76 Argosy 24' question

[THEPILL]

Update: Had a airstream Stealer, I mean Dealer tell me to swap the blue and yellow wires on the trailer. Should fix the problem, so he says. Make sense?

Shane

[THEPILL]

Originally Posted by vswingfield

Lee said it perfectly.

Don't I remember that you had a (some) manual(s) coming from another of your posts, Shane? An Owner's Manual and a Service Manual, even if they are not exactly the same year, would help answer a lot of questions and help put your mind at ease. If I had to choose one over the other, I would pick the Service Manual even though they are more expensive. I rarely consult my Owner's Manual but am often checking something in my Service Manual (reprints from https://store.airstream.com/index.php?cPath=51).

For instance, there are instructions in the Service Manual on how to adjust the thermostat in the oven. Mine in the Excella was way off, but after a simple adjustment, it works perfectly. My first gut reaction was to price new replacements. While glass door on mine has lost some silvering, it still looks new otherwise. It works like new now too.

You will have experiences like this with yours too. Somethings things will not work out like you planned and other times you will catch a break. The more you know, the better off you are.

Dang it, I bought the owners manual. Gonna get the Service manual also.
Thanks,
Shane
P.S. I think I'm gonna change my signature to "Thanks for the help"

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by THEPILL

...Or do you mean swap wires to the right "slot"?...

yes.

the modern wire sequence is in post #3

below is the ford 7pin wiring...

they need to match.
_________

now, after doing this you will still need to...

1. CALIBRATE/SYNC the ITBC.
2. then ADJUST the ITBC boost/gain.

cheers
2air'

[THEPILL]

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

yes.

the modern wire sequence is in post #3

below is the ford 7pin wiring...

they need to match.
_________

now, after doing this you will still need to...

1. CALIBRATE/SYNC the ITBC.
2. then ADJUST the ITBC boost/gain.

cheers
2air'

the modern wire sequence is in post #3

When you say this you mean my trailer wiring? Maybe the word "Modern" is throwing me off.
Please forgive me but but the diagrams in post 3 are mirror images of each other right.
I'm just learning. at age 41.....DOH!!

Shane

[Kevin245]

Originally Posted by THEPILL

Please forgive me but but the diagrams in post 3 are mirror images of each other right.
I'm just learning. at age 41.....DOH!!

Shane

Hey Shane,

They are mirror images. The one on the left should be the view looking into the plug on the rear of your tow vehicle. The one on the right should be the view looking into the trailer plug.

Regards,

Kevin

[silverleeper]

The old wire standard for 7-pin.

[THEPILL]

Originally Posted by silverleeper

The old wire standard for 7-pin.

Honestly, Lee that above diagram confuses me even more.



Shane

[silverleeper]

Originally Posted by THEPILL

Honestly, Lee that above diagram confuses me even more.



Shane

Just showing the old standard. Look away quickly.

[THEPILL]

Help Helkp Help...

I have an OHm meter and my Blue wire coming from the TRAILER is hot. Is that suppose to be connected to my black wire in my Ford 12v wire? <Two positives, I would think not>

Also Figured out from my truck the Yellow wire is my Reverse.

Can anyone tell me which wire colors go to which?


Example.......

Trailer Blue to Truck Blue

Trailer Yellow to Truck Black....


ETC....

Help I'm so confused. Heres my Phone number....817-909-1432

Shane

[THEPILL]

What I have learned is If I disconnect the Blue wire the brakes realese in reverse. For all I know they release for forward also. Its just that reverse is strong. There is a current running from my blue/trailer wire at all times.

I also know my reverse light is yellow coming from my truck.

Right/Left turn signals work great. So do the brake lights.

Running lights work Great on top but no running low rear lamps.

Could all of this have to do with my "emergency trailer brake" It looks like crap...wires everywhere. Most not connected.

Shane

[silverleeper]

Originally Posted by THEPILL

Help Helkp Help...

I have an OHm meter and my Blue wire coming from the TRAILER is hot. Is that suppose to be connected to my black wire in my Ford 12v wire? <Two positives, I would think not>

Also Figured out from my truck the Yellow wire is my Reverse.

Can anyone tell me which wire colors go to which?


Example.......

Trailer Blue to Truck Blue

Trailer Yellow to Truck Black....


ETC....

Help I'm so confused. Heres my Phone number....817-909-1432

Shane

Shane, Think of the 7-pin connector as just that, a connector. All your doing is running a solid wire from the truck to the trailer. This is just a break in the line so you can disconnect the truck and trailer...

Try blue to blue, yellow to yellow, black to black ect.

Tell us what happens.

[THEPILL]

Originally Posted by silverleeper

Shane, Think of the 7-pin connector as just that, a connector. All your doing is running a solid wire from the truck to the trailer. This is just a break in the line so you can disconnect the truck and trailer...

Try blue to blue, yellow to yellow, black to black ect.

Tell us what happens.

Thats the way it was originally hooked up. I was just trying to get the brakes to not engage while in reverse. Then the airstream dealer told me swap colors. Didn't help.

I can dissconnect the blue but no brakes.

Shane

[silverleeper]

Originally Posted by THEPILL

Thats the way it was originally hooked up. I was just trying to get the brakes to not engage while in reverse. Then the airstream dealer told me swap colors. Didn't help.

I can dissconnect the blue but no brakes.

Shane

Lets take a look at the two setups. Ford vs standard. Last photo I got from a Ford site it is suppose to be the correct wire diagram. Trying here

[THEPILL]

Originally Posted by silverleeper

Lets take a look at the two setups. Ford vs standard. Last photo I got from a Ford site it is suppose to be the correct wire diagram. Trying here

Ok, I even printed that sheet and took it out to my truck, Same thing. Am I missing something?

What makes my trailer brakes disengage? If they are hot all the time <blue> <assuming from the new battery I put in the trailer>what makes them disngage?

Shane

[silverleeper]

Sorry I can't help you more. Wiring blind is tough.

[THEPILL]

Originally Posted by silverleeper

Sorry I can't help you more. Wiring blind is tough.

Thank-you for trying. I know it's probably a simple thing. I just can't understand what makes the blue wire<hot> from the trailer disengage. Someone pm'd me and said it's the brake lights, but if that was true then then the system is reversed. Cause the brakes appear to be getting current always.

Guess its off to the trailer dept tomorrow.

Again thank-you.

Shane

[juel]

When I towed my 78 Argosy up from ElPaso, I didn't realize that the trailer brake didn't work. It was lucky that it didn't because when we "fixed" it it locked up in reverse. Took the trailer to Griffith R.V. in Oklahoma City and he fixed it in about ten minutes. He said it was wired wrong and that it happens often. If all else fails, you might call him after the holidays and ask him. He is an honest man who grew up watching his father work on Airstreams at the big Airstream dealership we once had in Bethany, Oklahoma. He knows what he's doing and he is honest. There's nothing better you can say about a man than that. We also have a great Airstream repair man closer to us in Stillwater, Oklahoma. It's Masons R.V. and the owner is Wayne. He can fix anything on any R.V. Too bad I didn't look on the Forum earlier since we were in Arlington, Texas most of last week. Would have liked to have seen your Argosy and worked on that connector with you. Find a good honest R.V. repair place. They will be your salvation when you just can't make it work.

[THEPILL]

Originally Posted by juel

When I towed my 78 Argosy up from ElPaso, I didn't realize that the trailer brake didn't work. It was lucky that it didn't because when we "fixed" it it locked up in reverse. Took the trailer to Griffith R.V. in Oklahoma City and he fixed it in about ten minutes. He said it was wired wrong and that it happens often. If all else fails, you might call him after the holidays and ask him. He is an honest man who grew up watching his father work on Airstreams at the big Airstream dealership we once had in Bethany, Oklahoma. He knows what he's doing and he is honest. There's nothing better you can say about a man than that. We also have a great Airstream repair man closer to us in Stillwater, Oklahoma. It's Masons R.V. and the owner is Wayne. He can fix anything on any R.V. Too bad I didn't look on the Forum earlier since we were in Arlington, Texas most of last week. Would have liked to have seen your Argosy and worked on that connector with you. Find a good honest R.V. repair place. They will be your salvation when you just can't make it work.

Thank you for the advise. Yep wish someone would help me take a look at it. Two minds are better than one. Anyways, I called a couple around here from Burleson to Denton, Airstream experts and they want an arm and leg just to look at it. When your as green as I am it's hard to find honest people. i try to do stuff myself and usually pretty good at it, but when it comes to electrical and wiring....Katy bar the door, I'm clueless. But once I do it it sticks with me forever.

BTW, just looked at your pics of your Argosy and man yours is SAWEET!!!!!! Mine will look that good one day, but first I gotta make her road worthy.


Shane

[THEPILL]

Ive been reading on the internet for the past 2 hours....I keep coming up with the term...

A lock-out solonoid. Does the 76 Argosy have one of those? Or could it be on my truck?

Shane

[overlander64]

Greetings Shane!

What you are experiencing is quite normal for the new owner of a Vintage Argosy or Airstream. Between the late 1950s and the 1990s, Airstream utilized several different wiring schematics for their coaches -- none of which is identical to the industry standard in use today. My suspicion is that your coach quite likely has the original umbilical chord and Bargman connector. That connector would have been wired differently than today's, and when you open the connector up, the wires may not be color coded as to function the way that the current standard lines up. The original Bargman wiring schematic utilized on your 1976 Argosy can be seen in the following document:

Trailer Plug Wiring -- scroll down to page 2 1966--1981

Color coding by Function:

• RED == Left Turn and Stop
• Green == Tail and Clearance Lights
• Brown == Right Turn and Stop
• Blue == Charge Line
• White == Ground
• Black == Back Up Lights
• Yellow == Brakes

When compared to the current industry standard, you will likely note the following differences:

• Airstream Red correspondes to the current -- Yellow
• Airstream Green corresponds to the current -- Brown
• Airstream Brown corresponds to the current -- Green
• Airstream Blue corresponds to the current -- Black/Red
• White corresponds to ground in both configurations
• Airstream Black corresponds to the current -- Orange
• Airstream Yellow corresponds to the current -- Blue

Naturally, the umbilical cord may have been replaced over time; or it may have been rewired at the coach's junction box so it is always advisable to check the function of each wire with a meter -- or apply 12 volts to each wire individually to determine what its function is -- then it is a question of matching the function of the wire to the requisite function location on the plug terminals. The modern wiring standard can be seen in the diagrams below:





Good luck with your project!

Kevin