www.iFourWinns.com

Hello I just bought My first boat in August. I purchased a New 2005 Horizon 200 LE. I love the boat only a couple of issues. 1st) the throttle bolt came loose the 3rd time out. Lost neutral, after a call to the dealer and 45 mins later i was able to fix the problem and was back on the water.

2nd) pulled the boat out of the water tonight and the trailer lights were not working. I have a 2005 Chevy Tahoe i am using a Wesbar 7 to 5 way adapter. strange thing (at least to me) was the break lights and turn signals are working. I used the the trailer last weekend and no problems lights were working.

Can i assume if the brake lights are working so are brakes on the trailer? (I didn't notice that it took longer to break)
I tried many times to unplug and reinsert the adapter no luck. luckily i only had to drive 15 mins home.
Could this adapter be bad? or could their be a problem with my wiring?
are there any other brands beside wesbar.

I'm glad i found this site, all the answers i've read seem extremely helpfull.
1st boat i'm sure i will have many more questions.
thanks
Matt

f you lost ALL the tail & running lights it's very possible that a fuse is blown on the vehicle side or if the fuse is OK that it's corroded. One of my tow vehicles has a fuse on the running (tail) lights line located near the hitch that is subject to corrosion...same thing happened to me this summer. That fuse was corroded. Once replaced all was well. It seems a little soon for a 2005 tow vehicle, but I don't know where you launch.

I'll make tha assumption you have surge brakes over electric and most boat trailers use surge. Your brakes are mechanically activated by the pressure of the trailer pushing on your vehicle.

As to the lights, check to make dure your fuse in the vehicle is in good shape and not blown. There ia a very inexpensive tester you can find at Wlly World of an auto parts store that is just a connector with some LEDs to check the function of the vehicle wiring.

Next I'd check the ground at the tail lights on the trailer. Some have a seperate ground wire, some use the mounthind studs of the light itself. A inadequate ground due to corrosion can make your lights flaky.

Also, check the connectors along hte harness running the length of the trailer. Many times corrosion will occure at the point the trailer running lights are spliced into the wire running to the tail lights.

I check the grounds throughout the year. Boeshield T9 or Corrosion Control are two products that I've used that really help cut the corrosion at those points. They dry and leave a protective coating. I also use either on the bolts and metal ends on the hosed of my outdrive.

Anther product I use on all my wiring connections on the trailer is Liquid-Lectric Tape. You can find it at Wally World. It's a brush on rubber coating that is an ecellent di-lectric. I coat all the electrical connections on the trailer wiring making them totally waterproof.

_________________
Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

ken & jvalich - thanks for the info.
it was hard to check anything last night. At least when i get home tonight there will be some daylight left, so i will be able to check all the grounds and everything.

i checked all the grounds tonight. are there 2??? I found one under the trailer connected to the frame in the front with a bolt and one attached to the bolt on the left rear brake light. checked those and everything is tight. i then checked plugged the adapter in again and the brake lights work when the pedal in the car is pressed and the turn signals work also.
dumb question, but would a burnt out bulb cause this?? should i check all the bulbs now?

I checked all the fuses in the truck and they are all fine.

this sucks trailered the boat twice at night one worked fine second no running lights.
welcome to boating i guess

after calming down I went and got the 4 way tester at wally as you mentioned, and guess what the tail lights were not testing on the tester.
brakes and turn signals test lights came on.

I guess i will have to bring the truck to the dealer to have them look at it.
should be under warranty truck came with the tow package.
thanks for your help.