Fixing the New Trailer Wiring

First priority this morning was to get all the lights working. No tail light juice from the bike side indicates the problem is there. The Bushtec harness is isolated meaning that the power for the lights comes directly from the battery and is controlled by relays tapped into the bike wiring. I figure that the main power from the battery is fused and that if it blew none of the lights would work. I then assume that I am looking for a faulty plug somewhere. But I don’t know where. The wiring is all hidden under various wiring panels.

The easy solution to this is to call Bushtec. Larry turns me over to Jason the installer who tells me that each line from the relay box to the hitch plug is fused separately and I am probably looking at a bad fuse. Further, the wiring can be accessed simply by pulling the rear fender. So I pull the drawbar off, unbolt the fender and slide it out of the way. There are all the wires and components. I pull the fuse for the wire in question. Can’t tell by looking at it and no spares so I take a fuse from another circuit and put it in. Hook up the plug, turn on the bike and ZAP. Fuse blows. I check trailer plug with ohmmeter. The plot thickens. There is a short circuit in tail light circuit on trailer.

After tracing down the trailer wiring, I find the nexus in one tail light assembly. A judicious cut and I have split the wiring and find the short is in the other tail light unit. Looking closely, I see where a bare spot on the pigtail is making contact with a spring that also contacts the grounded frame. A little black tape, put it all back together and voila. Lights.

Now I make a run to Crappy Tire for odds and ends. Spare fuses. Install new ones, test the lights and put the fender and drawbar back on. Test the lights again. Connect the plug onto the trailer wires using solder, shrink tube and protective covering. Test the lights one more time.

Thus endeth the saga of the non-working lights.