Electrical - Undocumented On / Off Switch

[73Safari]

Hi all,

Since we are talking about electrical diagrams, and the one that MKarahashi posted is awesome and clear and only going to get better with the great feedback of this forum, I've got a puzzling dilemma however.

We have a 1973 Safari 23' Dual Axle Twin - Up front near the door there are two power switches close together and another about two feet away to the front. I've identified the one switch closest to the front as the on / off to exterior spotlight. I've identified one of the other switches near the door as the on / off to the exterior door light. Can't figure out what the 3rd on / off switch is for? I'm thinking it could be the on / off for the vintage sensor dashboard which is located up front over the radio and when it worked back in the day, had all the sensors for the various water tanks, septic etc reporting in.. FYI - All of those systems have since been removed in our renovation - Septic tank, Fresh water tank, furnace, water heater, plumbing etc, all removed. So no need for the dashboard except as a 70's vintage visual which we will keep. Any thoughts on this? Am I correct in my assumption or could this switch be for something else? i've checked the '73 service manual and it's not in there.

Thanks in advance!

Mike

[D. Novak]

On my 74 and on my 76 Overlander the second switch was controlling the light over the sink in the kitchen area. There was a switch at the light fixture but we could control the light from the wall switch if we left the fixture switch on. Perhaps yours is similar.

[73Safari]

Hi,

Thank you for your reply! That definitely gives me something to troubleshoot and certainly makes sense - it's one of those switches that unless you have spent a fair amount of time in the original Airstream - you wouldn't have a clue what it was used for. Many Thanks!

Mike

[Jim & Susan]

Y'all have it right.

The switch closest to the door is for the light over the door on the exterior of the camper.
The next switch is for the light over the sink. There's another switch on the sink light itself.
The switch a couple feet to the left of that is for the outside "scare" light on the outside of the camper.

I purchased a Shop Manual from Airstream several years ago when I did my restoration. If memory serves, all of the longer trailers that year used the same wiring harness and similar lighting layouts.

Good luck. You can PM if you need. I took mine down to bare walls. Purchasing a Shop Manual was very helpful.

Jim

[azflycaster]

The two switches that operate the over the sink light work as a 3-way switch. It is wired in such a way that when ever either switch position is changed, the state of the light is changed. When trouble shooting a light problem, either one of the switches could be the problem.