Wiring in a 65 Caravel

[fun2bethad]

This weekend, I rewired the Bargman plug running from the front inside of the trailer to the plug that plugs into the receptacle on the tow vehicle. A weird thing happened. First, I had no brakes to speak of .....then, when I went to back the trailer up, the brakes came on making it just a bit more difficult to back the trailer into it's parking spot. Any ideas on what I might have miswired?

[AYRSTRM2]

Maybe nothing. Might have a short in your tow vehicle, and the fiddling around you did made it finally appear. I had a problem with no light on the brake controller and it was a short in a wiring harness on the tow vehicle. But you may have crossed something or gotten a ground messed up.

John

[thenewkid64]

The older wire colors do not mate up to the newer plug. You have the backup lights wired to the brakes. Don't ask how I know this, please . When you put the TV in reverse it FULLY engaged the trailer brakes.

You need to do a bit more research to figure out what wires go where. I know there is a wiring diagram posted on the site, but I don't know where it is.

[overlander64]

Greetings fun2bethad!

Originally Posted by fun2bethad

This weekend, I rewired the Bargman plug running from the front inside of the trailer to the plug that plugs into the receptacle on the tow vehicle. A weird thing happened. First, I had no brakes to speak of .....then, when I went to back the trailer up, the brakes came on making it just a bit more difficult to back the trailer into it's parking spot. Any ideas on what I might have miswired?

I agree with Brett - - this is what happened when I just plugged the trailer into my tow vehicle just after purchasing the Overlander. At that time (1995), I didn't have any wiring information available so had to use a 12-volt battery and alligator clips to determine the functions of each wire. On the Airstream site, there is a diagram for 1964-1965 coaches that corresponds to the wire color coding that I found in my '64 Overlander and will very likely correspond to that in your coach - - you can find this document at:

1964-1965 Airstream Bargman Plug Wiring Information

The key to using the diagram is to match the function of the Airstream's wire to the appropriate terminal on the plug without getting overly concerned about whether the color matches that used in modern applications.

Good luck with your wiring project!

Kevin

[fun2bethad]

Kevin and Brett,
Thanks for the great insight. I've printed off the wiring diagram and I will compare it to the 1965 Airstream wiring manual version that I also obtained online. I think I already see a discrepancy so it's good stuff. Thanks again for helping me out here!