I have 2016 Ford Ranger towing a 2017 Retreat van.
Intermittently when the indicators are used they dont flash in a normal rhythm but flash at a increased frequency,much much faster.I have cleaned the plugs and expanded the pins in the connector,checked the wires in the connectors Truck and Van.
Only thing that looks unusual is one of the lager pins on the van side of the plug looks like it has been under heat (burned a little).This pin has a large red wire going into that pin.
Any ideas what else it could try?
Thank you in advance
hako said
08:32 AM Jan 16, 2018
You've probably done this but next time it happens try to check if all the indicators are working and are the same brilliance....one may be intermittent. It only takes one bulb to be a bit loose in its socket to give trouble. Also possible is a dual filament bulb to have a sagged filament which sometimes drops and touches the other filament and earths through that.
Red is usually brakes.
Good Luck.
dragonfly1 said
09:00 AM Jan 16, 2018
It will be either a bad earth wire connection or it requires a resistor in the line
Dragonfly1
Muddy said
09:10 AM Jan 16, 2018
Fords have had some problems with their vehicles towing electrics for a while and this is well documented so you may need to talk to them about it if all else doesn't solve the problem.
Have you had the car from new?
Has this happened from day one of you owning the caravan?
Did you tow the caravan with another vehicle previous to the ford and did the same thing happen?
Can you organise for a friend who tows to connect their car up to check to see if that has the same problem? (This will tell you that the problem is with the car)
If your caravan has LED indicators then you may require a ballast resistance to be fitted to kid your car into thinking they are the heavier current drawing incandescent bulbs. If this is your problem you may have no indication on the dashboard of your car that a trailer is fitted perhaps. (Flashing trailer symbol when indicating???)
The large red wire is possibly the feed to your fridge and I would suggest that splaying the pins to improve the connection is the best first meaure to take.
Good luck
Sparkster said
11:56 AM Jan 16, 2018
On your indicator problem - I agree with hako.
On the burnt pin - don't play around with it.
Confirm that it is the fridge (or other high current circuit).
If it is as suspected, the fridge, move that circuit to an anderson plug which will handle the current and if done correctly heat will not be a problem.
If heat has caused the problem it's too late to clean the pins and splay them as they have already been damaged and annealed and problem will just occur again when you least expect.
Make sure that pin is not used again or replace both plug and socket.
Keith.
dogbox said
01:08 PM Jan 16, 2018
if you have led lights on trailer you may need to have a resistor patch fitted
a quick flash usually happens when a blinker is not working led lights draw less power so its registering that a light is out just another idea
Aus-Kiwi said
01:16 PM Jan 16, 2018
This can be an issue on some modern elect systems as elect is controlled by computer.
Hey Jim said
09:47 PM Jan 16, 2018
dogbox wrote:
if you have led lights on trailer you may need to have a resistor patch fitted a quick flash usually happens when a blinker is not working led lights draw less power so its registering that a light is out just another idea
Well explained Dogbox. You must have been awake in one of my trailer talks, on maintenance many moons ago.
Jim
Sparkster said
08:00 AM Jan 17, 2018
"Col Rennie wrote:
Intermittently when the indicators are used they dont flash in a normal rhythm but flash at a increased frequency,much much faster.I have cleaned the plugs and expanded the pins in the connector,checked the wires in the connectors Truck and Van."
Col said intermittent problem, from what I've seen the LED problem doesn't appear as intermittent.
Keith
Gus1949 said
10:10 AM Jan 17, 2018
I have a '64 Ranger and had to purchase an adaptor from Ford that fits between the caravan plug and the plug on the Ranger so that the van lights would work properly (to stop fast flashing and blinking tail lights) I think this is the resistor patch referred to in earlier posts.
Ausmo said
12:28 PM Jan 17, 2018
X2. Patch is essential on my rig, flashing without.
rockylizard said
12:58 PM Jan 17, 2018
Sparkster wrote:
"Col Rennie wrote:
Intermittently when the indicators are used they dont flash in a normal rhythm but flash at a increased frequency,much much faster.I have cleaned the plugs and expanded the pins in the connector,checked the wires in the connectors Truck and Van."
Sparkster wrote:
Col said intermittent problem, from what I've seen the LED problem doesn't appear as intermittent.
Keith
Gday...
I'm a bit with sparkster ... Col did say the problem was intermittent. That doesn't sound like he needs the LED 'adaptor' which solves the 'constant flashing' of LED lights on the van.
Col hasn't been back on since his OP ... so I guess we need to wait and find out if the problem is the 'constant rapid flashing' due to lack of 'adaptor' or an electrical fault causing 'intermittent' problems.
Cheers - John
RustyD said
04:41 PM Jan 18, 2018
Got a Ranger that I experience same issue randomly. It's always the left blinker and I just disconnect, dust and plug back securely. Suspect that socket / plug is not touching properly and it's vibrating loose enough to break contact then dust gets in. Fast flashing is a sign of a globe not working, car or van.
Other issue I had was I had to take out 2 of the 4 van brake globes The newer Rangers have a 10Amp circuit breaker. My old Falcon had 20Amp fuse and the van had a total of 16Amps worth of globes and all worked. Had quite a run-in with Ford and the local dealer over that issue until they finally admitted that the external brake lights were protected by a 10Amp circuit breaker. Ford finally sent me the full after-market equipment mounting manual (pdf).
I also tried to replace my brake globes with LEDs. They just flashed which I believe is a sign that the LEDs do not draw enough power. Need to add ballast/resistance I'm told.
Col Rennie said
10:45 AM Jan 29, 2018
Hi Guys ,
Sorry for not getting back to you .
Ok Ford have told me it snot their problem as all their tow bars have a built in resister pack and are tested before shipment.
Not that helpful to be honest.
They tell me it could be a bad glob in the the van .
Next I will look at them next week.
I have a very bad feeling about this
iana said
08:00 PM Jan 30, 2018
I have a couple of relays between the vehicle and the tow plug, so the towed vehicle is on a different circuit, can plug anything in without it effecting the vehicle electrics. So I don't have these problems, sorry can't help.
Col Rennie said
04:02 AM Mar 5, 2018
Hi Guys
Ok I need help again ,the issue is still happening .
Every one tells me I need a resister pack as the led lights in the van do not draw as much power as the Ford expects.
The issue is Ford just tell me its not there issue, and they are not aware of a resister pack. There must be a way to build a resistor pack ,question is how much resistance is required.?
This is driving me nuts and must be dangerous.
I have spoken to other Ranger owners and they are having the same issue intermittently.
Ideas?
rockylizard said
08:01 AM Mar 5, 2018
Gday...
There are quite a few on the market Col - you could try this one ...
I would have thought that if the problem is only happening intermittently then it was something different to needing one of these.
These resolve the problem where the vehicle's system does not 'see' the LED lights on the van. In that case, the van's lights, particularly indicator LEDs, flash continuously.
I have 2016 Ford Ranger towing a 2017 Retreat van.
Intermittently when the indicators are used they dont flash in a normal rhythm but flash at a increased frequency,much much faster.I have cleaned the plugs and expanded the pins in the connector,checked the wires in the connectors Truck and Van.
Only thing that looks unusual is one of the lager pins on the van side of the plug looks like it has been under heat (burned a little).This pin has a large red wire going into that pin.
Any ideas what else it could try?
Thank you in advance
Red is usually brakes.
Good Luck.
It will be either a bad earth wire connection or it requires a resistor in the line
Dragonfly1
Have you had the car from new?
Has this happened from day one of you owning the caravan?
Did you tow the caravan with another vehicle previous to the ford and did the same thing happen?
Can you organise for a friend who tows to connect their car up to check to see if that has the same problem? (This will tell you that the problem is with the car)
If your caravan has LED indicators then you may require a ballast resistance to be fitted to kid your car into thinking they are the heavier current drawing incandescent bulbs. If this is your problem you may have no indication on the dashboard of your car that a trailer is fitted perhaps. (Flashing trailer symbol when indicating???)
The large red wire is possibly the feed to your fridge and I would suggest that splaying the pins to improve the connection is the best first meaure to take.
Good luck
On your indicator problem - I agree with hako.
On the burnt pin - don't play around with it.
Confirm that it is the fridge (or other high current circuit).
If it is as suspected, the fridge, move that circuit to an anderson plug which will handle the current and if done correctly heat will not be a problem.
If heat has caused the problem it's too late to clean the pins and splay them as they have already been damaged and annealed and problem will just occur again when you least expect.
Make sure that pin is not used again or replace both plug and socket.
Keith.
a quick flash usually happens when a blinker is not working led lights draw less power so its registering that a light is out just another idea
Well explained Dogbox. You must have been awake in one of my trailer talks, on maintenance many moons ago.
Jim
X2. Patch is essential on my rig, flashing without.
Gday...
I'm a bit with sparkster ... Col did say the problem was intermittent. That doesn't sound like he needs the LED 'adaptor' which solves the 'constant flashing' of LED lights on the van.
Col hasn't been back on since his OP ... so I guess we need to wait and find out if the problem is the 'constant rapid flashing' due to lack of 'adaptor' or an electrical fault causing 'intermittent' problems.
Cheers - John
Other issue I had was I had to take out 2 of the 4 van brake globes The newer Rangers have a 10Amp circuit breaker. My old Falcon had 20Amp fuse and the van had a total of 16Amps worth of globes and all worked. Had quite a run-in with Ford and the local dealer over that issue until they finally admitted that the external brake lights were protected by a 10Amp circuit breaker. Ford finally sent me the full after-market equipment mounting manual (pdf).
I also tried to replace my brake globes with LEDs. They just flashed which I believe is a sign that the LEDs do not draw enough power. Need to add ballast/resistance I'm told.
Hi Guys ,
Sorry for not getting back to you .
Ok Ford have told me it snot their problem as all their tow bars have a built in resister pack and are tested before shipment.
Not that helpful to be honest.
They tell me it could be a bad glob in the the van .
Next I will look at them next week.
I have a very bad feeling about this
Hi Guys
Ok I need help again ,the issue is still happening .
Every one tells me I need a resister pack as the led lights in the van do not draw as much power as the Ford expects.
The issue is Ford just tell me its not there issue, and they are not aware of a resister pack. There must be a way to build a resistor pack ,question is how much resistance is required.?
This is driving me nuts and must be dangerous.
I have spoken to other Ranger owners and they are having the same issue intermittently.
Ideas?
Gday...
There are quite a few on the market Col - you could try this one ...
http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/NARVA-LED-Load-Resistor-12-Volt-21-Watt/287170
I would have thought that if the problem is only happening intermittently then it was something different to needing one of these.
These resolve the problem where the vehicle's system does not 'see' the LED lights on the van. In that case, the van's lights, particularly indicator LEDs, flash continuously.
Anyway, a cheap attempt at solution I guess.
Cheers - John