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Old 12-12-2009, 06:54 PM   #1
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7 wire plug falling out

Hi Fellow Towing Sunliners

The topic of the 7 wire plug falling out has come up in another one of my posts. And since it was sort of off topic in that one, I created a new one here so folks may find this in the future as this problem may be larger then those reading about Brake wiring upgrades.

Maybe one of our moderators can move some of these good responses over here to keep them togehter and we can get more feed back. Moderators see here, start on bottom of page 1. Brake wire upgrade

Mine my be unique or it’s a later model Ford thing on the Super Duties. Seems SunlineFans dad's new F450 has a similar issue. My 7 wire has wiggled out 3 times on this truck. Not good. Fortunately it was when we where going slow and in a campground. It may have been the turning put more flex in it to unhook electrically. But it did not fall out. But no brakes none the less.

I saw PTHutch used an O ring on his GM. He had a pic of it some time ago up here on the forum. Don’t know why exactly what promted him to use it but it sparked and idea for mine. Here is the setup and issue.

Here is the plug with the door over the 7 wire lug that is suppose to prevent the fall out.


And here is how I quickly over came the issue. I have a bunch of these really heavy twisty ties that come on garden hose. I have some in the camper for doing temporary holding things. Like holding a spring loaded faucet on etc. They have 2 wire threads embeded in plastic.

I twisted one on the 7 wire cord so it always stays there. Then I go around the cap and the 7 wire plug to the door so it cannot come out with out brute force.




Since the truck is the issue I have them on both my TT’s. So far the twisty has solved the issue. And it lasts about 1 year. I’m on my second one now. Long term I need of find something a little better or get a supply of these things.

Kitty mentioned a velcro strap. That has possibilities. Don’t know about dirt build up in the Velcro but should work until them.

When I had my GM Suburban, this was never an issue. The spring held it. But this Ford is not so strong. Even the fit in the Ford socket is more loose. You really have to push hard to get it to stay in.

If you are towing with a Hensley hitch and the 7 wire comes out, this is an issue. It’s and issue regardless but it esculates the problem a notch as the hitch can swing around when the truck stops and the TT does not. Even on the conventional hitch no brakes is not good, especially with a heavy TT like I have.

Just passing this along in case some one else has the problem. And if you have the problem, how did you get out of it?

John
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Old 12-12-2009, 07:46 PM   #2
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John,

I had this issue once before. It seemed as though the spring was unable to hold the plug in place. It turned out, that the terminals inside the TV end were spread apart too far. Not from each other, but from when they were folded against themselves. I squeezed them together a tiny bit and the trailer plug went in a bit further. Once I did that, no more problem.

Kitty's truck doesn't seem to suffer from your issue. The trailer plug always goes in tight and the spring loaded hatch keeps it secure.

Gary
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Old 12-12-2009, 08:09 PM   #3
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In the 3 years I had my truck, I've never had a problem. The plug goes in tight.
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Old 12-12-2009, 08:34 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EMD_Driver

It turned out, that the terminals inside the TV end were spread apart too far. Not from each other, but from when they were folded against themselves. I squeezed them together a tiny bit and the trailer plug went in a bit further. Once I did that, no more problem.

Kitty's truck doesn't seem to suffer from your issue. The trailer plug always goes in tight and the spring loaded hatch keeps it secure.
H'mm, well I had to squeeze tighten my terminals in the plug and spread in the receptacle as well as put some dielectric grease in it to stop the corrosion. I had no contact on the brake wire. Body lights worked but no brakes. Now, power goes thru right.

Mike should have the same thing I have on his 06. But SunlineFans dads new truck seems to has a level of issue on his new one. Expect him to pop in soon with some comments.

Starting to think I new a new truck receptacle. I never liked the way it worked from day 1.

Thanks

John
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Old 12-12-2009, 11:19 PM   #5
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Here's my thinking on the issue with F-450's plug:

a) We've never had a brake loss issue, so it hasn't come out that much yet.

b) We haven't towed the fifth wheel with someone behind to know if the lights worked correctly the whole time or not. But, since the cord was coming from the pin box back over the tailgate, it had a low, but noticeable level of tension on the cord upward.

c) I'm wondering if the prongs inside the toy hauler's plug were a bit spread apart. Now that I think about it, I tightened up those prongs before plugging it in again. The picture I posted of the rubber band were of the trip to take it for winter storage, so the trailer had already been on the long trip with the prongs loose. I tightened the prongs and then added the rubber band just to be safe, because it had been raining and was going to continue to, so I didn't want to risk losing brakes or lights. I had no issues with it, though I didn't have anyone behind me to see if I ever lost a turn signal.

d) I am disappointed in the overall plug design. I'll admit it's better than the Excursion ones because the cover on 4 way plug on there is a real PIA. However, on the redesign for the F-450 and other SD's, they made the cover a side hinge. This way, the latch thing pulls against the plug and pulls it to the right, so I think the problem we had was it was actually too strong and it pulled the plug to the right, causing it to lose contact with the left side (180 degrees from the alignment bar, since this plug is turned sideways altogether). With a top hinged plug door, the weight of the cord sort of opposes this minor force or it will bounce back into the bottom prongs after going over a bump.

e) I have yet to use the four way flat plug, because the one time I wanted to use it, the 2.5-2 adapter wouldn't fit because the paint seemed to be too thick on the hitch. This was the first time I would have ever used the hitch, so the 2.5 draw bar wouldn't fit either...but that's another story. Fortunately the Excursion was right there, and though there wasn't that wonderful turbo sensation , it still did the job. I honestly don't think I've looked at the 4 way plug in much detail (I think I did the day we got it or the next day, which was back in September, but I haven't since. I think I remember seeing a very similar rubber type plug like on the Excursion, except inside the plastic door thing, so I think it'll work OK.

I honestly think the whole plug design, on both ends, is lousy, especially with the general locking method. If I weren't so concerned about compatibility with other trailers, I think the best thing to do would be to change the plug to one of those seven ways with the pins and holes (and metal housings), similar to those used on the big trucks.

On a side note, to answer your original moderator question John, I'm not sure if there is a way to move individual posts over to another topic. I can move whole topics to other forums, I don't think I can move anything else.

Jon
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Old 01-02-2010, 06:19 AM   #6
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had mine come unplugged back in the day when I towed with a durango,It came unplugged while coming down a big hill and had to make a hard left into the campground at the bottom of the hill,I barely got the rig slowed down enough to make the turn,but it was scary,ever since I wrap a mini bungee around the plug a lid and hook the two ends together.
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Old 01-02-2010, 06:39 AM   #7
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That story sounds very familiar Rich...

The day we picked up the 311, Kitty decided to take us a different route home. She wanted to avoid the traffic. The exit we needed to use, was at the bottom of a hill and the exit ramp was a very sharp curve. About 200ft from the get-off, Kitty's truck flashed a warning that the trailer had been disconnected. Without the fiver's brakes, I knew I wasn't going to get it slowed enough for the sharp curve.

I made a quick decision to use the first part of the ramp, to get to the shoulder on the other side of it. When I finally got the rig stopped, I found that the fiver's plug had come out of the new socket in the bed. Since I had my toolbox with me, I whipped out a zip-tie and put it back together.

When the weather gets a little better, I need to find out why a plug with no tension, or any real forces on it, failed on me. Not a good feeling!



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Old 01-02-2010, 08:57 AM   #8
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Rich and Gary

Thanks for sharing.

New plug or old plug I think I will still keep on using the heavy twisty tie until I find a better reusable tie wrapping.

In my case I think it is the stiffness of the 7 wire cord that does it. The load comes from just pivoting the stiff wire.

Just goes to show, we think thru these things and make sure we have everything right, but then reality snaps in and wamo the simple things can get ya.

Having your 7 wire plug fall out can make for a bad day.

John
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