So many questions

[Emwolffden]

Super newbie- purchased a 75 sovereign 31’ (center bath) all the electrical seems to be working from the bath back but struggling with the front - the center and front fixture lights do not work, yet the fans work - any thoughts ?
Also fired up the furnace- all seems to be good there - but is there a fan to distribute heat ?.. am I over looking it?.. or no?

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by Emwolffden

Super newbie- purchased a 75 sovereign 31’ (center bath) all the electrical seems to be working from the bath back but struggling with the front - the center and front fixture lights do not work, yet the fans work - any thoughts ?
Also fired up the furnace- all seems to be good there - but is there a fan to distribute heat ?.. am I over looking it?.. or no?

Does the coach have the original blue Univolt converter? There are 4 coach circuit fuses inside.


If you have the original Suburban furnace it does have a blower


Both the original Univolt and furnace are dinosaurs. Most people upgrade.

[dbj216]

Hello from Colorado and welcome to the vintage Airstream hobby. You picked a good section in these Forums to discuss your 75 Sovereign. I've spent all winter and spring renovating one of these old ladies, a 76 Sovereign rear bath. I might add a center bath layout is desirable and rather rare in the mid seventies. You can work your trailer into a comfortable traveler. It will be worth your efforts.

I'll suggest you read some of the "project threads" here in this section of the forums to learn as much as you can about your new to you Airstream. Learn the systems like electrical, plumbing, heating, and structure. Then you will know how to diagnose "lights don't work" or "furnace fan doesn't work" or "water heater doesn't work" and you can learn how to fix the problem. The folks here on these forums are more than willing to answer your questions and help out where possible. Pictures help a bunch.

Here is a photo of our 76 Sovereign all torn apart. We've done frame repairs, floor rot repairs, new plumbing, new floor covering, rebuilt all the cabinets, new appliances including the furnace, and it gets new axles this Saturday. It will be a very solid Sovereign now. All systems work.

David

[Emwolffden]

Originally Posted by dbj216

Hello from Colorado and welcome to the vintage Airstream hobby. You picked a good section in these Forums to discuss your 75 Sovereign. I've spent all winter and spring renovating one of these old ladies, a 76 Sovereign rear bath. I might add a center bath layout is desirable and rather rare in the mid seventies. You can work your trailer into a comfortable traveler. It will be worth your efforts.



I'll suggest you read some of the "project threads" here in this section of the forums to learn as much as you can about your new to you Airstream. Learn the systems like electrical, plumbing, heating, and structure. Then you will know how to diagnose "lights don't work" or "furnace fan doesn't work" or "water heater doesn't work" and you can learn how to fix the problem. The folks here on these forums are more than willing to answer your questions and help out where possible. Pictures help a bunch.



Here is a photo of our 76 Sovereign all torn apart. We've done frame repairs, floor rot repairs, new plumbing, new floor covering, rebuilt all the cabinets, new appliances including the furnace, and it gets new axles this Saturday. It will be a very solid Sovereign now. All systems work.



David

Thanks David!

Appreciate the info and the welcome... I can see how helpful this forum will become!.. have to say your gal is beautiful!!..
We are slowing finding our way around - short term goal is to use as is.. long term goal is to fully renovate.
Most everything seems to be in working order-replaced the water pump.. and resealed most areas..
wondering about the fuse panel.. seems to run pretty hot- burns out fuses easy- plan to switch to LeD bulbs - would this help solve that problem.. or best to replace the panel.. if so are there recommendation??..

[OTRA15]

Welcome to the forum -- she is a beauty!

Do you have the original owner's manual? If not, one can be located online, so please advise.

FYI the search function in the blue box above works great [using a computer on the desktop version of this site -- not the App on a phone or tablet], as it is powered by Google to search only within Airforums.com. A handy tool to ferret out details from earlier threads IMO.

Good luck,

Peter

[Emwolffden]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Welcome to the forum -- she is a beauty!

Do you have the original owner's manual? If not, one can be located online, so please advise.

FYI the search function in the blue box above works great [using a computer on the desktop version of this site -- not the App on a phone or tablet], as it is powered by Google to search only within Airforums.com. A handy tool to ferret out details from earlier threads IMO.

Good luck,

Peter

Thank you for the info.. I will look into it!.. and yes- we have the original owners Manual!

[Lumatic]

The owners manual was designed for owners who had repairs done by Airstream. It is very basic. For a restoration you would be much better served with a "Service Manual". There are still a few out there. Copies may be availabe from Secretarial Services, Elkhart, Indiana.

[dbj216]

It is not normal for the fuse panel to run hot or blow fuses. There is a high load somewhere causing this problem, maybe even a short.

The second thing you purchase as a vintage Airstream owner is a "multi meter" so you can test electrical stuff. It will test DC voltage, AC voltage, resistance in ohms, and maybe amperage. We need to test that fuse panel.

Okay, let's get started. If not already, unplug your trailer from "shore power" or the 120v cord you may have running from the house. Doing so limits your trailer to battery only power. None of the outlets will work. Turn off the pump, fans, and lights or other "loads" on the battery. Let it rest. The fuse panel should be nice and cool to the touch. Let us know what you observe. We also need to know the voltage coming out of the battery. I would expect about 12.5 volts. Your new meter will tell you this.

Next, turn on some light, an exhaust fan, your pump to apply a significant load through the fuse panel. Don't plug the trailer in yet. We would expect the fuse panel to stay cool. If not, then one of the things you turned on is drawing too much power. We just have to find out which one by turning them off until things are cool again. Under load, the battery voltage may drop to 12.3 or so.

Now we'll plug your trailer in to shore power, or 120v AC. Tell us if you have a normal household circuit of 15 amps, or a RV park type 30 amp supply. After plugging in, test the battery voltage. I would expect something like 13.6 volts since you are now charging the battery. With nothing on in the trailer, I would expect the fuse panel to be cool. Start turning things on and see what happens. Keep in mind you can not run the air conditioner on 15 amp circuit. You must have a 30 amp circuit for the AC. If you measure voltage at the fuse panel higher than the normal 13.6, or even 14.3 volts, it may be your converter is on the fritz and cooking the trailer 12v electrics with too much voltage. Converter can go bad.

Other folks on these Forums are much more knowledgeable than I. They may have some ideas, but it is not normal to have a warm fuse panel and blowing fuses. We gotta fix this problem right away before there is serious problems.

Here is a photo of our 76 Sovereign fuse panel.

David

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Emwolffden

Thank you for the info..
. . .

Please update us based on David's entire Post #8, especially this caution:

Originally Posted by dbj216

. . .
. . . it is not normal to have a warm fuse panel and blowing fuses. We gotta fix this problem right away before there is serious problems.
. . .

If you have a short-circuit someplace, you must proceed with extreme caution, due to the risk of fire IMO.

Good luck,

Peter