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Originally Posted by ripp1202
I would tell you to break the circuits down and start checking with a ohm meter to ground. I hope you find the issue then you will know what to replace.It will take time to find but I hope you get lucky
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You say that you lost the turn signals and brake lights. I take this to mean that you lost them on both sides - and also that the running lights, backup lights, etc, are still OK. Based on that assumption, let's do this.
Ripp is probably right - you may need to break the circuits down. I might suggest the following sequence of testing.
BEFORE YOU PROCEED, UNPLUG THE TM FROM THE TOW VEHICLE. UNPLUG SHORE POWER TO THE TM. AND DISCONNECT THE TM BATTERY. You want
no power anywhere in the TM before you start.
The tow vehicle connector has 7 contacts, so of course the cable that leads from the connector back to the TM has 7 wires. They are:
o Brown - right turn/brake light
o Red - left turn/brake light
o Green - running lights
o Yellow - backup lights
o Blue - electric brakes
o Black - battery charge line
o White - ground
If you care to, you can see the connector diagram
HERE. From the sound of it, your problem is with one of the first two circuits - brown or red - so we'll concentrate there.
First, remove the red lenses from the left and right stop/turn lights on the back of the TM. Remove the bulbs from their sockets, and peer around inside the fixtures. Do you see any sign of loose wires? Loose sockets? Heat/burn/scorch? Massive corrosion? If so, you have found your problem. If not, leave the bulbs out of their sockets, and continue as below.
In my 2002 2720SL, and I think in your '98 model, the cable from the tow vehicle plug is routed to a small box under the kitchen sink. Go under the kitchen sink and find the end of the black tow vehicle cord. Find the brown and red wires, expose their connections (just remove the wire nuts, but don't unravel the wires), and measure the resistance from each one to ground. Since the bulbs are still out of their sockets, the measured resistance should be very high. If one wire has a very low resistance to ground, that is the culprit. Recap the other connection.
The next question is whether the problem lies upstream (toward the tow vehicle) or downstream (toward the light sockets) from the junction. Unravel the connection to give you two ends, and measure the resistance from each of the two ends to ground. If you find a low resistance on the end that goes toward the tow vehicle, then your problem is up there, somewhere in the black cord or connector. In that case, you will need to replace the entire cord and connector. (Not too expensive, and easy to do - but not likely.) If you find a low resistance on the end of the wire going toward the light sockets, then your problem is down there. You need to follow the wire from under the sink to the light socket, looking for a pinch/corrosion/broken insulation that could result in a short.
Let us know what you find, and if more procedure is needed, we will do it.
BTW, what is your tow vehicle? And was the 7-pin connector on the bumper installed by the factory, or as an aftermarket item?
Bill