Need towing harness help PLEASE

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David J Barnes

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My 2001 Cummins did not have the factory tow harness on it. I found a used harness that I believ to be the right harness but now I have issues at the plug at the rear of my pickup as in wires are not functioning according to what they are supposed to be doing. ANY HELP WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED
 

Chigurh

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If you dont get anything here you might try one of the Ram Cummins diesel forums.
 

dudeman2009

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When you say having issues. If i'm understanding you correctly, its plugging in, but its not performing functions that it should?

What functions are missing? What year did you get the harness from? Pictures? There isn't a lot to go on here, i'd like to help but I need some more info.
 
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David J Barnes

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dudeman2009
When you say having issues. If i'm understanding you correctly, its plugging in, but its not performing functions that it should?

What functions are missing? What year did you get the harness from? Pictures? There isn't a lot to go on here, i'd like to help but I need some more info.
 
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David J Barnes

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I got the harness from a mopar salvage yard in Cali. The Part# of the harness I got was a 56045518AD which according to all my research is the correct frame harness for the tow package. The harness is in great shape. The issues I am having is I do not have tail light power at the plug at the back of the pickup where the Chrysler 7 way plugs into the frame harness. The only way I get power to the wire that is trailer tail lights & clearance lights is by stepping on the brake pedal. Also if I pull the relay under the hood for the trailer and run a jumper wire between the left post and bottom post then my tail light wire has power that way when i turn on the clearance lights, but i have to leave the relay out to do that. Also the B+ wire has absolutely no power whether the pickup is running or shut off. Everything else seems to be working correctly. Is the trailer brake controller possibly wired wrong and creating the tail light issue?
 

dudeman2009

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Certainly got some good info there.

Starting with the running lights. That relay should have two small pins (85 and 86) and two large ones (30 and 87). Test for ground at pin 85, if no ground present, thats the first problem to fix. Second pin 86 should be at battery voltage when the headlight switch is turned on irrelevant of the key position, if not we are gonna have to look for problems back towards the headlight switch (not an uncommon problem) Pin 30 should be at battery voltage at all times, if not, you'll need to check fuse 8 40A, and the continuity between the two. Lastly, test the running lights pin on the vehicle trailer tow connector both with the relay out and also with pin 87 jumpered to battery positive. Another way to test the connection from that fuse until it breaks off for the lights, test for battery voltage at the red/orange wire on the trailer tow connector, if no voltage, check the wiring after the fuse for issues.

If all that checks out, then you'll either need to test or replace the relay.

The brake controller may have spiced into that 40A fuse and broke the connection back from there. I'd start by checking that out to see where they hooked it up, or if they used the factory brake controller harness.

My question, you said you get power to the running/clearance lights when you hit the brakes? What color wire is that? The brakelights wire should be light blue.
 
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David J Barnes

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Ok thanks I'll do some checking on all the info you gave me. It might be a couple of days before i can reply, my wife is having a minor surgery today.
 
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David J Barnes

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dudeman2009 great news. I was able to do some checking this afternoon. The 40 amp fuse was blown but you couldn't hardly tell by looking thru the little window on it I did a continuity test too verify it was blown. Also the trailer relay was messed up & not working properly so I replaced it also. All 7 prongs are fuctioning according to what they function they correspond with. The brake controller is wired into the factory brake harness under the dash. I verified it was wired correctly according to the manufacturer info I researched on the internet. My only question is the LED on the controller is lit up light green at all times. It changes to yellow if i press on my brake pedal and even darker yellow if I increase the brake power on the controller. I do not have any voltage at the brake prong at the hitch unless I step on the brake pedal & if I increase the brake power on my controller the voltage at the rear hitch increases also. My question is, is it normal for the LED to be lit at all times? Thanks for all your AWESOME HELP so far.
 
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David J Barnes

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dudeman2009 I have done some more research today & the brake controller I have it is supposed to have a green light at all times so you know the unit has power so that it is fine.
1 more question I have is there anyway to make the 12v B+ to the 7 way a key on power instead of being on all the time?
 

dudeman2009

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dudeman2009 I have done some more research today & the brake controller I have it is supposed to have a green light at all times so you know the unit has power so that it is fine.
1 more question I have is there anyway to make the 12v B+ to the 7 way a key on power instead of being on all the time?

What I was trying to get at is not if the brake controller has power. But does everything after the splice for the brake controller have power.

Yes you can make that line ignition switched by putting a relay inline and sourcing the control signal for the relay from an ignition switched source.
 
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David J Barnes

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Yes everything has power that is suppossed to now. The 2 culprits for all my problems were the 40 amp fuse & trailer relay. Everything else is functoning as it should now.
On that B+ wire is that the Pin 30 on the trailer relay?
 

dudeman2009

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Yes pin 30 is supply to the relay.
 
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David J Barnes

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Thanks for all of your help dudeman2009 you have saved me from pulling the rest of my hair out. Lol! If I have more questions in the future I'll be back on here
 
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