Elec. problems with my 65 Caravel

[toastie]

Having problems with my 1965 Caravel turn signal, brake lights, running lights,emergency lights. I have a 2006 Envoy for a T.V., with a prodigy brake controller, everything has been working perfect, the brake lights worked, turn signals worked, the emergency light worked, until I came home from Camping World, where they installed roof air for me, I watched the installation, and they did a perfect job, didn't touch any of the wires pertaining to my problem, any suggesting?

[john hd]

start at your plug, disassemble check, clean. while you have it apart you can back feed your lights from the charge line and test each circuit. a jumper wire with alligator clips is handy for this.

just don't touch the ground wire and hot lead together! blue is usually hot and white is ground.

john

[toastie]

Originally Posted by john hd

start at your plug, disassemble check, clean. while you have it apart you can back feed your lights from the charge line and test each circuit. a jumper wire with alligator clips is handy for this.

just don't touch the ground wire and hot lead together! blue is usually hot and white is ground.

john

Your talking about the 7 pin plug, it can be disassemled right at the end? The end that goes into the the belly pan is a wiring mess, I think that the pervious owner installed a new seven pin cord last fall. When I disconnect the shore power cord and switch to battery power all running light and all 4 bulbs in the rear come on, that tells me that I'm geeting power to the back.

[john hd]

Originally Posted by toastie

Your talking about the 7 pin plug, it can be disassemled right at the end? The end that goes into the the belly pan is a wiring mess, I think that the pervious owner installed a new seven pin cord last fall. When I disconnect the shore power cord and switch to battery power all running light and all 4 bulbs in the rear come on, that tells me that I'm geeting power to the back.

yes i was talking about the 7 pin plug, that is assuming it can be taken apart and is not one piece molded rubber.

however if your lights come on when you switch to battery on the outside you have an entirely different problem.

most likely in the above mentioned rats nest!

do you own a volt meter and or a test light?

john

[toastie]

Originally Posted by john hd

yes i was talking about the 7 pin plug, that is assuming it can be taken apart and is not one piece molded rubber.

however if your lights come on when you switch to battery on the outside you have an entirely different problem.

most likely in the above mentioned rats nest!

do you own a volt meter and or a test light?

john

My seven pin is molded, yes, I think I have a rats nest that need to be cleaned up, I'm thinking about taking to Camping World and have a major update, what are your thoughts on that?

[S C Streamer]

Originally Posted by toastie

When I disconnect the shore power cord and switch to battery power all running light and all 4 bulbs in the rear come on,

Hey toastie,

Are the lights coming on without turning on the T/V headlights or stepping on the brakes?

Mark

[john hd]

if it was working ok and then it changed my guess is that it is something minor like a frayed wire or something touching in the rats nest.

john

[toastie]

Originally Posted by S C Streamer

Hey toastie,

Are the lights coming on without turning on the T/V headlights or stepping on the brakes?

Mark

The right light is not working at all, at one time the left light was on and when the brake was applied the left light went off. Like I said before ,when I go to battey and off shore power all light in the back come on.

[ticki2]

Originally Posted by toastie

The right light is not working at all, at one time the left light was on and when the brake was applied the left light went off. Like I said before ,when I go to battey and off shore power all light in the back come on.

When the lights come on in the back ( on shore power ) do thay look extra bright?

[toastie]

Originally Posted by ticki2

When the lights come on in the back ( on shore power ) do thay look extra bright?

When I go back to shore power, the right side doesn't work at all, the left does, the left turn signal will works and the emergency work, as far as extra bright I didn't notice.

[S C Streamer]

If the lights are coming on without any input from the tow vehicle,i.e. stepping on the brakes or turning the headlights on, and everything was OK prior to the A/C installation. I agree with John that there is a short in the trailer wiring. Try to seperate the wires in the "rat's nest" so they don't touch each other and check if that works.


Mark

[toastie]

Originally Posted by S C Streamer

If the lights are coming on without any input from the tow vehicle,i.e. stepping on the brakes or turning the headlights on, and everything was OK prior to the A/C installation. I agree with John that there is a short in the trailer wiring. Try to seperate the wires in the "rat's nest" so they don't touch each other and check if that works.


Mark

Mark, I took a look at the rat nest (at the end of the 7 plug wire) and it is a mess, and also the wiring at the shore power is a mess, my question, would it be better to let Camping World mondernize the system.

[john hd]

not yet, it may look like a box of worms but it still may be something simple.

i doubt camping world would have experiance to trouble shoot a vintage trailer without costing a ton of money and hacking it up.

back to my original question, got a voltmeter?

there are plenty of good folks here that will help you work through this!

john

[toastie]

Originally Posted by john hd

not yet, it may look like a box of worms but it still may be something simple.

i doubt camping world would have experiance to trouble shoot a vintage trailer without costing a ton of money and hacking it up.

back to my original question, got a voltmeter?

there are plenty of good folks here that will help you work through this!

john

No, I don't don't have a voltmeter, will look for one tomorrow; thanks

[john hd]

get a inexpensive one that has a ohm meter function. commonly called a VOM or volt ohm meter.

harbor freight or radio shack are a couple of places to look.

report back and we can help you from there...

also got a digital camera? or can borrow one? that might help speed things up some!

john

[S C Streamer]

Originally Posted by toastie

Mark, I took a look at the rat nest (at the end of the 7 plug wire) and it is a mess, and also the wiring at the shore power is a mess, my question, would it be better to let Camping World mondernize the system.

toastie,

Diagnosing can be tricky if you are not handy with a multimeter and test probe and is even harder to do online. Sometimes just moving the wires will help isolate the offending wire for a quick repair. I'd suggest that you find the cause of this problem before you update the whole system, seeing that everything worked prior to the A/C installation. Go back to Camping World and let them check it out. Who knows,they might have caused the problem and fix it for free.
Best of Luck, and keep us posted.

Mark

[john hd]

mark

good suggestion.

i cannot agree more, however with a couple of checks at the ends of his umbilical cord he can rule out a lot of stuff.

if it is not a touching component in the junction box my next best guess is a bad ground.

more info is needed!

john

[toastie]

Originally Posted by john hd

get a inexpensive one that has a ohm meter function. commonly called a VOM or volt ohm meter.

harbor freight or radio shack are a couple of places to look.

report back and we can help you from there...

also got a digital camera? or can borrow one? that might help speed things up some!

john

Thanks, sounds great, I'm not an electical person, but I will give it a try, will snap a few pic's of the rat nest tomorrow.....

[toastie]

Originally Posted by john hd

not yet, it may look like a box of worms but it still may be something simple.

i doubt camping world would have experiance to trouble shoot a vintage trailer without costing a ton of money and hacking it up.

back to my original question, got a voltmeter?

there are plenty of good folks here that will help you work through this!

john

John HD

[toastie]

Originally Posted by john hd

not yet, it may look like a box of worms but it still may be something simple.

i doubt camping world would have experiance to trouble shoot a vintage trailer without costing a ton of money and hacking it up.

back to my original question, got a voltmeter?

there are plenty of good folks here that will help you work through this!

john

John HD, I did get a voltmeter today, I started in the back, I have attached 4 pictures, 2 out and 2 inside. The left side that works is green, red, and black wire, the right side, the side that doesn't work, is green, brown, and black wire, I went inside and look under the sink, these 2 picture show a splice,
the red, black, green and brown wires go to the back lights, notice the black to black, red to red, green to green, ???white to brown???go to the front, also notice that the white wire is frayed for about 2 inches and rusty. What is your thoughts? I plan to continue to the front, I gutted the inside and took pictures during the restoration of toastie and of said wires, to shore power and out to the front.