wiring harness

[billy1]

Have 69 Tradewind and need to know which color wire for each of the 7 wires are for which function. My 2004 ford has the 7 pins labeled so I know which wire goes where. But the 7 wires of all different colors from the trailer i have no clue. We are on a trip and can't move until we know. PLEASE help.
Thanks,
Bill

[reinergirl]

Does this help? http://cdn.airforums.com/forums/atta...3&d=1311677194


Be aware that I have no idea if this is how your Airstream was wired. This diagram may or may not apply.

[Lumatic]

I don't think the above link is what you are looking for. It looks like a later configuration to me. Your 69 was wired differently before the wiring configuration was standardized industry wide. It can be a mess. You can change the wiring configuration in the access panel inside at the front of the coach, rewire the umbilical, or rewire the TV. It is also possible that a previous owner may have rewired. This may help:

configuration #1 64-65
green / 1 o'clock= running lights
red= 3 o'clock= left turn
white= 4 o'clock= ground
blue / 7 o'clock= charge line
brown/ 9 o'clock = r turn
black / 11 o'clock = stop
yellow= center= brakes

Maybe someone will post the correct illustration. The wire colors may remain the same for yours. If you get stuck let me know. I have several different configurations.

[Lumatic]

this looks like 70s:
1:00 red= left turn
3:00 yellow=brakes
5:00 black= back up
7:00 white= ground
9:00 brown= right turn
11:00 green= running lights
center blue = charge line

In can fax you some diagrams if you send me a number.

[billy1]

Thanks so much guys. Also found the diagram in the manual...duh!! I get rattled when I am under pressure I guess. I used the colors in the manual. Did connect the appropiate wires indicated in the manual by the color to the appropiate plug location on the truck side. The diagram for truck plug is on the lid to the plug outlet. I ignored the locations indicated by the AS manual for the truck. It only made sense to use the diagram on the truck....how would AS know in 1969 how the truck diagram would be in 2004.
SO I plugged it in......running lights work, signals work....backup lights stay lit on the truck while it is plugged in and truck is off or on. Not terrible...could get home this way but a warning buzzer also stays going!!
I reversed the back up and ground connections and that blew fuse in AS. I put it back like at first and now the backup on the tuck and the running lites on AS don't work!
My guess is that I use my volt meter to see how the truck is wired and if it is as layed out on the plug cap? But I know that I am using the same plug and wire hookup that the previous owner had for his chevy...so the truck side is probably ok? Need to see what has changed maybe on the AS side...but how?

I sure hope you guys come through! I am stuck. Thanks and thanks

[billy1]

Yes I do need help...see my reply. But also specifically.....Do I use the locations you and the manual indicate or the truck loacations? I am replacing the truck side plug. It just seems to me that if I know that a specific wire by color is say grnd then I need to place that wire to the location on the truck diagram is ground? Right??? Sounds logical but not sure at all. The white wire and the black are the largest. According to the manual the black is back up and goes to center per the truck diagram and the white is grnd and goes per the truck diagram to "7" But WHEN I proceed this way the backup lights stayed on...see general reply.

[TG Twinkie]

I think the large black wire is the charge line for the house (trailer) battery. The large white wire is ground/common. If you have a wire for backup lights it should be a smaller wire. Looking at the back of the trailer plug where you connect the wires
the large black wire should go to the terminal at the 1 o'clock position.
Then going clockwise around the trailer plug from there it is :
3 o'clock = brown right turn
5 o'clock = blue. Electric brakes
7 o'clock = white. Common/ground
9 o'clock = red. left turn
11 o'clock = green. Tail/marker
Do you have 7 wires going to the back of the receptacle on the truck?

[TG Twinkie]

The center terminal is backup or auxiliary.

[TG Twinkie]

Your truck is new enough to be wired to today's standards so unless the PO of the truck changed the wiring I would assume it is correct and should not be changed.
If you have a battery charger handy you can use it to check the trailer out. Just connect the black lead of the charger to a clean spot on the trailer frame. The use the red lead and connect to each of the wires on the trailer cord to see what comes on. Then wire it according to my first post.
Let us know what happens.

[Lumatic]

You can also use a short wire jumper to find out what does what. Use your volt meter to find the hot slot connection on the plug then use the jumper determine which slot does what

[billy1]

Agn, thanks.
This is different from the manual. I do have a volt meter. No idea how to see what is what with it. Maybe won't need to with your help. So I can go with these color id's and hook it up. However you didn't mention yellow?

[billy1]

According to what I can figure from your layout the yellow would be back up lites?

[Lumatic]

Yellow is usually trailer brakes. A test light is also real handy.

Keep in mind Airstream used different configurations in different years. It is also possible that a previous owner rewired it some other way. This is why you are getting different answers and they don't match up.

It is also a good idea to check your connections in your access panel inside the trailer where the plug comes through.

[TG Twinkie]

With the voltmeter set on the DC scale. 20 volts if there is a setting for that. Connect the black lead to a clean spot on the truck frame or bumper.. Not to plastic or chrome. Then use the red lead to check for voltage on the different pins on the truck plug. Be sure the meter leads are plugged into the red for red and black for black jacks on the face of the meter. If they are wired into the meter then ignore the sentence above. Anything above 12 volts will be a good reading. By identifying each pins function on the truck you can then match the trailer to it. Be aware that you may not get a reading from the terminal for the electric brakes because some brake controllers want to see an inductive load ie the brake coils.

[TG Twinkie]

If you have a battery in the trailer. With the meter set to the DC scale connect the black lead of the meter to the white wire in the trailer cord then connect the red meter lead to the heavy black wire and see if you get a reading. If so the black lead is the charge line. If the black wire is larger than the others it is the charge line. Your trailer may have a blue wire for the electric brakes.
You will need a battery in the trailer and a functioning break away switch to be legal on the road.

[Lumatic]

Maybe this will help:

Tow Vehicle/ Airstream
black 1:00 = blue/ charge line
green 3:00 = brown / right turn
blue 4:00 = yellow/ brakes
white 7:00 = white/ ground
yellow 9:00 = red/ left
brown 11:00 = green / running
purple center = black / back up

Example/ The charging line on the TV is black and is in one o'clock position. This should connect to the blue line on the Airstream.

You probably will have to move some wiring around. Do one thing at a time so you don't get confused.

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

You will need a battery in the trailer and a functioning break away switch to be legal on the road.

To expound on this, the only thing the trailer battery does when towing is to power the break away switch. If you have an older break away switch it probably does not work anyway. Personally speaking, I would not let that stop me, but I would be extra special careful towing and check the break away switch when you can. The way to test the break away switch is to disconnect the 7 way from the TV and pull the pin. The brakes should activate. If you have an old switch you then may not be able to deactivate the brakes without disconnecting the 12v to the switch. The switch should also be fused with a funky fuse in the 7 way access panel and maybe another fuse in the tongue.

[TG Twinkie]

Maybe we should have started by asking what color the wires are coming out of the trailer. Also the relative size of each color.

[billy1]

It is working. thanks so much to you guys out there that got us back on the road!!!!!
Especially Twinkle and Lunatic. I am not sure where you got the diagram that was different from my manual but it is the correct one for those of you that have a 69.
Again all is well and we are on our way north to our home.
Bill

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by billy1

It is working. thanks so much to you guys out there that got us back on the road!!!!!
Especially Twinkle and Lunatic.
Bill

That's Twinkie and Lumatic

So what was the problem(s) and how did you fix it?