Chevy Silverado - Nothing Is Working At The Trailer Plug

[@SouthMainAuto]

*New IPA **#9107B** Electric Brake Force Meter (3rd Gen) w/Dynamic Load Simulation and Circuit Testing - for Use on New Model Vehicles* - amzn.to/3xbSYlz

[@mikethetoolman8776]

on sale this month from mac tools!

[@stevenakn1]

The video in add makes me feel I need it😳

[@MrLuckylilly]

Your videos are a great distraction from watching Mr Magoo destroy our once great country !

[@PhillipBailey]

I checked the video I made where it let me down and it was actually on an 08 2500 HD. I tried to put a link to my video in your comments but I guess KZbin does not allow that as it was automatically deleted.

[@Dave-ei7kk]

I see that the IPA 9107B meter you linked above is a new model than the 9107A model you showed in the video. I wonder if IPA told you this newer 3rd gen model would have worked on this truck?

[@donaldross1077]

Retired GM tech. Because I was the brake, suspension, and steering guy I got all the fun trailer brake problems. The main problems I ran into was not the truck, it was the wiring on the trailer. Just like you I would replace blown fuses and when trailer attached they blew again. A 12 volt battery and some jumper wires will allow you to test trailer lights and wiring. In Oklahoma many trucks was used out in the cow pasture. Which meant they were covered with mud and manure. Most of wiring problems were in left front fender area and left rear shock absorber area. Of course the grounds for trailer brake module and relay. Watching you run down these problems brought back memories, not good ones. Good luck guys. You are correct it needs to be tested with a LOAD, even corroded will light led's.

[@izzynutz2000]

Two words Power Probe

[@NBSV1]

I’ve found it gets even more “fun” with fleet trailers because people will start wiring the truck and trailer to whatever order they come up with. Which ends up meaning it won’t work with any other trucks. I’ve spent much time going in circles before we could get the one guy to quit messing with things. And, the newer stuff with modules can drive you nuts. Especially when they can’t decide if a trailer is connected or not. For some reason they program them to be very sensitive.

[@QBallRacing]

@@izzynutz2000power probe is still just a led light... not a good load on the circuit...

[@jocool562]

Yup. I work at a RV shop. Always a blown fuse on the truck or shorted wires on the trailer. The worst one was shorted wire inside the trailer axle. Such a PITA to track that one down

[@davidpotter7484]

I've discovered if someone can't explain something they usually don't understand it. I've learned so much from listening to you over the years. Helping people gain understanding is a blessing.

[@WombleUK]

There's a saying: If you don't know how something DOES work, you will never know why it DOESN'T work 😏

[@userer4579]

@@Fjord_Driver Don't feel bad, few, if any, truly can. 😄

[@crazyman8472]

At least he got it checked out *before* he tried to tow something. 😅

[@landontesar3070]

or that's what he said and actually plugged it in first, then brought it to Eric

[@douglash3129]

Hi Eric and Mrs. O., This was not nonsense,Because everyone learned something!

[@steveo6631]

That is pretty cool... I had to fix my boat trailer lights yesterday - simple 4 wire plug... With my SMA acquired knowledge, I had voltage drop from hitch to trailer on the ground side... Cleaned up the grounds, sprayed on Fluid Film..... FIXED... Thanks SMA...

[@boblister665]

I find most trailer problems are the grounds. Trailer balls are not good grounds you need the wires hooked up with clean grounds

[@steveo6631]

@@boblister665 agreed...

[@ProleDaddy]

​@@boblister665 I like to wire ground to everything on a trailer and not rely on frame grounds.

[@rjb6327]

Tell him to keep making right hand turns until he gets there.😃 It's always nice to almost see Mrs. O.

[@scottzehrung4829]

Drive for UPS 😂.

[@braaapattack2937]

I made a “long” time ago, a milk crate with various trailer lights on a plug (couple running lights for markers, and two right and two left turn bulbs, and a clear 1156 interior light bulb for the 12volt direct to verify that circuit)and an old worn out brake drum assembly (shoes are at the wear limit but good enough to test. Doesn’t take up much room and is a good control to verify system if you’re having an issue

[@chiphaverstick3913]

Probably the best tester you could use. I used to have something similar.

[@mattharper588]

My Chevrolet dealership made one themselves also

[@edbernier5513]

This video isn’t silly! It’s extremely informative!

[@JohnDoesGarage]

You don't give yourself enough credit, it is a very useful video. Thank you for posting it.

[@1arm_658]

Telling your wife "you win" is the most redundant thing I've ever heard anyone say.

[@acmemachining]

I always use a 4" headlight to test trailer brakes, had a plug with 6 feet of wire so I could get it line of sight so i didn't need assistance. I got fooled also, when GM came out with integrated trailer brakes because headlight did not simulate trailer connected, so I add 2 old trailer brake magnets to my tester and it works every time. Better yet it was free, brake magnets come with new trailer brakes as we replaced complete backing plate and dual beam headlight had 1 beam burnt out, plug came in a set male and female from Napa cheaper than just the female end. Got to love free tools you can build out of the garbage can. Great video, Thanks for sharing. I enjoy seeing others with the same head-aches i have dealt with the last 45 years .

[@JackdeDuCoeur]

There's James Cagney again! Nice work

[@NoName-zn1sb]

It takes a strong man to gracefully admit that his wife is right. You're almost there. P.S. Glasses are tools.

[@firstlast---]

The newer chevys are fun. Some of them have a trailer light control module. A perfectly working trailer can have lights not work because the resistance of the bulbs in the trailer not being a specific value will make the module shut everything down. It's hard to explain to a customer that their trailer is the issue even though it works fine on other trucks

[@robertrosicki9290]

Tons of fun hooking up a snow plow on my 2012 GM and the signal lights " hyper flash " because the extra two signal lights took the resistance out of range . Much better when I figured out using LED bulbs for the plow signal lights brought it back in range and slowed the flashing down to the correct speed .

[@alanrobison1758]

I used to party with Steve back in the day. He lived in Lavernia and I lived in Universal City Texas. He always had a guitar slung over his shoulder and he loved to party. Good guy.

[@johnbuttner5698]

When you said 99.8 percent I knew I had to say something. Master tech with 10 years experience. I worked for Pepsi as quality control before I became a tech. And we had to ensure the product leaving was 99.8 percent correct. When I started automotive diagnostic testing I would always tell the customer that I am 99.8 percent certain that your issue is whatever. Thanks for the video I am constantly amazed that people have the time and energy to upload KZbin content.😊

[@duanedelestienne2997]

No nonsense here, as always to process and the explanations are always pure gold.

[@ronaldbrosius7488]

Awsome, 2 new videos in one day!! This just made my Monday a little better 😂

[@SouthMainAuto]

More to come!

[@clintprice2123]

Looking forward to it Eric!

[@digitald5851]

Getting closer to a million, every day!

[@I_Am_Your_Problem]

Million?

[@I_Am_Your_Problem]

Must be some trumptard code...

[@billsimpson604]

@@I_Am_Your_Problem A million subscribers on YT.

[@cgmoog]

Just about a Steuben County away from a million.

[@DeweyCheatumNHoweLLC]

This got me reminiscing of the old days with my dad, checking the lights on the travel trailer just before vacation. Usually the day before. Shockingly, nothing ever worked. We'd "fix" it, and next day it would have some goofy fault that wasnt there the day before.

[@brandond6724]

My mom had the copperhead road cassette, the cover always looked so cool

[@bohawkins5258]

Steve Earl and the dukes. Guitar town was another good one.

[@scottstefenko928]

Really need to remember to unplug the boat trailer before you back it into the lake. Water does bad stuff to electrical stuff.

[@jocool562]

I haven't even finished watching the video and i just wanna say thanks for this upload. I work at a RV shop and we gotta deal with this crap all the time but cant get oem diagrams cuz the shop doesnt pay for car ones, only RVs. So gotta figure it out all on your own or rely on co workers' experiences. Btw that IPA tester we do have and it is awesome! Edit: just finshed and at 13:07 you step on the brakes (Left and right/brake lights) and then you turn the ignition on, (blue brake LEDs) but take your foot off the pedal once you put it into reverse.

[@andyb4050]

Mrs O knows her studs

[@wyattoneable]

You have impeccable timing. I'm fighting the same issues only on the trailer side. Of course it was bad grounds.

[@jaygold4467]

Outstanding diagnostics.

[@jeffreygortz6146]

Eric not anyone of your video's is nonsense , learn so much from your channel , even trailor brakes !!!!😂😂😂😂❤

[@jessiemae6873]

I'm a U-Haul dealer and it is incredible the number of trucks that come in without working trailer lights. I really like the separate fuses for truck and trailer. Makes my diagnosis time zero. If it's an older truck I send them to a mechanic who has a lift to fix them as I don't. We're in a rural area and the plugins are all covered in mud, corrosion, and usually the older aftermarkets are broken, bent or damaged some other way. And for some reason, in the rural areas when the owner adds aftermarket plug to their older truck, they never connect the ground wire. They rely on wear on the ball going down the road to get the ground to eventually connect through the hitch. And people get really testy when their older truck lights don't work and we can't rent to them for liability reasons.

[@charlesfinnegan7930]

I love Eric O's attention to detail. Scotty Kilmer is a golden god, but Eric O. is a master craftsman.

[@chiphaverstick3913]

Eric, Great video as always. I have one of the old school Tekonsha 6565/B "analog" tester with amp and voltmeters. It works on 2015 Chevy 3500 with aftermarket controller and on a 2017 Chevy 3500 HD with integral controller. Of course it uses LEDs for the lamp functions and as you said is not a good indicator of the current capability of the truck. Surprised you didn't mention the use of scotch locks on trailers, the worst invention ever. I bough a new tandem axle flatbed trailer from Tractor Supply, and it's a great heavy duty trailer except for the scotch locks. The second day I had it I cut out all of the scotch locks and soldered and heat shrunk all the connections. Ironically all of the brake wiring uses crimp and seal connectors.....so they know the issues. Keep up the good videos, never boring!

[@PhillipBailey]

I purchased one of those brake force simulator after watching you use it and it would not work properly on a 08 Silverado. Had to go back to a headlight and I found the ground was bad yet the tester showed the ground was good. I've used it on several other trucks and it worked fine. I talked to the tool manufacturer and they confirmed by my tool serial number it was up to date. They offered to replace it but I declined. I have a homemade tester with conventional bulbs. I agree the LEDs don't really simulate the real load... I tried to post the link to the video but I guess KZbin doesn't allow that as it got instantly deleted. You can find it on my channel or by searching for IPA Brake Force tester let me down.

[@KStewart-th4sk]

Exactly, which is why an ohmmeter check isn't the best way either to check the integrity of a circuit. Testing it under a load is the best. Saw a guy in the comments trying to educate a female Small Engine mechanic who has a YT Channel. Of course, her faithful followers attacked him saying he "didn't understand". NO, they and she didn't understand, although he may have educated her if she read it.

[@fredshead3956]

Hi Eric, years ago i made a trailor socket tester, which is close to what you have there, consisted of a plastic box with about 10 LED's on and resistors inside, long lead to back with a plug on it, but systems were more basic in those days...and yes it done the job but as you say it doesn;t mean there is enough power at the socket to do the job its intended for...cul Fred in England..

[@Onewheelordeal]

One of the internet radio stations that plays all day in my shop has Copperhead Road on it so I still hear it regularly

[@freetolook3727]

In my experience as an RV tech, most of the trailer plug problems were related to corrosion of terminals in the rear plug especially grounds to the frame which rusted.

[@karencary3312]

It's nice to have positive, helpful feedback. We can all learn from one another. ❤❤

[@KStewart-th4sk]

Exactly, which is why i love reading the comments. But you have to be careful with some who give false advice. I have even seen some YT channels giving false advice like the guy who told viewers you didn't have to do a front wheel alignment after replacing front struts on the VW he was working on. Then he had the gall to tell me my model wasn't the same as the one he was working on! It was the exact same setup as mine and at least one other commenter had enough sense to back me up. That "mechanic" was totally wrong and i have no idea how he became one to make that claim in the video!!

[@fredsalter1915]

"Devil's Right Hand" is pretty good, too.

[@royquesada5295]

Alaska!! Home Sweet Home!!

[@geepeerces]

as a camper trailer tower, I hook it up, start the engine, turn on the parking lights and the eblinkers and do a once around to verify all trailer lights are lit and blinking as appropriate... then when I roll out, I grab the manual brake override at low speed and verify I can 'feel' the trailer dragging on the tow vehicle. Currently towing a ~ 5000 lb max Escape 21' fiberglass trailer behind a '19 Ford Expedition Limited that has a built in brake controller, previously, I was towing with a 2002 F250 diesel that had a Curt brake controller, and before that I was towing a ~3500 lb Casita behind a Tacoma 4x4 6 speed.

[@crisprtalk6963]

I just saw Steve Earle at a club in Huntsville, 2 weeks ago. Great show. Solo acoustic.

[@ChrisHessert]

You have more specific electronic doo-dad tools than any other YTer I'm aware of. And that's a good thing! Wish your shop was in my AO: I've got a couple issues with my 2006 GMC Sierra 1500 that I'd love to have you examine. Your customers are fortunate to have access to your knowledge and skills!

[@brettsuydam7457]

Had some fun chasing this on my rig recently. Was the trailer not the car but a test light helped me figure it out!

[@jamesu]

Oh yeah, Good morning!

[@oscarjones5773]

Enjoyed learning about copperhead road. Thank you

[@lvsqcsl]

I have used an adapter from a 7-pin to a 4-flat connector. Without looking, sometimes I have tried to force the 4-flat the wrong way. The ground usually pops the fuse; don't ask me how I know that. However, you had multiple fuses blown here, Eric. I would say likely this is a wiring issue on the trailer. GREAT VIDEO!

[@TheEnthusiastMechanic]

Not green but still mean and broken😂😂..... I just dealt with this same issue on a GM truck always fun and great video!

[@GunfighterWyo]

Steve Earl, Copperhead Road, and the Devil's Right hand. Great Stuff! Keep up the great videos. Love the trailer brake explantion.

[@brianpedersen3439]

Fortunately, we don't have electric trailer brakes on cars in Denmark, (and the whole of Europe I think) it's only mechanical, it doesn't always work either

[@geoffmolyneux9173]

Your trailer hot all the time wire should be on a relay that turns on when engine is running. That way your trailer will not drain the starter battery.

[@major__kong]

The bulb is a purely resistive load. The electric brakes are electromagnets, which are inductive loads. Maybe ECUs can tell the difference.

[@45AMT]

Thanks Eric! Now I got Copperhead road stuck in my head LOL!

[@user-yw6ei8yt4q]

Better than a lot of songs you can have in your head.then you have to hurry and listen to another song that you don't mind having in your head. I went through that a!ot.

[@NoName-zn1sb]

Laughing Out Loud!

[@keithstroud2908]

Steve Earl made a ton of good stuff!! New stuff I’m not a huge fan of but him and the Dukes were awesome!

[@JERRYRIG432]

After you said Copperhead road I stopped your video and went KZbin to hear it, it brings bake late 80s memories. thanks

[@KStewart-th4sk]

@@keithstroud2908 Back when Steve Earle had a drug problem. Saw him on Austin City Limits more than once and he never disappointed. Today's ACL i can't stand the majority of the time. They have gone completely away from the original.

[@douglasburford8452]

After using my utility trailer, which I had purchased new, several times I began to have problems. First the right signal and brake application illuminated all trailer lights but left signal was normal. I disconnected and checked all circuits, everything normal. Used the trailer again, everything normal. Pulled it 250 miles, all good. Return 250 mile trip, nothing good. Disconnect and check all circuits, no problem found. Next time to use the trailer, no problems. Hook up to go. A couple miles down the road used turn signal. Blown RT fuse. Now we are getting somewhere. I pulled the harness from the split loom, holy cow. Fully 1 inch of bare wire of all 4 leads before the splice to the trailer cord. As long as the cord was not twisted it would work properly but as a twist was put in during connecting and disconnecting the wires would cross.

[@kens.3729]

Brother-in-law recently bought my 2001 GMC Sierra which I purchased New in 2001 with Tow Package, etc. Harness and everything else worked like Day 1. 👍🙏

[@jblyon2]

GM sure learned from that mistake!

[@brianwebb6310]

Your videos are never silly.They show how to diagnose and fix faults properly.Maybe apprentice training facilities should get their students to watch your videos on fault finding in the real world,rather than just in a class situation.They would learn more this way.

[@ericsolomonrent]

Sweet little 66 ,guitar town, and many other great songs

[@samheumann5640]

Once again, I learned something - thanks Eric.

[@RL-xb4gz]

Did mine last year but this was really informative

[@quentinvanderpool8951]

Hey man, thanks for putting out so many good videos. Your older ones explaining your process to a younger tech like myself have really helped me understand the electrical diagnostic process. Thanks for being an amazing teacher Eric.

[@RenegadesGarage]

South Main Auto.. Another great video as always Eric except for the end. No "if I can do it, you can do it".. Also Copperhead Road is an awesome song!

[@edwardcarberry1095]

For cleaning the small machine screws for terminals, a tooth brush in either metal or brass works well for cleaning.

[@daveyio87]

I use the EL-52641 to test the trailer coonections. I purchased my own years ago because it wasn't an essential tool shipped to dealers. I like the tool you have for showing the brake force. The gm tool will show it by slowly lighting the led from dim to bright.

[@mikechiodetti4482]

Checking for the trailer brake, I used a stop lite bulb or an 1156 backup bulb. I think the GMC's we had in the fleet were 2012's and a test lite ot 1156 bulb worked for the trailer brake. Also tried a jumper wire to the ground pin and the trailer brake pin. Barely pushed the brake pedal and the dash indicator said trailer brakes applied. Good one Mr. O.

[@JeffWinter1]

When you say Hallelujaher, I always think of Clark Griswold after his tirade about the festive season.😂

[@dnlmachine4287]

Hallelujah....... HOLY SH*T!!!! So much win. Stay gold.

[@hahaha12345678993]

classic hot air intake got me spitting up my drink. i need to be careful ingesting food while watching, those one liners can get ya

[@davidmcclain5180]

NOT nonsense. Thanks for the video.

[@jeffbeard395]

Excellent video.... thank you. I have a 2013 3500HD. I fiddled with that thing for a week. I looked for your green monster friend, and fixed several other problems but never got the brake controller to work, even with new GM parts. I ended up putting an aftermarket controller it. Augggg GM sometimes 😢

[@stephenw2992]

Separate trailer fuses are great. Remember putting on my indicator and lost most of the instrument cluster. I assumed it was a trailer fault. Turns out a bolt holding one of the lights on had falled off and the light swinging from side to side wore the insulation off the indictor wire behind the light, so it shorted onto the mudgard.

[@rhare7353]

Wow Eric you got all the cool toys to troubleshoot, I thought that I was doing good with my simpson 260 when I up graded to a fluke 87 dmm and a test light.

[@TheCatMan777]

Smart man! Yes dear. You're right.

[@threeputtpar6927]

My name's John Lee Pettimore Same as my daddy and his daddy before...

[@ScottytheSatanist666]

Omg… copperhead road… my daughter was an absolute nightmare when she was born… held her like a football and had to listen to that song… over.. and over.. and over… and over… and OVER… idk what it was about that awful song… but I hate it now 😂🤣😂🤣

[@dougnorton5143]

Mrs. O straightened him out! 🤣🤣

[@lonwillis783]

Thanks Eric you’re an asset. Thank You

[@SeanONeill13]

*you’re

[@NoName-zn1sb]

you're an

[@michaelskinner896]

I don't have a trailer or even a way to haul one if I did, but this was interesting and enjoyable. There's always little bits of info to absorb.

[@markdevlin8471]

That feeling when you plug some diagnostic thing in... and..nothing 😅

[@jackedwards7420]

Yep, was listening to his greatest hits yesterday!! You can find anything on KZbin!

[@RobertHendrickson-c5y]

Work on RVs for 30 hrs. Bultd a set of 4 brake magnets with 7 way plug to test and set braking power. Testers let me down to many times.

[@mrpiccolo23]

Not directly related to the video, but I just watched Scotty do a wheel bearing on a Toyota Matrix and brake job/pad slap on a Rav4. I just can't take the guy seriously anymore after watching Eric O. do a couple of brake jobs and wield Thor's hammer against the rust. Scotty must be feeling the heat from ol' vic!

[@dans_Learning_Curve]

Haven't watched him in years!

[@motorcoachtech7615]

Eric have you ever used a product called ‘Lode Pro’ for checking out circuits? It’s used with a multimeter, and you can put a ‘load’ on the circuit by pushing a button, similar to using a headlight to test . Works good.

[@dminter1234]

I switched to a prodigy wireless brake controller a few years ago. i love it, no wiring to mess with.

[@kay110]

LED load is only around 10 to 20mA max, so very low indeed. Another interesting video Eric thank you...

[@throttlebottle5906]

they may have loading resistors in the tester to help it not false trip controllers.

[@PetesProjects0]

I like Copperhead Road, good call!

[@ronkennedy213]

Eric and Ivan. The two top guns.

[@logansmith3396]

Finding a tool to test trailer brakes usually involves me wandering around looking for a known good trailer 😅

[@repete2362]

went to work for a different oil well service company . looking around the back yard every piece of equipment was on a trailer not one trailer had the pig tail on the cord all torn off.

[@steveloux4709]

I for one appreciate your, "silly video". I did not know that the newer stuff integrated with the ECM. Thank you.

[@peterbenson3776]

Sometimes trailer wiring is a pain. I just rewired my utility trailer and hardwired the grounds all the way forward to the connector

[@CRobertTv]

hey Royalty Auto Service gave you good Rep about the search bar on the reader !! love this channel as well.

[@michaelcarinci536]

I’ve been watching you for years. I live in Oneida County and I gotta tell you every time you refer to NYS as the People’s Republic of New York, I laugh till I cry. And now you reference Steve Earle’s copperhead road, I just may have to unsubscribe to everyone else on my KZbin account. Keep up the good work

[@snoopdogie187]

My guess is that the truck is checking the trailer is pulling enough current, but your trailer circuit tester isn't setup to place a load as much as it is looking for power. The little leds on that isn't pulling a lot of current. This is why the 4 amp test light works, its pulling enough current as a small trailer. If they make a second version of the tester, it can be set up like a miniature battery tester to pull some current, which would also be better for checking wire integrity.

[@dlewis9760]

Smart truck owner. Checking it out when hooking the trailer up would have resulted in a bad day.

[@I_Am_Your_Problem]

They tried.. it didn't work. They took it to Eric...

[@jpetersson6165]

Maybe the newer modules can detect a resistive load on the brake circuit and will only function if it detects an inductive load? Just a thought

[@jrehtil1494]

Good job Mr O

[@doctorjohn-burgtekie]

Something different for the viewers taste, thanks Eric.

[@davidthomits544]

Just make sure the repair is good enough for high score at the truck show

[@gogmorgoaway]

Trailer brakes are very standardized components that have a specific resistance range and pull a specific current. If the computer's seeing anything else it's not going to be happy. The only way I've managed to get them to work properly is with a diy test rig with actual brake magnets on it.

[@ChristopherEisele]

I've been in data communictions for almost 30 yers. First, you said "gen"; welcome to tech. Second, watching what you and some of the other youtube channels do with respect to modern cars and can busses, etc. It is what we did on physical layer cabling many years ago. What you do is not terribly different from how we troubleshoot some types of problems, even today. A CAN buss with terminating resistors is exactly the same as the first generation of ethernet and starlan, which ran over RG58U coax cable with terminating resistors. (it is still used today for wifi management,some network management and wireless radio). You're a techie!

[@goingjag]

AppleTalk over twisted pair with those crazy loops in the wiring closets, the old days.

[@Tsnor150]

Not just the physical layer. Compare the commands used on the bus to the old Hayes modem command set.

[@pdirv]

I too have used that tool for some time. They are currently up to "9107B" or "3rd gen". Every time there is an update, the only thing they seem to report is that there were updates done for "newer model vehicles". However, it's been my experience that there has to be more than that because I've run into quirky issues on a fairly narrow selection of vehicle manufacturers that I typically deal with, yet an updated version of the tool doesn't have that issue. The first time I chalked it up to maybe the unit just being worn out, but I feel quite certain that they get feedback on issues and it gets rolled into the next version on top of the "newer model vehicle" updates. I mention this because you have the 9107A it looks like.

[@alexandercahoulan6583]

He posted this video 7 hours ago right now and he has 50k views. Holy sh**. I hope Eric remembers how much we all LOVE his channel. On some bad/dark days hopefully he remembers this….

[@Thecrazyvaclav]

lol at Eric telling mrs O you can’t fit a 6mm hole on a 8mm stud, then puts it over a 8mm stud and it fits, 11:50

[@dgreen8388]

I came here looking for this comment 🤣

[@KStewart-th4sk]

Dig your heels in, it will go. LOL