I have a problem with the wire harness that controll's the left signal light and the rv brake remote.

The brake lights on the 5th wheel come on when the brake pedal is deprssed and the left signal on the rv fast flashes, The green light on the brake remote does not come on and the left signal on the back of the truck does not flash, I do have parking light on the left side. We are on the road as I write this and was wondering since the brake remote light does not come on, even tho the brake lights do. Is my actuall brake's working or am I driving w/o brakes on the 5th wheel. I need to know if I am driving w/o brakes on the rv then I will need to get fixed before additional driving. Please let me know. My email if you wish to write to me direct is bfpach@hotmail.com.

Truck is Dodge 2003 cummings diesiel turbo

thanks

ben pacheco
bfpach@hotmail.com

 

welcome

what kind of brake controller are you using?
how old?
worked before? on other vehicles or trailers?

trailer worked Ok on other vehicles/ controllers?

you should be able to noodle out the wiring here

http://www.dodge.com/bodybuilder/index.html

you should be able to use the manual lever on the brake controller to see if you have trailer brakes, and i think you would know QUICK. i towed 7k without brakes last month - it was a big difference.

 

sent you the 8w-51 PDF's from that site - has most of rear wiring

not sure what year they are - Chrysler is too ignorant to put the year on each page of the drawing.

 

Welcome to DTR. This is a great place for info. Happy New Year.

First off, are your brakes working in the 5th. Good Question. When you are driving 40 mph and hit the brakes hard, does the truck feel like it is being pushed from behind? You shouldn't feel a 5th at all when hitting the brakes when the controller is set correctly. A great controller, if you are looking for a replacement, is a Prodigy by Tekonsha http://www.tekonsha.com/prodig.html which with a google search you can find for about $100. It will just plug in to your CTDs harnes under the dash if you had the tow package.

Second, if you decide to keep your existing controller, you need to spend some time with the wiring as it doesn't seem to be working as intended. You didn't say if this was your first trip with the 5th or if it used to work, but the green light should be lit on the controller anytime the 5th is connected.

If you do have the Tow Package, the 7 pin trailer connector on the rear bumper should be wired correctly, but hitch installers like to put 7 pin connectors in the bed of the truck for your convienience. If this is so, try plugging your 5th into the connector on the bumper and see if you get the same results as when plugged into the bed. If the lights work when on the bumper, then the bed plug was wired incorrectly.

Third, hopefully, you will stick around DTR. If so, go to the blue bar up above and click on "User CP", then in the left column, "Edit Signature". Write up your signature block once and it will show on each of your posts so we all know what you have.

BTW, what 5th do you have?

 

Thank you for your quick reply.
2003 dodge diesel
1 ton (3500)
using Tekonsha voyager controller.
The controller was working before I had a problem with the regular trailer hookup, where one of the wires was broken, unfort. my nephew said he knew how to repair this issue, BIG MISTAKE!, when I connected the 5th wheel I noticed a burning smell, and noticed my left signal not working I took the truck to A1 trailer and he got the brake module green light to come on, but it went out again, we made the trip from AR to MD ok, and had it check here at a RV repair location, and they advised me that it was the main ground from the harness on the driver's side of the cab. They checked the left signal bulb and it was ok. This truck has two rv module connector both was working but with so many ppl attempting to help and running diag, the one in the bed now does not work at all, while the one that the factory installed above the bumper does work providing lights to the 5th wheel, I do have brake lights and the right signal light, while the left signal light flashes very fast.

I am pulling a Prowler 34 foot 5th wheel. actually using a gooseneck connection that came with the truck when I bought it. Do not know rather I have a 7 pin connector or not, but according to a-1 trailer the plug in the bed was wired wrong and was not providing any charge to the batteries in the rv, he said it is wired ok now, but like I said the one in the bed is totally out of service, so not sure the status of the other one above the bumper

The pdf file you sent me on the wiring did not include the 2003, it was for 2004 on up. But I really appreicate your assistance. I do not want to do any more damage not knowing the status of the working module so I guess im scheduled to go to a dodge dealer in the morning. Hopefully it wont take too long, I was told that there is 25 different ground wire's on the truck. And I do not know much about wiring.

So far this service on diesel trucks sounds like a good service and I plan to stick around.

again thanks

ben

 

Ben, good deal on having brakes.

I would do the dealer visit, and have them get the bumper mount plug working correctly, and I think I would run that until i got home.

you've had a few different fingers in it now, and i would wait to get the in-bed jack repaired till you get home,

then it's just the local guy dealing with it, and you can check it while at home (before next trip) instead of worrying about that on your trip home.

 

thanks for your timely post! really appericate the comeback.

Went to the Dodge dealer today, and after $93.00 dollar diag advised that the wireing harness under the bed is melted through out the harness, and it can not be repaired. The wiring harness will have to be replaced.. est cost $995.00. WOW.. Part number 56051263 AA any suggestions.

ben

 

Yeah, one. Ask the mechanic if he can pinpoint what went wrong to cause all that damage, as that is not common. I don't think you said how long since the 5th wheel hitch and wiring was put in and if you had issues with it before now. If it was an installation issue, you ought to contact the place that did the installation so they can share the cost of repairs.

On the other hand, if the mechanic cannot find or doesn't want to waste time looking, you will be stuck with the bill. Maybe by authorizing an extra hour for 'cause investigation' will be incentive enough.

Good Luck,

 

sent you my phone # - give me a call.

 

crawl under your truck, the wiring comes from the general area of the bumper RV plug, up along the Driver side frame rail,

and ends just behind the driver side front tire, lay down, and look behind the mud flap.

there are no grounds at the back of the truck, from what I saw, it looked like they all come up that harness to the front of the truck.

i would take the truck to a car stereo shop, and have them run new wires for whatever is damaged, probably just the ground wires.

or go to a junkyard and get a new harness.

i bet that harness is the same on a 1500, plenty of them in junkyards, ???