AS wiring has me confused

[Ginder75]

I have been reading past pages on the forum every night since I became the proud owner of a 1964 Overlander.

Thanks to the help of the board, I have solved many head scratching problems and now I have another set.

The "scare" light works when the trailer is hooked to the TV, but when on shore power nothing. I do not have a battery installed on my AS, but everything else works on my shorepower. I have lights, fans, refridgerator ... But no scare light.

Second challenge, there is only one wire coming into the front storage area to supply power to a radio. Every radio I have ever installed used atleast two wires, how does this work?

Am I missing a common ground?

Thanks,

Ginder75

[Ginder75]

Can anyone explaine the single wire set up? I guess the frame/skin has to be grounded. Where would I find the ground location on my 1964 overlander

[Zeppelinium]

Many of the lights in older Airstreams are single wire. The shell is the common ground. You should find two main ground points. One is right at the 7-conductor umbilical connector (white is ground and blue is charging power (+12V) from the tow vehicle). The other should be close to the fuse block (if the fuse block is close to your converter).

I agree about the radio. Even though my 70s models have many single-wire lights, the radio is connected to a wired ground. You can find any white wire (this is 70s standard, don't know about earlier) and connect to that if you find you need a wired ground connection.

The only explanation I have for your scare light is that it is connected to the incoming tow vehicle charge line and there is a disconnect further along that line to the battery. Do you know if your Airstream battery is being charged by the tow vehicle? There is a thermal fuse in the charge line, usually mounted right next to the 7-pin connector. That fuse could be permanently open.

Zep

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Ginder75

I have been reading past pages on the forum every night since I became the proud owner of a 1964 Overlander.

Thanks to the help of the board, I have solved many head scratching problems and now I have another set.

The "scare" light works when the trailer is hooked to the TV, but when on shore power nothing. I do not have a battery installed on my AS, but everything else works on my shorepower. I have lights, fans, refridgerator ... But no scare light.

Second challenge, there is only one wire coming into the front storage area to supply power to a radio. Every radio I have ever installed used atleast two wires, how does this work?

Am I missing a common ground?

Thanks,

Ginder75

64 trailers have 2 switches in an access compartment, that say "city power" and "battery".

If you added a univolt, you could eliminate those switches.

Without a battery in the trailer, without plugged into the TV, and without city power to the trailer, nothing should work.

The scare light would work if you flipped the switches to city power, when the trailer is in fact plugged into city power.

Andy

[Ginder75]

Right now, the trailer is hooked to city power and all switches are turned to city power. I have lights, fans, pumps, ... but no scare light, and no power to the radio power supply.

There is no battery in my camper.

I have tried hooking up a battery and still nothing.

I will go back and pull the service panel under the camper and see if any thing looks funny.

I followed the wires from where my battery should be through a set of glass fuses and into the wall, where do the reappear?

Thanks,
Robert

[47WeeWind]

Hi Grinder;

In 1964, the radio wires came directly from the battery to provide the radio with "clean" power in the front overhead cabinet, so absent a battery installed, you may not get any power there.

Have you checked the bulb in the scare light to make sure it is good? Have you turned on the switch for the scare light? Or are you testing that empty socket with a VOM?

My '64 is not here, so I can't look at it to give you further ideas. Good luck!

[Ginder75]

Sounds like I need to temporary install a battery and keep working. I have enlarged the hole in the front overhead compartment to assist in fishing the wire out, but so far I have only caught some insulation.
Scare light - have checked the bulb, the switch, and anything else I can think of.

The more I learn about how my AS is wired, I wonder if a PO didn't cut or disconect a supply wire that runs from the back battery area to the front.

Robert

[Zeppelinium]

Originally Posted by Ginder75

...The more I learn about how my AS is wired, I wonder if a PO didn't cut or disconect a supply wire that runs from the back battery area to the front.

Robert

If so, your radio should work when the scare light works. Find that big (like #10 gauge) blue wire that should run from the 7-pin to the battery/converter.

Zep

[Ginder75]

Working in the AS last night, I noticed a few more quirks. When I swap over from city power to batter power I am tripping the GFCI outlet that is feeding my camper.

After looking around at some of the other posts and electrical upgrades. I am going to open up the fuse box, switch panel, and the general spaghetti of wires that fill the street side rear corner of the camper. From the looks of the wires, I am not the first owner to tackle this mess.

Thanks,
Robert