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June 4th
The Jeep was brought out of the garage and taken on a short drive to fill up with fuel. We had a Jubilee event on June 5th and needed fuel for that, plus it would leave it ready for other events coming over the next few weeks. The fuel trip and Jubilee event were only the second and third outings for the Jeep this year. While the Jeep was out of the garage, it gave me the opportunity to do some tinkering with the trailer. Later this month, we'll be taking the Dodge to an event where we are camping for the weekend. For that, I wanted to tow the trailer behind the Dodge. |
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Getting the trailer out wasn't quite so easy as normal. With the GPW up on axle stands, it was in the way and wouldn't roll, to allow the trailer hitch to clear the rear body. I had to drop the GPW down off the stands and move the back end over towards the Dodge to give me the space I needed. The first job was to change the registration. The registrations are very similar, with only four digits between the M201 and Dodge. I just have the numbers to alter with a bolt on plate. Next, all the 24 volt bulbs were removed and some 6 volt bulbs were fitted. It was connected up to the Dodge, but with very little glow resulting from the bulbs. | ||
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The other bulbs in the Dodge are LEDs, as the original 6 volt tail, brake and indicators were very dim for modern roads. I think the resistance difference between the Dodge LEDs and trailer conventional bulbs, plus voltage loss through the trailer plug and longer cables was causing the dim glow. I've ordered some additional 6v LEDs and will give that a go in a few days time. |
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June 9th
On the 7th and 8th, the new LED bulb replacements arrived, so later on the 9th, I got the Jeep back out, followed by the trailer. That was pulled around to the back of the Dodge once more. The new LEDs were fitted and the trailer plug connected to the Dodge and the lights turned on - which were dim and flickering. Hmmm? On a hunch, I suspected a poor
earth was causing the trouble. The jump leads were pulled from the locker
and clamped onto the Dodge tow hitch and the trailer towing eye, creating a new
earth connection. The lights were turned on again and instantly, nice bright lights! |
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| The wires in the trailer plug and socket were connected as they should be, so I cleaned all the earth terminals on the trailer, but it gave no improvement. On the Dodge, the earth wire from the socket disappeared into the Dodge wiring harness and I've no idea where it went from there or where it was connected to the chassis. Rather than waste hours trying to chase where it went to, I made a temporary jumper wire from the white trailer socket wire to the Dodge chassis to make a new earth. Nothing shorted, though I didn't expect it to as the white wire was the earth wire. That solved the problem so I made a permanent connection from the Dodge chassis to the trailer socket earth wire. | |||
| With everything working properly, the light covers were screwed back on and everything put away. The last pictures show the covers off, the tail light and indicator and finally the brake light. |
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