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Old 08-27-2012, 05:33 PM   #1
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Blinker Randomly Works

My rear passenger side blinker only works once in awhile. Would this be a bad wire issue?

Would I need to replace the wires all the way back to the light or just near the 4 prong plug? Thanks
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Old 08-27-2012, 05:39 PM   #2
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Name: Ron
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Before I did any replacing of anything I'd pull the bulb out and clean the terminals and the contacts on the bulb. Use fine sandpaper, a small wire brush or the tip of a screwdriver, whatever works for you. Poor contact due to corrosion causes lots of wiring problems.

Ron
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Old 08-27-2012, 06:01 PM   #3
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K-D Tools makes a bulb socket cleaning brush, part number 139. Sometimes the contacts on the bulb will compress, or melt down, same with the socket, especially if the socket contacts set in a rubber piece rather than a hard insulator with a spring behind it. Check your plug connections and ground wire at the bulb socket. I'd start with a new bulb, but I have dozens on hand so easy for me to say!
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Old 08-27-2012, 06:10 PM   #4
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Ron and Mary both have the answers. ALSO: Clean your connections between the camper and tow vehicle.

I do not have the brush Mary quotes so I put a wooden pencil with an eraser in an electric drill and put the eraser end in the socket to shine the contacts inside the bulb socket.

After everything is cleaned up and should it now work, go back and remove the bulb and the camper / truck connections and coat with dielectric grease and then re-connect. That grease will keep the elements out and prevent corrosion.
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Old 08-27-2012, 06:23 PM   #5
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Thanks for all your tips! I will take off the plastic wedding cake lense & clean the contacts. The break & lights work... just not the blinker most times.
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Old 08-27-2012, 06:52 PM   #6
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Check at the back of the tow plug in to see if any of the wire contacts/connections are rusty. Corrosion on any of wire connections can result in intermittent issues. It could also be a connection issue under the rat fur behind the light - had an intermittent problem that went away when I rewired the rear lights. To be honest some of Scamps wire connections are not the best - I used shrinkwrap type connectors for anything new I wire on the trailer.
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Old 08-27-2012, 06:59 PM   #7
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Darwin, I like the pencil eraser idea, but remember the ground contact is the sides of the socket, that's where the brush comes in. That KD brush also has bristles on the end to clean the contacts. Barry; now you've thrown a curve in here, in that the brake lights work. If you have a single bulb light, the turn light & brake light are the same filament in the bulb. Is this problem also in your tow vehicle lights, make sure front & rear work, you could have a turn switch problem. But hope for the easy fix, clean the socket & replace the bulb. I had an odd situation a while back, blown fuse for turn lights and dash gauges, problem was a short in the trailer tail light bulb. I've never seen this happen before, and when I was a truck mechanic we were fixing lights almost daily. Bob
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Old 08-27-2012, 07:06 PM   #8
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Bob, the Ford Escape we use to tow have all lights working. I took off the plastic lens & see there is a silver dust on the inside. I am going to clean both lights out.. buy new bubs & clean the contacts & see what happens. Thanks again for all the help!
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Old 08-27-2012, 09:29 PM   #9
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All these ideas are good. In all my years working on trucks, just when I thought I'd seen every wiring problem, something new would turn up. Some other possibilities, a wire rubbed almost through, corroded connector, or I've seen corrosion anywhere in a wire in places that are impossible to see or find. I've seen wire break inside the insulation too. Those intermittent problems can be the hardest to find. Sometimes you have to just cut out sections of wire and replace it. A multimeter is a good tool, but I'm surprised at the number of people that don't have a simple test light with the pointy probe. BUT, if at all possible don't go sticking the probe into wires all over the place, anywhere you do that becomes a potential corrosion point because moisture can get in that hole and corrode the wire. Good luck with this problem, let us know the solution.
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