Chinook RV

Do the overcab little lights work? When I had the problem the running tail lights didn't work, but the brake lights did. So.. I'm confused what could be going on for you.

Yes the cab lights are working for me. I have a single assortment of fuses below the steering wheel not the tidy two row that another poster mentioned that the concourse has in addition to the regular econoline box. (Mine does have the heated/cold cup holders.

I should mention there is not a single 7.5 amp fuse anywhere below the drivers or under the hood. Is it possible I am just not seeing the other fuses down there?

A few photos of under th steering wheel.

I also just noticed that there is a 5 amp (buss? I am not sure of the proper name).

I opened it and found no fuse. Could these be part of the problem.

Pictures attached

Welcome, Ttown!

I don't think I can tell what year/model Chinook you have. If you could put that in your signature it would be handy (you can also put it in your profile but if it's in your signature we can see it in each post handily).

That red fuse block in your photo is the official Ford block. There should be another Chinook-added block in front of it (meaning toward the rear of the coach). Basically right in front of your left shin while you are driving. It looks like so:
As you have probably read, Chinook used the Ford-provided trailer tow wiring (which Ford runs to the inside/rear of the driver's side framerail) to also power the Chinook tail and running lights.

Not sure this is your problem, but since you are showing a photo of the Ford fuse block (which doesn't contain the 7.5 amp fuse in question in the upper left slot), I thought I would mention it.

Here is the diagram for that block - I think this is from the 2000 manual but they didn't usually make radical changes. Click once or twice to enlarge.
On the empty fuse holder (that style holds the oblong/cylindrical glass fuses). I see a label to the left; any clue? I also wonder if it might be for an electric step if you have one (but I doubt it as people who have electric steps often can't find the fuse). Absent any other info I would guess an owner added CB or something of that sort (that was removed).

Thanks for the welcome and your help. I believe it is a 1998.
I just checked now and I can’t find that other fuse box. I will attach a picture so you can get a sense of it. I did find another group of wires
That don’t appear to be connected to anything (is that black small plastic box with the wires running to it a relay?) that picture is also below.

As to the tube fuse I will have to see about that.

Okay, well mine is a very early 1999, so they should be pretty much the same. Oh but wait, I don't see that auxilliary fuse block called out in the 1998 manual. Aha!? Maybe that fuse block didn't exist in 1998? Anyone?

I will say that the way Chinook ran the taillight wiring was not one of their more brilliant moves, IMO. If someone had trouble with it (which they may have if they towed a trailer with lots of incandescent lights), they might have changed something.

So here is how it goes originally in my early 1999 (and I think thereafter). Yours may not be like this but I wouldn't be surprised if it is similar...or a similar concept.

1) Ford provides a wire run that terminates in a pair of connectors (one brown, one black) and is intended to run trailer lights only. The brown connector has the normal basic four trailer wires (tail, turn/stop left, turn/stop right, ground), and Chinook used these to do TWO things (not just the one Ford intended).

1a) Chinook used those four wires to power a "four way flat" trailer connector that comes stock on the Chinook (either hanging down near the spare tire or tucked up in the driver's side frame rail near the back).

1b) (Where it starts to get weird) they ALSO used those same four wires (Y-ed them off) and passed them up through the Chinook floor just outboard of the "tire locker" (behind a removable wall) and used them to power the taillights and the marker lights and the brake lights (what could possibly go wrong).

1c) Of course let's provide a fuse because this could easily get overloaded and you can't predict what someone will hook up (like my cargo trailer with something like 28 incandescent bulbs for the running and tail lights). And let's put that fuse on the fuse block up by the driver. Oh hey, how are we going to get to that? I know, let's take the really skinny wire Ford provided, add ANOTHER really long skinny wire up to the fuse block, and then ANOTHER long skinny wire back to the rear (not a good idea in case I haven't made my opinion clear ).

2) Chinook also used one of the wires from Ford's black connector to power the backup lights on the Chinook. The other two wires on that connector are unused but are intended for electric brake and general power for trailer connectors that have more positions than the 4-way flat one does.

So let's say you are me and although you have trailered no problem numerous times but now you hook up said cargo trailer with the multitudinous running lights. Well, you soon find out that you have no trailer lights, and no Chinook taillights. Swell! Then you don't think about that marker light fuse (cause why would you), and you spend some quality time lying on the ground under the rig in a busy rest area at night.

Long story short, that's when I found the long wires back and forth and figured out the problem. The wires run up and back alongside the driver's side frame rail in a black "ribbed" loom. They then go through the driver's side footwell (under the black plastic Ford "grippy liner" part) and to that fuse block to the 7.5 amp fuse labeled "marker lights."

I switched my trailer lights over to LED (which I wanted to do anyway) and that solved the problem because there was no longer too much amperage being drawn (LED's take much less power). But if someone had this problem some years ago, when LED was less common, they might have changed it to work with the incandescent lights. Also Chinook might have done it differently without those fuse blocks.

So what would I do in your place?

A few options, in the order I would do them:

1) Obviously, poke around in that area under the steering wheel and see if anything makes sense. But it looks like it's unclear.

2) Look underneath where the driver's side frame rail ends and see if those Ford connectors are there and where the wires go. I have a 1997 Camper Kit brochure and it shows the same connectors, so I'd bet that was the same in 1998 (see below).

3) Remove the black grippy footwell liner on the driver's cab side and see if a pair of wires (both positive) run through there together from aft in black loom.

4) Remove the left (driver's) side wall of the rear "tire locker" and look over to see where the taillight wires come up (probably last step since I don't think Chinook would have buried a fuse in there).

BTW, do you have a Premier (rectangular windows) or a Concourse (parallelogram windows)?

Here is what those connectors look like:

I have the the concourse! This sounds like a bit too much fun. There are a few wires hanging near the hitch. It seems like the the previous owner installed a four pronged connector to hook up to trailer.

Tell me what I will be looking for as I seek out the wire? Breaks? A fuse etc. on the electrical diagram that was folded With the other vehicle documents it shows from the fuse box under hood that the 30amp circuit for taillights has a breaker (or what I think is a breaker, it’s a sudden gap on the drawing) located about midway from the box to the rear.

Can you post a photo of that diagram? I'm not sure I can visualize it. Not that I don't want to describe what to look for, but it does sound like the '98 might be a bit different, and I don't want to steer you wrong.

I'm guessing Chinook did use the Ford trailer circuit for the taillights, but the fusing and wiring may be different. I bet we can still suss it out though

BTW, on my '99 (which is a '98 Ford chassis) the "big" fuses that are under the hood near the driver's side headlight don't control the Chinook trailer/tail lights (even though Ford labels them as such). Or rather I should say they were never involved in the usual problem (I'm sure it's possible, but wouldn't be my first guess).

Unless you are saying that Chinook put their fuses there too?

I'd like to see that diagram!

BG

PS: Looking more closely at that second photo you posted, I do seem some suspicious looking wires/fuses. Some cut wires and electrical tape lower down, then that red blade fuse a bit higher up. Hmmm....

Do you have a trailer you can hook up (or a meter). I'm curious if your trailer lights also don't work.