In case you are willing to wire yourself the trailer to your car and you notice that your trailer AFC converter turn signals blink together you should at first follow the steps mentioned here.
But what if the problem is the AFC converter and not the trailer nor the harness?
Here is the background of my story, the symptoms and how I identified the real cause of it.
But this post is rather about how to fix it because usually that's the hardest and most expensive part of it. As you are going to see it isn't always the case, though.
The short story in pictures:
- The Jaeger AFC 52400006 trailer module which made my day (I tested everything but the AFC. It was a brand new kit so I never thought it could be faulty):
- the problem was a faulty relay: 895-1C-C (just use a 9-12V battery and test the relay's coil terminals):
- the solution (find a replacement part; even an equivalent would do the job; a SRA-12VDC-CL seems to be a good candidate):
- the tools to fix it (just a soldering station, a soldering paste and a drop of Sn63-Pb37 aka Tin):
- remove the faulty relay (be careful not to burn the whole thing, right?):
- replace the faulty relay with the new relay (ignore the grease, it's just the soldering paste which should be removed by using some isopropyl alcohol C3H8O; here is why):
- the result (a brand new relay in place which hopefully will work this time):
- last but not least test the new relay:
- connect a 9-12V terminals to the relay's coil terminals; the relay should make a "click" noise which would prove that it works
- you should also check using a DMM the continuity between the diagonal terminals, one pair should have continuity the other should not
- this is just a quick test; for a more comprehensive test please watch this video
The cost can be quite cheap, less than half a buck. Literally!
However, due the fact that I needed that relay immediately I have to order it from Europe so I paid like $2 for 5 pieces (ie. $0.4/item) and $6+ for delivery.
The lesson learned: don't throw away the things that apparently don't work, just try to fix them! You might learn something new and nonetheless you might event like it.
Btw: don't try this if you don't know what you are doing. You could do more harm to your AFC than the Mother Nature.
@edit: now that you've fixed your AFC converter for literally $1 why don't you build your home made trailer light tester for less than $1?
Now, if you think that this article was interesting don't forget to rate it. It shows me that you care and thus I will continue write about these things.
Eugen Mihailescu
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