Loose 7 Pin Connector

[Rookey]

I've been getting "no connection" messages on our new 5er. My truck has a Hopkins plug that worked great with our last 5er. I measured diameter of female end (Hopkins) and it is 1 3/4". Measured the male plug on 5er and it is 1 5/8". So I have 1/8" of play and it wiggles around when plugged in. Has anyone had this problem? I did notice mention of an EZ Plug but that's about it. Not sure which plug to replace. and how hard it is to replace the 5er plug.

[mlh]

Not hard. All the wires are color coded. Plug and play.
Lynwood

[RetiredSubVet]

Mine just started doing the same thing and this is one of the issues I have on the list for my dealer to look at. It started happening when going up hill only and then progressed to the brakes on the 5er turning off for a few seconds and then reconnecting. It was very intermittently occurring so the techs will have to look for it. The tech in the office seemed familiar with this problem because he indicated the pins on the male plug may be not being tight enough and losing contact. I do recall that the male plug went into the socket very easily!

[Eagleback]

I have had that issue also. If you get into a pinch and on the road and no way to fix it right away. Wrap the end with black electrical tape and it helps hold the plug in, at least until you get home.

[Rookey]

Hi all. Wanted to do a quick update on this problem. Finally got a male Hopkins plug from eTrailer to match-up to the Hopkins female plug harness that I put into the tow vehicle. First thing we found was that about 50% were a color match to the original plug on the 5er. The remainder required us to use a meter and schematic provided by eTrailer. Finally did our first trip to id any problems and found that the intermittent disconnect message is still happening between truck and 5er. Not sure where to go from here. One thing I will try is some tape around plug except I am wondering if it could be loose somewhere else. Plan on following wires from junction box in the 5er. Anyone else go this way? Thanks for any insight.

[hunts800]

If it's intermittent, may not be the plug. May be the brake wire which runs through the center of the axle. Several of us have had insulation wear off on the wire, and shiorts out intermittently when wire bounces around in there and the bare wire hits the axle. Cure is to have wire re-routed outside of the axle where it can be inspected. This happened on my 2010 model, took quite awhile to diagnose.

[Carl n Susan]

The intermittent "trailer fault" message is most like in the trailers brake system. A chafed wire inside the axle (as mentioned above) or a frayed wire in one of the brake shoe/drums. The right rear is notorious for this problem - don't ask me why. Do a Search on "trailer fault" or something along that line and you should find lots of other member's experiences.

[twindman]

I have read others have found the connection under the truck or bumper to be loose. And in my case I used to get it often (well once or twice a week when towing daily). In my case I think the connection 'prongs' in the truck or the plug were a bit dirty. I pretty much solved it by plugging the pigtail in and out 2 or 3 times before starting out each day. I had also tried the electrician stuff you can rub or spray on.

[Rookey]

Thanks for the ideas. Next time I get it out of storage and it's a little cooler, I'll look at the suggested options. We went to 49er RV Park in Plymouth and the road from Folsom is terrible (potholes, dips, etc). The disconnect error popped-up every time we went over bumps and dips.

[Rookey]

Originally Posted by carl n susan

The intermittent "trailer fault" message is most like in the trailers brake system. A chafed wire inside the axle (as mentioned above) or a frayed wire in one of the brake shoe/drums. The right rear is notorious for this problem - don't ask me why. Do a Search on "trailer fault" or something along that line and you should find lots of other member's experiences.

Hi Carl and Susan. Well it looks like you are the lucky winner. Brought the 5er home and the right rear was the first tire and drum I took off. The wire was worn to the metal, and was broken from the magnet connection. Inspected all others and they were good. Only one snap holding the wire and it was loose. I have a pic but not sure how to attach. Put back in storage and no more connection messages. Thanks again.

[DadsHemi]

That's what mine looked like