Resetting circuit breaker?

[68Glbtrotter]

I am a brand new owner of a vintage Airstream, a '68 Globetrotter. In fact it is my first trailer period. It is not for restoration due to previous owners desire to gut it. I am going to customize it to satisfy a couple of middle aged empty-nesters.
First things first - gettng it road worthy. Thanks to this site I have already found a resolution to the missing connector for the tow vehicle. But in tracing these wires, I have found the access panel in the belly of the Airstream. The blue wire connects to a ?fuse/breaker?; then a heavy duty black wire goes somewhere (I'll find out where) but what I can't find is the value/data of this block. It is rusty and worn and has even come loose from the panel. It reads open with an ohmmeter.

Will someone please identify and guess at its value.
Also any known threads that might explain the electric systems in these trailers would be appreciated.

[Uberlanders]

Welcome to the forum. We have found the following thread quite useful for the wiring schematic. http://www.airforums.com/forum...lectrical+plug

Also if you are looking for the value of your trailer, you might find www.vintageairstream.com helpful. He has pictures of many models, as well as a great pricing guide when considering vintage trailers to sell or buy.

[TomW]

Originally Posted by 68Glbtrotter

...The blue wire connects to a ?fuse/breaker?; then a heavy duty black wire goes somewhere (I'll find out where) but what I can't find is the value/data of this block. ..It reads open with an ohmmeter. ...Will someone please identify and guess at its value...

I believe you have found the charge wire's self-resetting circuit breaker. On my '67 Airstream, it is rated at 25 amps.

Coincidental with replacing a bad light switch, I had one of my three, 12 volt, inside breakers bite the dust. Kinda cool how simple the breakers are. The autopsy showed the device has nothing more than a bimetallic strip with [apparently] a certain amount of electrical resistance. When too much current is drawn, the strip pops the circuit open. When cool, it closes.

In my case, the contacts had fused, and melted away from the strip. The point source heating made the breaker work in an interesting way.

Luckily, with minor modification, the breakers being sold nowadays are physically quite similar to what I had. At $3 a pop, I replaced all three breakers.

Tom

[john hd]

interesting bit of trivia for you folks.

harley davidson used the same breakers for a number of years in the 70's and 80's.

they used a small metal clip that can be pop riveted to a surface to mount the breaker.

the cool thing is that the harley clip makes the breaker easily removible for service.

john

[68Glbtrotter]

TomW, You are correct. That is what I have and need. I will pick one up at RV Center.
Since this post I have ordered an owners manual for the 68 trailers and it too has been helpful....25 amps.

I have also found extensive damage in my bathroom - Surprise! This is bad because PO had a leaky battery that got into the frame and C-channel. I am trying to decide how much I have to strip down to get to all of the problem area. The full Monty? I hope not but we'll see. Stay tuned!