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Old 09-07-2006, 09:18 PM   #1
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1983 31' International
Belle Fourche , South Dakota
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Light Switches

My wife and I just bought a 1973 Overlander and are in the process of learning where everything is. As you enter the camper on the right (front) side there are two switches. The one nearest the door controls the outside light over the door. The one next to it controls nothing we can see and I assume it it for an inside light, but can't seem to find it. Any thoughts. Further forward there is an other switch that controls the outside spot light. Thanks. We learned a lot lurking and are anxious to get on the road a few times this fall before winter sets in.

Rick
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Old 09-08-2006, 01:33 AM   #2
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Rick,
Welcome to the forums!

On my 1975 that second switch is a three way that controls the light over the sink. I think on some other units it controls a different light. Hopefully someone with 1973 Overlander will let you know what theirs does...however there is no guarantee...

Aaron
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Old 09-08-2006, 05:53 AM   #3
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What Aaron said. Mine is still in pieces in the backyard, so I'll run check in a few minutes. The wall are still out, so I can trace the wire. But I recall that it goes to the lite above the sink. On some models, IIRC, it also operates a couple of other lights.

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Old 09-08-2006, 06:18 AM   #4
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Well, I just went out and checked. It controls the lights over the Gaucho, the sink and possibly the center bedroom area. The wire disappears into a huge bundle in the center of the camper, so I can't trace all of it at the moment. Good luck with it.

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Old 09-08-2006, 06:29 AM   #5
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Check for a bad fuse . On my '76 the same fuse controls the outside light , the over the sink light and the ceiling light over the goucho . Some times the fuse is good but the connection is not . If you have a test light check to see if there is power to both sides of the fuse when the fuse is in. Good luck
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Old 09-08-2006, 06:33 AM   #6
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Thanks for the replys. All the other lights in the camper are working-sink-gaucho-main. I'll do some more checking this weekend.

Rick
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Old 09-08-2006, 07:55 AM   #7
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On my '73, the switch powers the switch on the galley light. yes, I know that sounds odd. Its kind of like a mis-wired 3-way switch. It allows you to operate the light from 2 different places...kind of.

Power runs from the converter to the wall switch by the door; from there, a wire goes to the galley light. So if you leave this switch in the "on" position, you can turn the galley light on. If you have the galley light switch off, the wall switch appears to do nothing. If you have the wall switch off, the galley light appears to not work at all.

I just leave the galley switch "on" and turn it on and off at the wall. this way, I can get some light in a dark trailer from the door step, rather than having to fumble around in the dark looking for a switch...which I think was their intention.
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Old 09-08-2006, 08:09 AM   #8
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On my 75 TW the switches act as true 3 ways. It does not make any difference which switch you use (galley or door). Flipping either switch changes the on/off status of the light. I would think that this is the way it was designed to work.
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Old 09-08-2006, 09:44 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by azflycaster
On my 75 TW the switches act as true 3 ways. It does not make any difference which switch you use (galley or door). Flipping either switch changes the on/off status of the light. I would think that this is the way it was designed to work.
Ditto on my '74, until the galley switch went belly up - replaced it with a SPST and resulted with the situation described by Chuck.
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Old 09-08-2006, 10:17 AM   #10
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Do I get to guess?

I vote for the scare light.

That's the light out side that has large clear lense on it usually between the door and the front of the trailer.
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Old 09-08-2006, 10:46 AM   #11
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Do I get to guess?

I vote for the scare light.

That's the light out side that has large clear lense on it usually between the door and the front of the trailer.
On my 75 the scare light switch is on the other side of the window, away from the other two switches.
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Old 09-08-2006, 12:10 PM   #12
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Wellll, on our 67, I wondered for years about the magical mystery switch near the door. Looks like a regular household light switch, but didn't run a damned thing, even after exhaustive testing, testing, testing. Nor is it shown in any of the electical schematics that we have of the rig. A couple of years ago, I discovered that it does indeed do something: I was trying to trace down yet another electrical mystery when I turned on the furnace (to test 12V electrical) and subsequently flipped the magical mystery switch. It immediately grounded out the furnace circuit, causing the furnace to shut down.

So, well, I have no real idea what the original function might have been, but I do know what it'll do now.


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Old 09-08-2006, 01:52 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by azflycaster
On my 75 TW the switches act as true 3 ways. It does not make any difference which switch you use (galley or door). Flipping either switch changes the on/off status of the light. I would think that this is the way it was designed to work.
This is how mine works on a '76
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Old 09-10-2006, 07:25 AM   #14
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Well the wife figured it out. It does control the galley light but it is not a 3-way switch.
Many thanks to the forum for help on this matter. What a wonderful tool!

Rick
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