Here is a photo of the main wire. Trust me it is all spliced and correctly attached to the proper lights around the body of the camper. Notice that not only is this wire NOT threaded through the frame but it is actually wrapped around the frame. On the left near the end of the tounge, the wire is on top of the frame. On the right just before the wire disappears underneath the camper, the wire is underneath.
Photo evidence of idiocy
I unattached all the wires and spent the next hour looking for a sink snake I bought last year to unclog my bathroom sink. After an hour of emptying out bathroom and kitchen cabinets and turning my garage upside down, I found it laying in plain sight inside Frostbite. I then remembered that I had thought ahead realizing that I would need it to run the trailer wire through the frame when I first started goofing with the lights a month ago.
So much for planning ahead.
Now armed with the snake, running the wire through the trailer frame was an easy matter. I then reconnected all the wires and splices and was ready to test her out. I pulled out Bluebell intent on actually hooking her up to Frostbite this time. Yes, I did remember to remove the bunk support poles before doing this!
I hooked her up and plugged in the 4way plug between the camper and Frostbite.
Everything worked!
I dragged my wife outside to help me test. The running lights, blinkers, brake lights, hazard lights all worked perfectly. My wife went inside and I started to put the covers on the lights. Once the covers were on, I checked again. Everything looked good but I couldn't tell 100% that the yellow covered side lights were on. They were definately working before I put the covers on. I removed a cover and the bulb was not lit. I jiggled it some. Nothing.
I then noticed that all the running lights were out. I went inside Bluebell. The dash lights were out and the fog lights wouldn't work. Apparently, my $44 dollar fuse blew again. I checked fuses in Bluebell until, sure enough, I found the blown fuse. A 10-amp red one.
I didn't have any fuses but I figured I could just run up to AutoZone and get some. No, I didn't take the blown fuse with me.
At Autozone, I found a pack of 5, 10-amp, red fuses for $3.50. At the register I did have the foresight to ask if these fuses were standard sized. I was told that yes, they were standard sizes but there were 2 different sizes used. He pointed to the ones in my hand and said that there was another size fuse that looked just like that but were half the size.
The ones in my hand *seemed* like the right size so I was confident that I didn't need to look at the smaller ones. Surely the fuse wasn't THAT tiny. I would have noticed that.
Upon my return home, eager to replace the fuse, I realized that the fuses I had bought were about twice the size of what I needed. In fact, none of the fuses in Bluebell took the larger size.
Doh!
I couldn't return the wrong size fuses because I had already opened the package. No, I didn't bother to hold the unopened package up to the fuse box first to make sure it was correct. That is just not my style. I went back to AutoZone and found a 10-pack of the smaller fuses for $10. I did take the old burned out fuse with me this time but it wasn't really necessary since I had already lost the 50-50 bet.
With the new fuse inserted in Bluebell the problem was solved. However, I had already unhooked Frostbite so I didn't check those connections but I had, at least, located the $44 dollar fuse and replaced it with a $1 fuse plus I had 9 more to toy with as needed.
I am a bit concerned that it might have been too easy to blow that fuse. It could still be a ground issue as the tail lights I used did not have a ground wire since they claimed to be grounded to the frame via the screws used to attach them to the frame. The four side lights did have ground wires, However.
The chance of me doing something to blow the fuse by goofing with the light bulbs and wires when I was replacing the covers is great. If the fuse blows the next time I have Bluebell hooked up to Frostbite, I'll know that I have a problem and will address it then.
Until then, I can't know if this is the problem or if I even have a problem.
I can say that all the lights in Frostbite are wired correctly and are working. This is something that was not the case before I started goofing with it so this little project can be marked up as a completed improvement to Frostbite.
more tomorrow . . .
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