Trailer Connector

[Ag'71]

I got my new axles yesterday---Yea!! But when I hooked everything up and was leaving, my brakes locked up and my controller said that there was a short.
Btw, I have never had the brakes working and when I bought the trailer, the PO said that he had to get the TV to trailer cord made. One last issue, the trailer connector is held on by only one screw, the other side is broken. My problem could be: 1) The cord from the TV to trailer--Where can I get one?
2) The female receptical on the trailer--Where do I get one of those?
BTW, Andy at Inland RV was a great help with ordering my new axles. There was no glitch whatsoever and they arrived in 4 days!! Thanks Andy!!

[mwells4654]

I had to make my cord. I had the TV wiring Diagram and my Overlander Trailer wiring Diagram (The TV and the TT are not the same). You have to go by the 1971 trailer plug diagram not a current trailer wiring diagram. You will have to swap some of the wires around. (ie. yellow does not goto yellow and black does not go to black) you have to go by - this pin on the TV is for the left turn singnal and this pin on the TT is for the left turn signal and so on. If I can be so bold - how much were the axles - I (as soon as I save up the money) will be purchasing them for my Overlander.

[overlander64]

Originally Posted by Ag'71

My problem could be:
1) The cord from the TV to trailer--Where can I get one?
2) The female receptical on the trailer--Where do I get one of those?

The cord from the tow vehicle to trailer is likely available from any Airstream dealer that is Vintage friendly. Out of Doors Mart lists the part as available at this link.

The female receptical on the trailer is likely available from any Airstream dealer that is Vintage Friendly. Out of Doors Mart lists the part as available at this link.

Good luck with your project!

Kevin

[Splitrock]

I just re-wired the 7-way trailer plug, break away switch, fuse panel, and set up a new umbilical cord with a one end molded plug. I found a 7-way tester was a timesaver for confirming the tow vehicle is wired correctly and a good quality (bright) jumper light to check the cord because the tester won't fit the cord. I did it all by the book and I had to switch two wires.

I had the 12 volt and the back up lights crossed at the TV end of the cord. That was rather easy to diagnose since the back up lights were on all the time and there was only power to the 12 volt power line when the TV was in reverse. :-)


Gary

[Ag'71]

Hey, thanks for all your help!! I think I've got it figured out. The axles cost $750 each, complete with brakes. One guy told me that was pricey, but when you are dealing with such a major component and all important one, you just can't skimp. Andy at Inland RV took my serial number, matched it up with the right axle. They went on in only 3 hours with ease--no cutting or welding, just 4 bolts per axle and done! My thanks to Andy for all his help!!

[mwells4654]

Thanks for the info - hopefully I will be ready for mine real soon

[Ag'71]

Ok, so now I go in and completely rewire the plug to the TV, then the one for the trailer. Everything works out great. Then, I go to rewire the trailer only to find that there is no yellow wire for the brakes. Everything else is wired correctly on my new female connector but I've got three wires left over: 1 Red 10 gauge, 1 White 10 gauge, and 1 white and 1 black 12 gauge in a gray sheath. Here's what I think--please help me if I'm thinking wrong!
The red 10 gauge is the hot for the electric jack and the 1 white 10 gauge is the ground. I have no idea what the other two are for. One MUST be for the brakes!
When I unhooked the whole thing, the red 10 gauge wire was hooked to a small square box-like dohicky, and the white 10 gauge was hooked to one of the bolts holding on the connector. The other two 12 gauge wires were connected to the trailer connector. I used the 7 pin connector link found on one of these threads for 1966-1981 7-way plugs.
Thanks for reading this long winded explanation, but I am in a quandry! BTW, I've got a new brakeaway I also need to install.

[richinny]

with a fused jumper wire, test the different wires. a big flash and burnt fuse is the ground :-) the lights will show their function and the brakes draw a lot and you should hear a hum when they are activated. that should narrow the field.

[Ag'71]

Hey, thanks for the reply. I thought I would get the 12 v battery, some alligator clips and see which wires go to the electric jack. Then, the other should be the 'yellow' for the brakes. The electric jack wires are 12 gauge, I think.

[Splitrock]

I just used the tester to confirm the tow vehicle was correct. Then I used a small battery charger to power and identify all the trailer 7-way harness wires. The service manual was some use but not much. The manual says the brake wire is yellow, it not, it's black with a white ground.



I wired the trailer plug with the tester attached.



When I get it all wired up I installed a new fuse block. I color coded the wires according to the book so the next guy can figure out what the wires are for.

[Ag'71]

Splitrock, your pictures are worth a 1000 words. Thanks for letting me know about the black brake wire. It does make sense that there would be two wires for the brakes--duh, since there are 2 wires at each drum! I'd be that the wires in the gray sheath are the brake wires. I'll give it a try later today and report back. Thanks again! I love the help in these forums. Hopefully, one day, I can help others.

[Splitrock]

My OEM wiring for the break away switch were red (hot) and gray (tied to brakes). The black and white (ground) brake wires were sheathed together. The same sheathed pair came thought the belly pan to the brakes.

Don't confuse the break away switch with the brakes. Study those wires and do double blind tests to make sure what they are. I soldered small battery cable ends on my #10 white ground wires, soldered eye fasteners to the smaller white ground wires, and bolted them together on a stainless steel bolt holding the trailer 7-way through the body. On the larger wires, I soldered them using a well fluxed joint with a map gas torch. On my fuse panel picture you can see my white ground terminal. The red fused wire (25 amp fuse missing in picture) attaching to the blue wire bolted through the cover is the hot to battery. That's where the break away switch red (hot) wire ties into the circuit.

My electric tongue jack gets it's power from the hot side of the break away switch (red wire).

Wiring it all while connected to the 7-way tester was a life saver. The wire color stamps on everything would not have worked. I wired it all to agree with a standard wired 7-way tow vehicle test light. I tried to save myself some time when I wired one end of the cord and I had the privilege of changing two wires around.

I started my re-wiring project with the assumption that "everything" was wrong. That proved to be the right assumption in my case. All my original wiring was disconnected or missing courtesy of the previous owner.