailer last year. The first time I put the boat in the
water a fuse blew. My dealer said it was a lousy hitch installation and I
had to have him replace it. The hitch installer said everything was done
properly. I figured something shorted when it got wet, so the second time
I
disconnected the electrical before putting it in the water. It was okay.

Yesterday it blew the fuse before getting to the water. Argh. (92 and the
A/C went out, as did the speedometer...)

I presume something is shorted on the trailer. Any suggestions for
troubleshooting it?

It's wired incorrectly - they've picked up power from something they
shouldn't have.

What is the fuse labeled as?

Console. It controls the speedometer, heater fan, and one window; at least
that is what stops working with the fuse blown. Hard to imagine why there
would be any wiring for those things back by the tail light.

Ted wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 7 Jun 2008 14:31:19 -0400, "Ted" wrote:

I bought a boat/trailer last year. The first time I put the boat in the
water a fuse blew. My dealer said it was a lousy hitch installation and I
had to have him replace it. The hitch installer said everything was done
properly. I figured something shorted when it got wet, so the second time
I
disconnected the electrical before putting it in the water. It was okay.

Yesterday it blew the fuse before getting to the water. Argh. (92 and the
A/C went out, as did the speedometer...)

I presume something is shorted on the trailer. Any suggestions for
troubleshooting it?
It's wired incorrectly - they've picked up power from something they
shouldn't have.

What is the fuse labeled as?

Console. It controls the speedometer, heater fan, and one window; at least
that is what stops working with the fuse blown. Hard to imagine why there
would be any wiring for those things back by the tail light.


I had a 1973 Buick Century for about 10 years. It seemed like every
electical problem I had with the car, was resolved by fixing something
in the trunk. Headlights, dashlights, it did not seem to matter.

Don't automatically rule out wires in the trunk because it is illogical.

"Ted" wrote in message
...

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 7 Jun 2008 14:31:19 -0400, "Ted" wrote:

I bought a boat/trailer last year. The first time I put the boat in the
water a fuse blew. My dealer said it was a lousy hitch installation and
I
had to have him replace it. The hitch installer said everything was done
properly. I figured something shorted when it got wet, so the second
time I
disconnected the electrical before putting it in the water. It was okay.

Yesterday it blew the fuse before getting to the water. Argh. (92 and
the
A/C went out, as did the speedometer...)

I presume something is shorted on the trailer. Any suggestions for
troubleshooting it?

It's wired incorrectly - they've picked up power from something they
shouldn't have.

What is the fuse labeled as?

Console. It controls the speedometer, heater fan, and one window; at
least that is what stops working with the fuse blown. Hard to imagine why
there would be any wiring for those things back by the tail light.


Some trailer wiring setups wire to the tail lights to get switching signals
only. That way power isn't drawn from the tail lights to power the trailer
lights. Power for the trailer lights is drawn from the battery or some other
convenient location under the hood. There should be a box somewhere in the
trunk with wires going to the tail lights another harness going to the
trailer wiring plug, and a wire going to the engine compartment to draw
power. If the fuse only blows when the trailer is hooked up then you have a
combination of problems. If your taillights work when the fuse is blown,
that pretty much proves that there is some sort of tail light controller in
use.
Some of the possibilities are-
1.Power lead to the trailer light controller hooked to the wrong source
under the dash.
2. Trailer controller defective
3. Trailer controller miswired or wire shorted to ground
4. Trailer wiring miswired or shorted to ground

On Sat, 7 Jun 2008 19:57:36 -0400, "Ted" wrote:


"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 7 Jun 2008 14:31:19 -0400, "Ted" wrote:

I bought a boat/trailer last year. The first time I put the boat in the
water a fuse blew. My dealer said it was a lousy hitch installation and I
had to have him replace it. The hitch installer said everything was done
properly. I figured something shorted when it got wet, so the second time
I
disconnected the electrical before putting it in the water. It was okay.

Yesterday it blew the fuse before getting to the water. Argh. (92 and the
A/C went out, as did the speedometer...)

I presume something is shorted on the trailer. Any suggestions for
troubleshooting it?

It's wired incorrectly - they've picked up power from something they
shouldn't have.

What is the fuse labeled as?

Console. It controls the speedometer, heater fan, and one window; at least
that is what stops working with the fuse blown. Hard to imagine why there
would be any wiring for those things back by the tail light.

Interesting.

It might be a ground loop meaning that you may have more current at
one point than at another.

First thing I would do is find where the ground is connected and make
dead certain that it's a solid ground point. Your installed may have
connected the ground to a point that would produce a floating ground
rather than a direct chassis connection. If the ground is connected
anywhere other than directly to the chassis, I would change that
first. Do the same for the trailer - make absoutely sure the ground
for the trailer lights is solidly connected to the trailer.

Second, obtain a test light (looks like an ice pick with a wire, light
in the handle and an aligator clip) - cheap enough - four/five bucks
at NAPA. With your lights off and the clip connected to the point
where the ground is connected, check your turn and brake light
connections - you should be any light in the test light. If you do,
you have something internal in the car wrong - most likely a corroded
connector. If you don't find anything wrong, do the same with the
lights turned on - there should be no bleed over from right to left.
If there is, you probably need to have an isolator installed to
prevent problems.

What kind of car is it?