Ben's '78 Argosy thread

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by bpg_austin

Last 2 shots of the manual.
Trouble shooting #7 is the one that caught my attention.

Looks like you have an open input hole on the right for the converter wires. I would use M at the solenoid for + and G for -

[bpg_austin]

Thanks guys. Mystery solved, looks like I'll up and running on 12v in no time. Awesome.

[DA TAZ]

In my 79 Excella with a fuse panel just like the picture the top right is converter - and chassis ground top left is battery -
2ond left is alternaor+ from the isolater
3rd left is battery+
2ond right jumper to 3rd right
3rd right is converter+

If you follow this scheme all circuits to and from the converter, battery, alternator, and loads are fused and protected
DA TAZ

[bkahler]

Looking at the wiring in your fuse panel and comparing it to mine yours all looks correct. If I remember correctly what Airstream did on mine was to take the three large #6 or #8 wires from the battery, converter and fuse panel and tied them together with large wire nuts. Not how I would recommend doing it and it's not how I'm going to re-install things when the time comes.

If you'll notice in my second picture some previous owner appears to have replaced the fuse with a circuit breaker with custom lugs to fit the fuse holder. I've never seen anything it and doubt that I will reuse it

I'm curious where the blue wire on the top left of your fuse panel goes. Mine has the same lug but nothing was connected to it.

Brad

[bpg_austin]

Brad, the PO apparently kept blowing fuses and put in a reset able breaker? Wouldn't it be interesting to see what the true story of our campers is after 40 years of service.

I'll try and chase down that blue wire. No guarentees. Circuit #5. Just thinking, might be a extra circuit on a 28'er vs. your 20'er. Same fuse panel, but leaves a blank circuit for you.
Anyhow, thanks everyone.

[bkahler]

Looking closer at the label for the blue wire connection #5, it's labeled as car battery. The connection below that appears to say trailer battery. My guess is these fuse panels were shared between the Argosy trailers and Argosy motorhomes. On trailers the blue wire likely goes back to the car/trailer connector and is used to charge the car battery while the converter is powered up (as in boondocking).

My next assumption is on my Argosy they probably didn't connect the converter to the chassis/engine battery, only to the coach batteries.

On yours you may find the blue wire goes to the chassis/engine battery.

Be interesting to see if you find where it goes!

Brad

[bpg_austin]

Lift-off! We have a 12v system. Converter does its job well. It seems to get pretty warm before the cooling fan kicks on. Mostly when its charging the batteries but not running any 12 accessories. I haven't heard the fan kick on without the lights on, but the heat doesn't seem excessive. Do these things get warm while charging? Normal? I'm just talking warm to the touch, not Hot by any means. When the fan kicks on it cools down immediately. I'm assuming all this is normal, but never hurts to get some feedback. Great to have interior lights again.
Also nearly have the bathroom completed. We pretty much gutted the shower tub and anything that bolted on, painted with POR-15 Whitecote. Great stuff, but difficult to apply. Brushes on thick but still requires at least 2 coats. Dries like a rock. Then, we installed our new shower fixtures and recaulked the whole tub and surround. New toilet and backrest. Turned out really well. My wife has some pictures we'll post up later.
And, finally, on this update. What makes all this work worthwhile. "Daddy, I LOVE it."
This week.. installing the fridge. Hoping to make our 'first run' deadline and heading to Bastrop State park this weekend for a shakedown run. Its been a long few weeks.

One last update. I pulled the rear tires off this weekend to do brake shoes and oil seals.. What a mess. The axleshaft bolts were on so rediculously tight I sheared off a bolt in the hub while trying to torque off. ARGGG.. (would I like to yell at the previous shop that impacted these on) I did get the remaining 7 bolts off, but after undoing the castle nuts I couldn't remove the drum from the spindle. Pretty sure the brakes have worn a groove on the inside of the drum. And I didn't want to bleed the system to remove the pressure on them. So, I ended up zipping things back together. I'll have to eat this one and take the rear brakes to a shop. I'll get to the fronts later next week after our shakedown run. Frustrating, but I'll work my job, and pay someone to do theirs I guess. For now.. leaky axleshafts and fluid top-offs are still in my future.

OK, one last thing #2: I need to hook up 12V to the fridge and don't have any 12v line coming into the compartment. I need to run a wire. Its easy to run one underneath the floor and up to the control panel. Can I just tie into one of the circuits labeled 1-5 on the schematic for positive and hook up the neg. to the ground location? I'm assuming any on of those 12V circuits will do? If I need an inline fuse on the Pos. side, any ideas on what amp fuse I need to install?
I'm not much of an electrician obviously.
Thanks again group.

[bkahler]

Bob, from my experience the converter will get warm to the touch and depending how high the current load and how long it takes to top off the batteries it can get fairly warm.

The fan will try and maintain a certain temperature on the converter so you may here it run from time to time even when you don't think there is a load on the system. Ambient temperature is also a factor in how often and how long the fan will run.

Glad to hear you're making progress!

Brad

[Gregsch]

If you can not get the drums off it is likely that they are very worn. You do not have to bleed the brakes to get them apart. You need to back off the self adjuster. Should be easy enough with a screwdriver or an adjuster tool designed for that purpose. lf they are badly worn your mechanic is likely going to recommend replacement. These brakes are simple to work on but, the parts are expensive , especially with the shops markup. If you had the axle out you were half way there. I'd give it another try. If you need new drums you can do it yourself for about a third the money.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by bpg_austin

OK, one last thing #2: I need to hook up 12V to the fridge and don't have any 12v line coming into the compartment. I need to run a wire. Its easy to run one underneath the floor and up to the control panel. Can I just tie into one of the circuits labeled 1-5 on the schematic for positive and hook up the neg. to the ground location? I'm assuming any on of those 12V circuits will do? If I need an inline fuse on the Pos. side, any ideas on what amp fuse I need to install?
I'm not much of an electrician obviously.
Thanks again group.

Bob, not sure how I missed this when you posted it.

Referring back to post 39, you can connect directly to the solenoid where the positive cable from the converter connects. You just need to make sure you add an inline fuse to the new wire feeding the fridge.

Brad

[bpg_austin]

Thanks Greg. You know, pretty sure I wasn't able to get the drum off because i didn't back off the adjuster screw like you said! I was tslking it through with a coworker the next day and he said the same thing you did. Going to take another crack at it this coming weekend. I appreciate the feedback!
Brad, noted on the selonoid locations for the 12v connections. Thanks. I've got the wire routed, only need to get a fuse now.
Ben

[bpg_austin]

Free auto levelers!

[bpg_austin]

They weigh about 70 lbs in total.

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by bpg_austin

Attachment 242209


Free auto levelers!

That should keep you busy for a day or so...

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by bpg_austin

Attachment 242209


Free auto levelers!

They look to be electric drive levelers and not hydraulic, am I right?

[bpg_austin]

Yep. Electric And hadn't been hooked up in ages. I just pulled them out actually! I said free as a joke as they went immediately into my trash bin. Oddly enough my buddy wants them and is pulling them out tomorrow. I have I idea if they work, only know that my mojo just lost some unnecessary weight!

[bkahler]

I'd never heard of electric driven levelers before. The 310 I had, had hydraulic levelers and the pump unit was fairly heavy as were the levelers themselves and their mounting bracketry.

Heck you don't need levelers anyway, Texas is flat isn't it?

[bpg_austin]

NO! Not flat in Austin Brad! haha. Come on over and visit sometime.
Guess we'll have to start asking the state parks for level ground campsights from now on. I'm more than happy to carry my 2 simple screw jacks to help level things off. They're light, small, and get stored underneath. A win-win.

Update: Moho is in the shop for exhaust right now. And.. its not cheap. About 1200. However, they are essentially duplicating the banks set-up minus the headers as I'm not going to mess with them at the moment. So, I should be getting 2.5" tubes strait back just past the transmission crossmember, then the pass. side will cross over and parallel the drivers tube and go into a dual inlet 2.5" Flowmaster truck muffler (30" long, so its a big one). From there it exits a single 3.5" and will dump out right before the drivers side rear tires. This is all in mild steel. Brad, I read your comment in the mechanics forum about your stainless preference. Down here in mostly dry Texas the exhaust will last as long as the truck. They virtually never rust in our climate.
I'll post up some pics when its all done. The shop claims Thursday.

Update 2: A tiny bit of exterior cosmetics were in order. The PO had painted my grill white and it was flaking off and looked horrible. It was easy to pull out. I powdercoated it satin black, then sanded off the top face back down to bare aluminum. Then, a bit of wax to keep the face clean. And.. install. Looks Great. I also pulled off the wipers at the same time and coated them in satin black. They'll now match the black updated wiper blades. Just a few simple things, but they do make a difference in my book. Later on I'll be able to do some more of this fun stuff, but for now its been mechanical.
Next week: rear brakes. I've messed with them twice now and CANNOT get the drums off. Even with backing off the adjuster. I have an appointment next week for them. Hate to do it, but it needs to be done.
Thats the update!

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by bpg_austin

NO! Not flat in Austin Brad! haha. Come on over and visit sometime.

I sorta lived in Rowlett for about 4 years and drove down to Austin a bunch of times. The country around Austin is pretty country.

Guess we'll have to start asking the state parks for level ground campsights from now on. I'm more than happy to carry my 2 simple screw jacks to help level things off. They're light, small, and get stored underneath. A win-win.

That's one thing I will like about my 20' Argosy, don't need as many blocks to make it level! Screw jacks sounds like a good idea.

Update: Moho is in the shop for exhaust right now. And.. its not cheap. About 1200. However, they are essentially duplicating the banks set-up minus the headers as I'm not going to mess with them at the moment. So, I should be getting 2.5" tubes strait back just past the transmission crossmember, then the pass. side will cross over and parallel the drivers tube and go into a dual inlet 2.5" Flowmaster truck muffler (30" long, so its a big one). From there it exits a single 3.5" and will dump out right before the drivers side rear tires. This is all in mild steel. Brad, I read your comment in the mechanics forum about your stainless preference. Down here in mostly dry Texas the exhaust will last as long as the truck. They virtually never rust in our climate.
I'll post up some pics when its all done. The shop claims Thursday.

Well, it's Thursday, is it done yet?!

I hear ya on the lack of Rust. A lot of Triumph enthusiasts that I know like to find cars that have lived in Texas as they are generally rust free. Here in Kentucky forget it. Way to much rain and worse, salt on the roads in the winter.

Update 2: A tiny bit of exterior cosmetics were in order. The PO had painted my grill white and it was flaking off and looked horrible. It was easy to pull out. I powdercoated it satin black, then sanded off the top face back down to bare aluminum. Then, a bit of wax to keep the face clean. And.. install. Looks Great. I also pulled off the wipers at the same time and coated them in satin black. They'll now match the black updated wiper blades. Just a few simple things, but they do make a difference in my book. Later on I'll be able to do some more of this fun stuff, but for now its been mechanical.
Next week: rear brakes. I've messed with them twice now and CANNOT get the drums off. Even with backing off the adjuster. I have an appointment next week for them. Hate to do it, but it needs to be done.
Thats the update!

Looking good!

[bpg_austin]

Just picked up the monster this morning. I guess there's only so much you can do to quiet down a big block. Here's my first attempt at uploading a video. I'm pleased with the end result. The shop did solid work and came under budget at $1050. Still not cheap, but worth the expense. I used B&B muffler and Automotive on South Lamar if any local folks are reading this. I can recommend them.