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Old 07-19-2015, 01:12 PM   #1
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1983 31' Airstream310
Hillsburgh , Ontario
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 3,805
Man I hate electrical!

With the first trip of the season behind us and only two minor heart attacks it's now time to attack the gremlins that have sprung up.

First was the abrupt complete loss of my cruise control. This happened on the 401 while cruising at around 55mph. It was a sudden loss of power as the engine fell back to idle. Heart stopped, and a very quick glance at all gauges which I had been scanning religiously told me everything was okay. Touched the throttle, rpm's increased and back up to speed. It turned out the connector on the end of the throttle cable had broken. I took an electrical ring connector, cutting the plastic sleeve of the end, opened up the crimp part, placed it over the throttle cable wire and crimped it down. Just to make sure I ran a wire through the cotter pin hold and around the crimped part of the connector to help keep it closed.

Heart attack number 2 was asking my wife to start the coach as I was packing up the coach to leave the park. I saw her turning the key but nothing happened. "Nothing's happening" she said......It turned out she wasn't turning the key to the right hard enough.

Saturday night at the park I wanted to turn on the parking lamps but found I have no clearance or parking lamps. I have turn indicators and brake lamps but no parking lamps. The manual states that the top clearance lamps have power from the ICC circuit and the lower parking lamps are fed from the headlamp switch and I have neither. I took out the headlamp switch and it has no loose connections or missing wires. I also checked all fuses but all fuses are okay. Anybody have a guess as to where to start looking.

Cheers
Tony
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Old 07-19-2015, 02:46 PM   #2
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1982 31' Airstream 310
champaign , Illinois
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 4,071
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f159...work-2400.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f160...ics-23951.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f312...nts-37425.html

Here are a few few links Tony. My '82 doesnt have the ICC switch so cant be of much help. Sounds like there is a short jumper from the headlight sw over to the ICC, might check those connections. Sounds like that factory install was questionable.

Mike
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Old 07-19-2015, 05:24 PM   #3
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1983 31' Airstream310
Hillsburgh , Ontario
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 3,805
That's the thing I couldn't figure out Mike......What the HE double hockey sticks was an ICC switch that I had read in the manual. Damn difficult, if not impossible to find something you don't have.

I have a feeling I have a bad light switch but will try and test when this heat alert breaks.

Does anyone know what and where I could buy a replacement switch and possible part number? NAPA?

It's not the factory wiring that scares me as I looked under my dash.....it was all the splices and butt connectors that had me almost puking. There's even a splice off the headlamp switch.....for what I have no idea...

I have a feeling the sound boys knocked something astray but I'm not taking it back to them as they'll have it for another 3 weeks and do squat.

Cheers
Tony
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Old 07-19-2015, 07:51 PM   #4
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1982 31' Airstream 310
champaign , Illinois
Join Date: Oct 2012
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Tony, I think that splice you refer to may indeed be the clearance lights. Ive read several threads where that is indeed the case (not sure of course if we are talking about the same spot). It seems that splice is notorious for going bad and off goes the clearance lights. Its in the feed to the headlights. Might check it out.

Mike
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Old 07-19-2015, 07:53 PM   #5
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1982 31' Airstream 310
champaign , Illinois
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 4,071
HOT DIGGITY!! When tracing the clearance lights, I found that where the factory spliced in to the headlight circuit, they used one of those squeeze type crimp splicers and it had become loose and unreliable. I correct that and everything works fine. I have no idea how that effected the ignition switch turning on the dash lights. But anyhow everything works and by the way, the large fuse I had spoken about earlier is now left out. Go figure




Heres one for you Tony
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Old 07-19-2015, 08:13 PM   #6
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1974 Argosy 20
2014 20' Flying Cloud
Kooskia , Idaho
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My '83 310 gas was a terror under the dash. Looked like a sample job by a freshman shop class. I never could get the cruise control to work, finally abandoned it for a new one which I could find and install. No idea how the original one worked electrically at least.

Headlights, wiper motors, and so on were messy.

The heart stopper a friend had with his 81, 280 was the neutral switch on the column shift. He stopped for diesel one day and it would not re start. Finally found the plug on the switch at the bottom of the steering column had an issue. So, know where that is and how to adjust it too. No fun to block the pumps until you find your problem. Happened only once to me on my 310, but at a very remote Montana campground. Not a fun place to be stuck either.

Keeping the old beasties going is a challenge. One reason I am glad mine is in my past. LOL.
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Old 07-20-2015, 11:05 AM   #7
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1974 20' Argosy 20
Richmond , Kentucky
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Tony, your 83 doesn't have the ICC switch? Interesting, on my 84 310 the switch was at the far left switch near the top of the instrument cluster.

At first I was thinking you might have a ground problem but after reading the other posts it sure sounds like a loose connection. I have yet to see any Airstream dash wiring that looks respectible. All of them look like someone had their 7th grade do the wiring as a class project

On my Argosy I'm just gutting all of the original wiring under the dash and starting over.

Good luck!

Brad
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