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your truck and your boat wiring? I have corrosion in the female connection and since the holes are so smaller it is hard to get anything in there to clean the corrosion out. In the past I have made a few scratches in the holes and it was enough to make a connection but the problem isn't solved and needs to be done the next time I hook up the boat. I need some thing like a small wire brush but I have never seem one that small, anyone got any ideas? I realize that if needed, I can replace the plug.
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I just use WD40 on all electrical connections .
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Get vacuum grease.
[url "http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Avacuum%20grease"]http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Avacuum%20grease[/url]
WD40 will dry out so you would have to use it every time.
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Dremel makes a 3/16" grinding bit that I think would work . If you don't have a dremel tool . I think a drill would work .
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You ought to be able to clean it up by folding some emery paper over a popsicle stick or some thing similar. Use some dielectric grease after cleaning.
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Just squirt a couple drops and you should be good to go.
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Thanks everyone for the ideas, hopefully I can get it cleaned up but so far no luck. I'll try one more time tomorrow and if I can't get it to work, I'll replace it.
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I tried dremels, emory cloth rolled up tiny, tooth picks, brass brushes, etc. None worked for me. However this did:
[url "http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=crc+qd+electronic+cleaner&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=13993343147&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13025887073751989853&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_5je5xuatpg_b"]CRC Electric Cleaner Link[/url]
After I got it cleaned, then I used the di-electric grease. It has never corroded since then. The cleaner took off the corrosion just like carb cleaner takes off grease. Spray on, scrub lightly with tooth brush, rinse with more cleaner. Coat with di-electric grease. You are done!
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That will work, have you ever bought that product locally? I usually use baking soda and water to remove the corrosion but this time it did not work, I have tried all the methods you and others have mentioned to get the corrosion out, except the drill bit. I was just hoping someone had seen a brush small enough to fit in those small contact holes.
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Dremal makes several brushes and bits that will fit the small holes . The problem is they cost all most as much as a new plug .
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I finally figured out what was wrong. I guess when I was using the wire brush the other day, I must have shorted out the fuse for the light. My Ranger has separate fuses for the trailer plug and the main signal lights but for some reason it also has separate fuses for the left and right sides. Well I checked the fuse for the side that wasn't working and it was good but after checking the wire color, I noticed that the wire in the fuse box going to that fuse was the wrong color, so I checked the fuse for the opposite side and that was blown. Since I did not have a Dremal I tried a drill bit and it worked better than I thought it would. Once I got the power to the plug I went ahead and put some die electric grease in the pin holes, hopefully no corrosion will be in there next time. Thanks everyone for the help.
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Curt,
Try a 22 cal. bore brush. Kinda mash the bristles down with a pair of pliers then be sure to TWIST it in & out with a pair of pliers or Vise Grips. If ya don't really twist it, it'll get jammed and you'll wind up replacing the whole shebang
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Good idea Tom, thanks for the suggestion. I ended up using a drill bit but even then it did not work. It was nice and shinny but I still was not getting power to the left hand light. I decided to run a second ground and the lights came on nice an bright, but after cleaning up the ground surface on the trailer, all I could get was a dim light, I figured it would get a good ground through the trailer hitch and it did as soon as I moved the trailer, the lights started to work nice and bright but when I came back from fishing they did not work again[mad], what is the deal with this thing[crazy]. I really do not see I have any other choice but to replace the harness or at least part of it. By the way, I know some people disconnect their light plug before they launch their boat, I wonder if that could be the problem[:/].
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check for a clean ground between the tail lights and the trailer and the pickup and trailer
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That was exactly what I did Don but it was still having problems, so I took off all the convoluted tubing that goes from the trailer plug up inside the the channel that runs to the left and right lights. I thought maybe the ground was broken but could not see any obvious problem, so instead of putting the tubing back in place, I slide the tubing all the way down the channel, thinking maybe the wiring had rubbed through the insulation in that area. That fixed the problem, at least so far. I got a new wiring harness when I put LED lights on the trailer, so if worse comes to worse and it happens again, I'll just replace the harness. Thanks everyone for your help.
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