2024 Ram 1500 tow connector fuse question

[faithie999]

i bought a used 2024 ram 1500 last fall and getting ready for the first trip towing my travel trailer. i plugged the trailer's plug into the 7-pin jack at the ram's rear bumper. the running lights didn't work. i looked in the owner's manual and i find reference to 2 fuses that might be involved: F11, 15 amp mini blade fuse, which is marked for ID/Clearance lights and F12, 20A cartridge fuse, marked for Trailer Tow Park Lamp. i assumed the running lights came off F11, but in fact they come off F12, which was blown. replacing it solved the running light issue.

in the process of troubleshooting, i found that there was no fuse installed in the F11 position. i had a spare and plugged it in and it felt like there was no female receptacle under the plastic "bottom" of the fuse box. then i noticed a 15A blade fuse just laying in the bottom of the fuse box. it must have been installed when the truck was built, but since there is not a receptacle into which it plugged, it vibrated out of place over time.

my immediate problem is solved by replacing F12, but what are the ID/Clearance lights? that will help me decide whether to take the truck to a dealer and see if they can figure out why there is no receptacle under the F11 position, or just let things be.

thanks!

Ken

 

[faithie999]

i think i can answer my own question. i had assumed the fuse F11 marked ID/Clearance lights was for the pin in the 7-pin connector that powers the clearance lights on the travel trailer (also powers the rear camera). but now i think F11 is for clearance lights on the truck cab if it had been equipped that way from the factory, which it isn't, which is why the F11 slot isn't populated with a socket.