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Old 03-08-2016, 05:10 PM   #21
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Name: Gordon
Trailer: 2015 Scamp (16 Std Layout 4) with '15 Toyota Sienna LE Tug
North Carolina
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Well well well. this turned out to be an Advanced Scamp Electrical discussion after all!

But I just wanted my light to come on

Good news is that it looks like I get the needed replacement parts under warranty.
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Old 03-09-2016, 06:25 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DuaneQ View Post
...
I have seen time and time again someone who checks for voltage with a meter and thinks they have "voltage" there. ...
According to Glen's favorite authority (Wiki ), voltage is "is the difference in electric potential energy"

The key word is potential! You might have the potential have light, heat or whatever but there is no guarantee from voltage alone.

Interestingly (to me at least), it seems I have a similar problem in my house wiring. The last two outlets on one circuit "shut down" when high current devices are used on them. For example, after using a 120 VAC jack hammer, even a radio will not work in the outlet. There is "residual" voltage around 50 VAC and it returns to "normal" after some time, only to fail when high current draw occurs again. The GFCIs and the circuit breaker have been ruled out as suspects. The concern is a high resistance point than can spell serious trouble so it needs to be fixed soon. In the mean time that circuit is not used.
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Old 03-09-2016, 07:35 AM   #23
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Gordon
I may be wrong but I think you can replace the switch with the fixture installed. I would try that rather than R&R the fixture unless you find a much better quality light fixture. Seems like most trailer mfg. use these same fixtures. They are also prone to turn yellow with age, you may want paint your current fixture while messing with it. Replace the switch, drill a drain hole in the bottom and you should be good to go.
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Old 03-09-2016, 09:51 AM   #24
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Name: Lee
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Gordon2, it sounds like you have a loose connection in your house wiring, possibly a loose neutral. Always fun chasing those down. I know you said that you sprayed your RV light switch with some contact cleaner but I would still give it a shot of WD-40. Thats always worked for me on a corroded connection. My garage door remote seems to quit working every once and awhile so I check the battery but it usually turns out to be the tiny little micro switch inside the remote. I give it a spritz of WD-40 and I'm back in business, every time. I live on the Gulf coast so the high humidity is probably what causes the problem.
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Old 03-09-2016, 11:28 AM   #25
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Name: Duane
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voltage drop testing

Quote:
Originally Posted by gordon2 View Post
Well well well. this turned out to be an Advanced Scamp Electrical discussion after all!

But I just wanted my light to come on

Good news is that it looks like I get the needed replacement parts under warranty.
Gordon, the best way to test for load problems is to measure the voltage at your load with it connected. This way you will be able to tell if you have a poor connection, too small gauge wire etc. Hope this helps.
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Old 03-09-2016, 04:54 PM   #26
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I came kind of late to this thread, but let me throw my mechanical engineering two cents in. The advantage of the dielectric grease should be that the mechanical parts of the switch will work better and possibly provide higher contact pressure, exactly where it matters. Being dielectric, it is not going to cause a short, or leakage in case of multi contact switches, which is actually not relevant here. Pretty much the same goes for WD40. I bet it is a pretty good dielectric as well.
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Old 03-09-2016, 05:06 PM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gordon2 View Post
I might be confused about the terminology but this is what I was referring to. Used it for years on all sorts of electrical contacts, such as the trailer to tug umbilical cord.
This is from the link you provided:
When the connection is tightened, the grease is displaced, leaving a layer of zinc and graphite filling in the surface imperfections of the interface.
  • Makes connections more reliable
  • Makes connections more weatherproof
  • Protects connections from corrosion
  • Reduces temperate rise
  • Low sulphur content
  • Non-reactive, no gassing in storage
  • Brushable over a wide temperature range
  • Sticks to wet joints
Both zinc and graphite are conductors, so I bet this is only suitable for a high power connection that is made once and left alone. Not a switch.
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Old 03-09-2016, 05:37 PM   #28
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Gordon2: I had that problem on a house circuit. It turned out that a hot wire was not tightened down and it would work until the wire got hot which caused it to move and the light would dim or shut off completely. Check the connections.
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Old 03-09-2016, 06:03 PM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul O. View Post
...
Both zinc and graphite are conductors, so I bet this is only suitable for a high power connection that is made once and left alone. Not a switch.
I used contact cleaner for the switch, not Ox-Gard. I used Ox-Gard on the base of the bulb (just a thin film). It's primary purpose is to prevent oxidation (hence, the name) and it does help prevent corrosion. Try a little on the base of one of your trailer's tail light bulbs and then compare to an untreated bulb a year or so later.

By the way, a little dab works great in the female part of the tug to trailer connection, which often becomes a corroded mess in short order.

One caution however, since it is a conductive paste, it can cause a short if over applied.
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Old 03-09-2016, 07:00 PM   #30
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As you said, as long as good judgement is used, it should be OK. It also may be that the Ox-Gard is not loaded with the copper and graphite enough to be conductive as is. They suggest that the grease is squeezed out and leaves the copper and graphite behind, between the parts that are pressed together.

Now I am curious - could you test the bulk conductivity of the Ox-Gard by just sticking the probes of a multimeter into a dab of it? I used some conductive epoxies once long time ago, and in order to be conductive, the percentage of silver in them had to be really high.
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Old 03-09-2016, 08:16 PM   #31
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Well!.. This is getting really interesting! Even though I have had great success for years using Ox-Gard on various electrical connections, when I tried to measure the resistance of the paste alone it acted like a good insulator. In fact if I had some on one of the muliti-meter probes (digital meter set on 200 ohm setting), I read infinite resistance until I cleaned the paste off the probe.

This thread mirrors this discussion quite a bit and one comment was "It [Ox-Gard] doesn't conduct well when it's in a blob, but when spread into a very thin film sandwiched between two conductors, the metal particles in the grease touch both sides and begin to conduct.

So maybe its not the best option for a bulb in socket where the space between conductors is more than a crimped type connection, but it seems to work for me.
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Old 03-10-2016, 07:46 AM   #32
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Thanks for finding that thread - interesting.
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