Dim lights - bad earth?

[Amanda_374322865]

Me again - you guys are just so helpful I keep coming back for more!

Sorted out the towing electrics but the lights are very dim - have been told this is due to a bad earth. Does this mean a bad connection and where on earth would I find this connection in the van?

Cheers.

 

[ThePlotter]

If it is the main earth it is often a fairly heavy duty wire (maybe yellow and green) fastened to the chassis under the van usually near the front.

 

[Robtel]

Hi Amanda,

from your previous posts I'm not sure whether you are running on Mains or battery power ( the van that is not you personally )

If on battery, is it fully charged?

Robert

 

[Amanda_374322865]

Firstly, thanks for advice on earths, off to look for that!

The lights I'm on about are the brake lights, side lights etc on the back of the van, not the internal ones. The indicator lights seem fairly bright but the others are so dim you can barely see them tho you can see the filiaments are lit up on the bulbs (this is only if you stand on one leg and squint tho - )

 

[Amanda_374322865]

I'm not running on any power at the moment (need more tea!) - the van incidentally is only hooked up to the car!

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Amanda,

Many people talk about the "Earth" on a 12 volt car or caravan system, but they don't mean that really - they mean the electrical return path to the battery.

And on a 12 volt system - there's loads of places that corrosion or loose connections can rob the system of power and reduce the voltage across the bulbs.

The corrosion or loose connection can be in the live feed or the return. But if all your lights are equally "dim", then because the return is shared, that would affect all the lights equally and would seem to be the cause of your problem.

Trace the return wiring back to the caravan connector, clean and check each connector you find on the way - if they are push-fit connectors, pull back and brush clean (old toothbrush might work for you) and protect with a smear of vaseline - other connectors may need a spanner to undo.

But the important thing is to make sure the connectors make good metal to metal contact - and that there's no a layer of gunge between.

Lastly, don't forget the return feed in the 12N caravan plug and car socket - these are exposed to the worst of the weather and easily crud up - especially inside the plug and socket if the rubber boot is a bit loose.

Robert

 

[Amanda_374322865]

Hi,

Have just put new sockets/plugs on both the car and caravan so shouldn't be that. Will go and follow the path of the wiring - as the lights are on the back of the van and go internally - won't that be hard?

 

[Amanda_374322865]

Thanks for all the info. Tried following the wires and found a real 'hotspot'. The wires were crimped together under a mass of tape so fitted a block instead and tail lights came on but indicators stopped. Anyway, much fiddling later, it all works and no more hot spots, so all is fixed. Until the next problem...........