Question about trailer lights

...you accidentally became mechanic ..

 

Sometimes you have to wiggle the plug just right to get good contact on the electric connectors. They get loose or get dirty

 

If the pins in the trailers pigtail socket have a slot down the middle, take a thin bladed screw driver or a blade from a razor knife and slide it in the slot of the pins and gently spread them just a little. Don't get too agressive, they break if you try to spread too much.

 

You might not have fuses that pop and die. Instead you may have breakers that trip when needed and reset and reactivate after the ground or resistance has been reduced.

If the breaker is tripping because an exposed wire was occasionally grounding out it will go out for a while until it's stops grounding and the light will return. You should definitely inform your employer of the issue and have them get it looked at.

 

Buy some electrical contact cleaner, a 7 way wire brush made by Grote and clean your connectors and reapply dielectric grease.
Connections do get corroded and make bad connections.

 

I carry a little “control driver” screwdriver to spread the pins in the trailer socket a bit. That usually cures the kind of woes you describe. When you open the weather cover on a trailer socket look in there and you’ll see the part line in the 2 pieces of the pins. Be careful when you spread the pins, if you break one side of the pin off you just made your problem worse.

 

YES, Spreading The Pins A Wee Bit Helps Tremendously!!

There USED TO BE An Electrical Spray Available At T/A,....still is?
It WORKED WELL To Dissolve Accumulated Electrical Goo In Pigtails (Dirt, Dust, Other).
Don't Recall The Name But It Was In Repair Shop Building/Office,
>>Or Just Get Electrical Contact Cleaner<<.

 

An old Company Drivers trick is to unplug the pigtai from the Truck. Inspect for corrosion. Dip each end into the fuel tank. Plug it back in. Another problem that’s common, is the Trailer socket gets worn, especially if it’s plastic. A piece of cardboard, preferably a thin piece of plastic ( lasts longer) wedged between the pigtail and socket, on the top, as you plug it in, so it fits tight sometimes works.

 

Good idea. Make those fuel filters do their job.
Really, if the contacts are corroded there's something called Contact Cleaner that is used to clean parts.