Trailer brakes lock up in reverse - PLEASE HELP!!!

[crwise2]

I have been reading many threads on this topic and would appreciate it if anyone could assist me. I would greatly appreciate it!

I just purchased a 2005 Stratos 285 Pro XL in March and the trailer won't reverse.

I have an 03 Ford Expedition FX4 Edition. The trailer brakes lock up when I put it in reverse and I have no running lights. I checked the correlating fuse and sure enough it was blown. I replaced the 20 amp fuse and the running lights came on and I could reverse. I don't make it more than 2 miles and I see that the lights are out. I try to reverse and they lock up. When I got home i checked the wires for any exposure or kinks. Sure enough the white (ground I think) was exposed. I wrapped in in elctrical tape and everything worked fine the next weekend I took it out. Well this past weekend the fuse blew again so I tried a 30 amp fuse. The 30 amp lasted about an 30 miles before it blew.

I read on another post that I may need a relay that doesn't come standard on some Fords. The problem however is I have called multiple Ford dealerships and none of them knew what I was talking about.

I also read to make sure all the ground connections are good and clean, this also includes the solenoid. So I checked all of those and this still happens.

I have been using a C clamp to prevent the pin from sliding up so I can reverse.

If anyone can help me I would greatly appreciate it. THANKS!!!

[CatFan]

When the fuse blows while you are going down the road, it's usually a bad spot in the brown wire feeding the running lights. It can be a pain to find it, but it takes no special skill, just a bunch of patience.

Start at the trailer connector and carefully examine for any kind of damage, particularly around the pins that have brown wires connected.

You may have one or two brown wires coming out of the connector. If there are two, there will usually be one with a green stripe and one with a brown stripe.

If you only have one brown wire, trace it back, looking at it closely wherever it goes in or out of the frame. Someplace near the back of the tongue there will be a junction where it turns into two wires. Check that junction very carefully.

Follow the wires down both sides of the trailer, removing every running light to inspect the wiring behind it. This tedious, and you need a good light and some patience.

Stick with whatever fuse is factory. You could end up rewiring your truck if you over fuse.

[billnorman1]

The bare white wire is supposed to be ground. It needs to be screwed to ground on the trailer. The blue wire is your back up solenoid. You do not want a 30 amp fuse in the circuit. If you have a broken bulb or shorted socket, among other things you can blow a fuse. If you are blowing the fuse for running lights you have a short in the brown wire circuit. The solenoid may have its own fuse, it works off the back-up light circuit. At least you know your brakes work. If you do not have a good ground your trailer won't back up, that's the white wire.

[crwise2]

Thanks for the advice. I will mess around with it tomorrow and report back. Thanks again!

[bassnman81]

My 03 F-150 came with a towing relay fuse replacement kit. It was in a sealed plastic bag under the seat. In order for the trailer to be backed up you had to replace this relay in the fuse box under the hood. My truck came with the tow package, but you still had to replace this relay, which didn't make any sense.