I need to turn to the wisdom of Airforums ... I am having problems with the electric brakes and brake controller on my '65 GT (the brake controller won't recognize that the trailer is attached, although previously, it had indicated there was a short somewhere along the line) and I can't find a service shop that can work on it on short notice. (Or at all, since it's an Airstream ... )
I've talked to the nice folks at Roger Williams in Weatherford, as well as the other Airstream dealer in town, and their service backlogs are MONTHS long. I'm scheduled to go on a trip this weekend, so I was hoping someone could tell me of other reputable alternatives in the area. I had no idea how backed up authorized dealers could get -- every time I call, the earliest appt. they have is 2-3 months away. Is this normal in other parts of the country?
I had this very same issue with my '66 Caravel when I picked her up 2 years ago. Mine was not wired to the same wiring convention as my new truck. Have you ever towed THIS trailer with THIS truck before? If not then there is possibly a crossed wire between the trailer plug and the truck connection. It's a simple fix but requires a little electrical knowledge and a multimeter.
Your best bet will be to get a service tech to fix it. The above post has more options for you, I did receive some help once from a automotive parts store. Some good knowledgable folks work in many of them.
How far do you have to tow? Is it all back roads? What type of truck are you towing with? All these questions are to see if you can tow without plugging in - BUT ONLY AS A LAST RESORT, just to get the trailer home.
Thanks for the suggestions ... To answer some questions:
When I connect the trailer to my TV, everything works perfectly except the brakes. (The turn signals and side marker lights are fine.) After I had my Prodigy installed, the display screen would read "Sh," meaning it was detecting a short somewhere in the system.
Now, when I plug it in, nothing shows on the Prodigy's screen, other than the small red dot meaning it's receiving power. When I move the manual brake lever to the left, it reads "nc" for no connection. It's no longer even recognizing the trailer as connected.
In probing the various wires at the 7-way plug, I noticed that I'm getting 12v of power from one of the connections coming OUT of the trailer. Is this normal? Am I just reading a fully charged battery? It seemed odd that I would have power flowing from the trailer into the truck ... (Could this possibly short out my Prodigy? Or, would it have to be flowing through the brake controller's specific prong to do harm?)
One other thing: the PO installed an electric jack. I noticed it has a black wire (with inline fuse) that goes into the 7-pin plug and is ganged up with the blue brake wire. I've made sure each has a good, solid connection (one on each side of the set screw) ... should this matter? I didn't think to just disconnect the jack wire and try the brakes that way. The jack works perfectly as currently connected, by the way.
When probing each prong on my truck's 7-way connection, I'm only receiving a faint glow when I touch the electric brake prong (with the brake fully depressed). My electrical knowledge is skimpy at best, so I believe I'm going to call the mobile RV guy ... I already have a number, and have talked to him before. I guess that's my next best option until spring comes around and I can finally take the trailer to the dealer for service.
Any good trailer place can help real quick. After all, an Airstream is just a trailer (ref to wiring only). If you really need a quick and good fix call Randy at North Dallas RV (800-359-6378) or Jerry at T & T Trailers 940-668-2818.
I'll bet that either one will have you on the road within an hour.
Why don't you have Eric Stoltz of Texas Vintage Travel Trailer fix the problem. He sold it to you for quite a price, seems like he would give you the 1 year warranty he was promising me on it before you bought it.
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