7 pin connector woes involving the white rubber gasket

[wonderlust87]

Hey y’all, I purchased the curt 58140 7 pin connector and I can’t for the life of me get the harness wire into the receptacle. Are you supposed to take out the white rubber piece and put that on the wire first? It’s so tight that I can only get the individual wires into the receptacle. All the YouTube videos neglect this part of the task, meaning I’m sure it was too challenging to want the world to see. I’ll attach a picture. Would love insight from anyone who has replaced theirs!

[vintage6t]

Prior to trying to get the cable through, did you loosen the allen screw that tightens the clamp on that end?

[richard5933]

From the video I just found it looks like the white plastic part can be removed by loosening the set screw. Looks like there is a strain relief inside the white plastic to keep the cord from being pulled out once installed, so you might have to use something to open it up a bit before inserting the wire cable.

[GCinSC2]

And a dab of dielectric grease (silicone) or dish soap to help it slide on the jacket.

[wonderlust87]

I loosened all the screws and was able to get it in a bit with rubber gloves and soap, but not in enough to give me enough slack for the rewiring of the shorter wires. Perhaps I should have taken out the white rubber gasket and installed it separately? Now it won’t move at all…

[GCinSC2]

I just tried a section of 7 way cable and a generic plastic body plug. It easily slid thru the white bushing and housing. Note the saddle strain relief and its screw are completely removed.

[wonderlust87]

Straddle strain relief and screw completely removed here too. Wondering if my curt replacement is not suitable for airstream harness?

[wonderlust87]

Currently doesn’t want to move up or down, which is strange since the strain relief is removed.

[wonderlust87]

My harness is a 9 wire harness, that 2 wires have been cut. Just realizing that would make my diameter larger. Is there a different 7pin connector to get?

[GCinSC2]

Ok that accounts for the likely cause.

The airstream cable has different wire sizes, from my owners manual. Battery + and - are 10 ga, brake is 12 ga and the lights are 14 ga color coded of course.

If your cable doesn’t have the 10 and 12 ga might be time to just install new cable too.

[richard5933]

What's the purpose of the 9-conductor cable instead of 7?

[wonderlust87]

Originally Posted by richard5933

What's the purpose of the 9-conductor cable instead of 7?

In older airstreams one wire was a shut off for the propane whenever the tow vehicle turns off, and the other wire was for tire pressure gauge. The previous owner cut those two down and wired for a 7 pin connector

[wonderlust87]

Originally Posted by GCinSC2

Ok that accounts for the likely cause.

The airstream cable has different wire sizes, from my owners manual. Battery + and - are 10 ga, brake is 12 ga and the lights are 14 ga color coded of course.

If your cable doesn’t have the 10 and 12 ga might be time to just install new cable too.

Thanks for the input!
-My battery + and - are 8 ga (which makes it challenging to get behind the screw),
-turn signals, running lights, back up are all 14 ga

Makes sense that my cable’s diameter would be larger. I notice that the cable runs up under the couch/dinette and then through the wall to, I imagine, the 12 volt distribution panel. I imagine that would be challenging to take off the wall panel and figure out.

Would it make more sense to buy a cable that comes with a junction box so I can splice into the cable on the inside before it goes behind the wall?

https://www.amazon.com/Leisure-Cords...35742479&psc=1

[wonderlust87]

If anyone has the problem in the future, I found a good temporary solution. If you take out the rubber gasket, it will fit. I used a little longer screws for the bigger gauges to give them a little extra hold, and used silicon caulk where the rubber would have been on the outside to weatherproof it. I know that getting a new cord will be in order, but this works for now. Just thought I’d share a possible solution!