On the 2001 16' Scamp we just purchased the running lights come on when I turn on the headlights, however the rear tail lights do not come on. Anybody have any thoughts on that?
A further thought is whether or not LED lights would allow the brake and turn signals to work but not the tailights when the tow vehicle's lights are on. When I was picking up the trailer we could not get the regular filament bulbs to work. We spent an hour cleaning the contacts and checking out the wiring. Finally the seller grabbed a couple of LED lights and they worked. Don't have any idea why other than they draw less than the other bulbs and for some reason worked. But the LEDs do not light when I turn on the tow vehicle lights, but the side running lights, which are standard filament bulbs do.
On your 'running lights and headlights' question, have they ever worked properly, or is this the very first time you've hooked them up? What happens if you hit the brakes.....do the trailer brakes work, or does a turn signal come on? If this is the case, you'll simply need to do some troubleshooting with a test meter and re-wire the plug (usually the easiest route).
On the LED question......I don't have the answer, but will simply share that I replaced all my Scamp bulbs with LEDs and the exterior bulbs didn't work. I had to go back to the old-fashioned filament bulbs. The interior LED bulbs work fine. On a motorcycle forum, someone said that the LED bulbs don't draw enough current for the tow vehicle system to recognize that the bulbs are being energized. I don't have an idea on that, but know that it's not as easy as we'd hope!!
Safe travels!
piperjim
Thanks for the comments. I solved the problem by switching out the LED lights, which worked for the brakes and turn signals, but not the tail lights, by getting an LED that I knew had the equivalent of two filaments. I thought the LEDs I was using did, but wasn't sure because I didn't buy them. The new ones work fine.
Gene Spinner
Grand Junction, CO
2001 Scamp 16'
Hi Gene,
Could you tell us the brand of the LED lights that did work, and the brand that didn't work?
Thanks,
Jim
These are the one's I put in my Escape 17 and they work great. Haven't tried them yet in the Scamp. They must be Red in order to show properly as well.
JDM ASTAR Super Bright AX-2835 Chipsets 1157 2057 2357 7528 LED Bulbs For Brake Lights Tail lights Turn Signal, Brilliant Red
Our Trailers:
2015 19 Escape
Buying or Selling Molded FG Trailers:
Fiberglass-RV-4Sale
Jim,
The bulbs that didn't work were installed by the fellow that sold us the trailer and I never saw the packaging so I don't know what brand they are. The ones that I put on are sold by a local RV dealer and were the only ones they had that were a replacement for the 1157 filament bulbs that were on the trailer orginally. They are distributed by a company called the Diamond Group whose website is www.dg-usa.com. Unfortunately is doesn't look like you can buy direct, but they list some online retailers. Their part number is 52624. These are white bulbs. I read a couple places, in addition to Greg's comments above, that red is better than white, but this was all I could find locally. I'll give them a try and if they don't perform well will use Greg's recommendation for the red ones.
Gene
Gene Spinner
Grand Junction, CO
2001 Scamp 16'
If those bulbs work on the Escape 17 shouldnt they work as well on the Scamp? As long as the numbers are the same on the original ones on the Scamp? We are wanting to put in new ones on the Scamp so those will be brighter in the back.We have already replaced the interior lights with LEDs,daylight bulbs and really like them
Launey and Earlene
Thanks Gene for that information. So many times those who say they are having problems with something don't follow up to say if or how they solved the problem, with our without advise. Greg those bulbs state they were made for brighter taillights and are a good price, so I ordered a set, thanks, as I would not have known what to look for. Also, I don't have Amazon premium to get free shipping, but was able to find the same ones on e-Bay for $18.99 with free shipping.
I have wondered why people changed the taillights to LED bulbs since you don’t need to conserve electricity as it is coming from the tow vehicle as you drive. I see now that they are used so that the taillights are much brighter than they are now.
They are pretty weak in my Scamp and am glad I am not following my camper in traffic. I had replaced all of the other bulbs with LEDs to conserve energy with my solar system, but just didn’t get it about why the taillights too.
This should be an easy changeout, but then we have all heard and said that before!.
Jim
so, lights were working fine. then I tried installing the above LED's, and they did not work so I took them out and put the old bulbs back in. now nothing works. there is power to the sockets, but no lights on on either side (tail,brake,blinker)
thoughts?? I'm supposed to be on the road thursday and really don't have time for a full re-wire, and would prefer not to have to put temps on (tacky :) )
Deb Staines
2016 16’, layout 4
'Rapscallion'
Deb, the only thing I can think of to recommend, if the wiring is good, is to file or sand the contacts on the old bulbs and the contacts on the socket to make sure there's no corrosion. Also, the sockets have springs that push the contacts out to make contact with the bulbs. Check to see if the springs are creating enough pressure to make good contact with the bulbs.
Gene Spinner
Grand Junction, CO
2001 Scamp 16'
thanks Gene!!
I ended up taking the car to U haul, who installed my hitch almost 2 years ago because I tried temp trailer lights and they also did not work. Car checked out fine and temp lights worked at the shop. So I picked up a new adapter. I was using a very old 6pin to 4 pin adapter. I picked up a new 6 pin to 7 spade adapter and that solved my problem. Likely a bad ground wire since we I was getting power to the sockets but they were not working.
Just call me a Happy Scamper again ;-)
And BTW, customer service at uHaul was amazing. Spent over an hour with my car and no charged the visit!!
Deb Staines
2016 16’, layout 4
'Rapscallion'
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