Eager Beaver light problem

nedly05 · May 7, 2008

We have a 20 ton Eager Beaver, and we have constant intermittent touble with the lights. I check them before I leave the yard and they all work, by the time I get where I am going they aren't all working, that changes after I drop the ramps and load. I obviously have a loose connection of a bad ground someplace, I am wondering if it would be worth it to re wire it or try to chase down the problem. Does any one else have this trouble? It is annoying because it is a good trailer other than that. What is the best way to fix it?
Thanks!!

xalexjx · May 7, 2008

Is it just one light or all of them? Id say a bad ground or a worn wire somewheres.. The adirondacks salt and winters really gets to them, I have a friend with the same lowboy thats about 5 years old and he just re did all the wiring and the whole trailer for that matter, it was a mess...

Lashlander · May 8, 2008

I always run ground wires through the plug right to the vehicles ground. Its amazing how much trouble just using the hitch to ground will cause. I've redone every trailer I've owned and use at work.

dirt digger · May 8, 2008

we have that problem on our one tag...we changed the 3 prong adapter and it seemed to do the trick for a while...now the other side adapter keeps crapping out on us....you can also just reground each light by splicing the ground into each wire and attaching it into the frame, it is easier then re-wiring the entire trailer but it may not work...and with a big pintle you should get good trailer to vehicle contact

i just know the less time i am under that thing the better...you probably feel the same way...have to wear safety glasses just to keep the mud and rust chucks out of your eyes

nedly05 · May 8, 2008

Yeah, I am not a really big fan of working under that trailer, on your back or doing half a sit up. I am going to try cleaning the hitch and the ring down to bare metal and seeing if that helps, the marker light always work it's just the 4 stop/turn/tail lights on the back that mess up.

Lashlander · May 8, 2008

Thats the beauty of working for an outfit that has cranes. I've had every trailer we have flipped over at one time or another to work on them. I hate working under something or working on something flat on the ground. Ive always said I'm not a rodent.

Preppypyro · May 8, 2008

One thing I would check is the actualy plug. I had a faulty plug on a 53 foot tri-axle trailer at work, and it kind of did the same thing.

nedly05 · May 9, 2008

Preppypyro said:
One thing I would check is the actualy plug. I had a faulty plug on a 53 foot tri-axle trailer at work, and it kind of did the same thing.

I picked up a plug today, for 10 bucks and 10 minutes to replace it it's definitly a good place to start.

7AXLES · May 10, 2008

IMO.....if the trailer is 10 years old, I'd rewire the whole thing....if its only 5 years old, I'd track it down....but the usual....ground problems, bare wire that is rubbing the frame, light sockets corroded, etc. Trailer wiring is one of those pain in the butts.

nedly05 · May 11, 2008

It's 12 years old, it has good tires, one axle has new brakes, so theres really not too much more to it other than wiring, then it would be an almost like new 12 year old trailer. I changed the plug yesterday, now I just need to try it. I'll call nortrax tomorrow and see what a new harness costs.

tuney443 · May 11, 2008

nedly05 said:
Yeah, I am not a really big fan of working under that trailer, on your back or doing half a sit up. I am going to try cleaning the hitch and the ring down to bare metal and seeing if that helps, the marker light always work it's just the 4 stop/turn/tail lights on the back that mess up.

Nedly---2 things: Don't clean your pintle hook and eye,it's meant to be lubed with some grease same as a 5th wheel or ball hitch. Like someone else said,you need a dedicated ground from the horse to your trailer in the plug.I've been through this more times than I care to remember,90% of the time it's a ground problem.

bushcat · May 11, 2008

I've run into lighting problems on tag a longs more so empty than loaded trailers, what I did was attach a booster cable from a good clean spot on the trailer hitch to a clean spot on the back of the truck. Eliminated flickering lights and proved it was a poor ground until I could fix the problem properly. I've also had to put a ground strap from the deck to the frame at the pivot point on tilting deck trailers.

nedly05 · May 11, 2008

Well I switched the plug out and put some dielectric grease on the hitch/ring. I moved the 8 ton today and my buddy went along so I had him watch all of my lights and they worked, even when we got back. The plug was all crappy when I got it apart so I am hoping that is all that was the problem!

How would I go about making a ground for the trailer itself? If I ran a wire from the center of the plug ( I think thats the ground stud) and put it to a bare metal place on the trailer frame that should do it right? Thanks for all of the help guys!!

7AXLES · May 11, 2008

Good clean spot on the trailer sounds good screwed in and I'd attach a good strong alligator clip(big teeth kind) on the other end and clip that to the truck...additional ground besides the plug, cause that sounds like where the problem is coming from. I've seen Uhaul do that a lot because they have lots of grounding problems with all the different people using trailers.

I think I'd find the ground wire from the plug going to your trailer and replace the connector with a new one, that would probably solve the problem, its probably oxidized(wire)and not getting a good connection.

New harness would be my last resort. Good luck...I pulled away from my gooseneck detach the other day and pulled all the wires out of my plug:Banghead:....stopped just in time before I pulled the air lines out!

Steve Frazier · May 11, 2008

If you're using the round pin style connector found on heavy trucks, ground should be the largest pin directly under the locating tab on the plug. I'm pretty sure the center pin is for the brake hook up on trailers with electric brakes.

D5G · Jun 8, 2008

those 20 HALX trailers seem to be overly prone to the wiring issue, I have seen many eagers around here with that same issue,The only thing I don't know is what everyone did about them.

nedly05 · Jun 9, 2008

I replaced the plug, that seems to have fixed the problem for now!!

Eager Beaver light problem

nedly05

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xalexjx

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Lashlander

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dirt digger

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nedly05

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Lashlander

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Preppypyro

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nedly05

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7AXLES

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nedly05

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tuney443

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bushcat

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nedly05

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7AXLES

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Steve Frazier

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D5G

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nedly05

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