Moisture completed the circuit.

[geokeg]

This morning I looked out and had these lights illuminated on the Oliver.  They had came on sometime in the night without a tow vehicle hooked up or other input to make it happen.  I looked at the schematic in the owner's manual.  No clue there for a source of power except maybe at the plug.  We had a long soaking rain fall yesterday.  I looked at the plug, nothing obvious for water intrusion.  I whacked the plug a couple of times on the trailer frame and the lights went out.  For prevention I sprayed some WD40 into the plug to displace the moisture and will keep it covered from now on.

 

Darn plugs can be a problem with moisture and or corrosion.

[ScubaRx]

Apparently the short caused a back flow of power from your coach batteries. Probably would not happen again but this is a good example of all the strange and weird things that can happen. Sometimes it makes you want to pull what little hair you may still have on your head completely out.

[John E Davies]

I whacked the plug a couple of times on the trailer frame and the lights went out. For prevention I sprayed some WD40 into the plug to displace the moisture and will keep it covered from now on. Darn plugs can be a problem with moisture and or corrosion.

You really need to open up that plug for a look, WD40 is a bandaid fix. Rain water is non-conducting. What most likely caused your problem was corrosive crud building up on the terminals, like the white flowers you see forming on a neglected battery's terminals. You need to clean all the crud out, degrease the connections and then coat them  with a product that waterproofs them. I really like liquid electrical tape, but there are a bunch of choices.

 

Also seal the opening where the cable enters, even if it has a good rubber grommet. When the plug is allowed to hang straight down, water can't get into the pins, but it sure can trickle down the cable and seep into the interior.

 

In the bad old days there were plated steel female connectors for the tow vehicle. When those got water into the front side, they caused all sorts of problems when the growing rust from the housing spread to the live wires... fortunately they are now made with a nonconductive liner. I wonder who ever thought steel was an appropriate material for this application...?

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

[Mainiac]

Pure rain water in theory may be non-conductive. I personally would not try it with a live wire. A raindrop would not have to travel too far to pickup enough impurities to be quite conductive. If there is a chance that water might be able to enter a molded on plug through the cord end, which I would think unlikely, I would rub a little silicone adhesive on it. If the plug in end was dry, I would plug it in repeatedly, to shine the contacts. Then I would put some dielectric grease into the openings,(as a major vehicle manufacturer recommended when addressing the 'trailer disconnect' issue). I would change to an openable plug only as a last resort. There are so many more chances of moisture intrusion with them...

[topgun2]

While I do not disagree with any of the above, here is a product that will help keep dirt and rain/snow out of the plug:  At about $8.50 it is way expensive for what it is, but it does work.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AMON6HM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I attached a fairly short length of thin elastic cord to mine and when I disconnect from the TV I cap the cord and then place the elastic cord around the front jack.

 

Bill

 

[212Tolly]

We had the same thing happen during a rainy trip to Taos, NM.  Thought we had ghosts. Rain was in the plug. Bought a plug cover and now tuck cord inside a jack cover while we are out and about.

 

 

 

 

[Spike]

Here are three products that I have ordered from Amazon that, among other things, help protect the plug and its connection:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XYJVQ91/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AL8VD2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N48H8NB/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1