Power Jack electric supply

[GREGLC53]

I have a 75 24' Argosy. The power wire to the jack is dead. It runs inside the frame. How do I access? Remove underside panels. There is a green and red wire terminating at the hitch.

[overlander64]

Greetings GREGLC53!

Welcome to the Forums!

Before diving into the wiring junction found in the bellypan, might I suggest two checks first. First, I would suggest checking the battery to be sure that the terminals are clean and that it is fully charged. Second, I would suggest checking the 12-volt fuse panel for a bad fuse. If neither of these turns up a problem, then you should find a wiring junction box behind an access panel in the bellyskin (on my Minuet, it is near the base of the hitch on the curbside).

Good luck with your troubleshooting!

Kevin

[nickcrowhurst]

Greg, I had this problem three years ago. On my trailer there is one power supply wire, and a short wire connection to the frame for ground return. I guess that on your trailer, the power is red, and the ground return is green, but that's an uneducated guess. I assume you have checked for both potential difference (volts) and resistance (ohms) between each wire and a bare metal part of the frame , and between the two wires. (I assume your trailer uses the frame as a ground. If not, you need to find the ground on the 12 volt power distribution panel) If one wire is a good ground, and the other is dead (no volts, infinite resistance), you are indeed in the business of replacing the dead wire, assuming you have done as Kevin suggested. ( My apologies if I'm teaching my grandpa to suck eggs!) My local Airstream dealer technician tells me it is a common occurence for this wire to break inside the frame. I decided not to try to thread the wire through the frame, but to fit the wire outside the frame to join the umbilical cord (trailer to tow truck) near the body, and follow that through the floor of the trailer to the 12 volt distribution panel. The umbilical cord passes through a hole with a grommet. Using a wire coat hanger, straightened out and with a hooked end, I fished the new wire up between the grommet and the umbilical. I also needed to drill out a few rivets to feed the wire between the skins to get to the 12 volt distribution panel. Welcome to the forum! Nick

[GREGLC53]

Thanks for the replies. I checked fuses etc. I thought I had a grond problem witht he hitch as it is supposed to just ground to the frame, no wire. I removed the hitch and made sure I had clean metal to metal contact with star washers. The power wire that is in the frame is red and there is a smaller gauge green wire directly connected to it so it is not a ground. This is in the A frame at the hitch. I looked on the underside and did not see an access panel for a juntion box. Everything else that is 12V and 110V works in the trailer, so I am still left to wonder what the gren wire supplies. Raining on my day off so I have not went further.

[nickcrowhurst]

Greg, could this be the power supply for the breakaway switch for emergency braking? Do you have a breakaway switch on the A-frame? The only other possibilities I can think of are power to a light on the jack for night time use, or power to the propane level detectors on each LP gas bottle. Nick.

[GREGLC53]

No separate light on jack or LP devise. It appears the wiring is in fact as you say, to the break away switch, which I assume does not have poweer now either. I seem to have 12V if I connect a meter to the wire and ground it to the frame. If I remove the power jack and connect to a battery it works fine. I guess i will connect the power wire to the jack and wire the ground thhe the frame to see what happpens. Thanks. The postings are a good place to go to get away from the frustration of a problem. Forum Therapy. Thanks

[toadtogo]

Greglc53, Had any luck with your power Jack electric supply? I have the same test results as your #6 Post.

[ticki2]

You may be loosing ground between the power head of the jack and the shaft that connects to the A-frame . Try loosening the bolts for the head , moving it slightly and retighten . I'm not clear on which wire ( s ) you have power to when you check with a meter .

[peegreen]

Use a thin "star" washer between the jack flange and the "A" frame to ensure a good ground. The washer will help "bite" into the jack and frame for better elelctrical continuity.

[toadtogo]

Unfortunately, I am not getting power from the wire that runs inside the tongue frame. Since all fuses check out to be good, I guess I have a bad wire as post 3 suggests. For a short term fix, I will run a line from the jack power line (and break-a-way switch) directly to the + battery terminal and a ground line from the - battery terminal to a jack bolt. Dropping the belly pan is on my list for a discovery look around adventure in the spring. I'll attemp to find the power feed problem then. If it turns out the wire is the problem, I think I will try taping new wires to the old and pull the new through the frame as I pull out the old. We shall see.

Happy trails..

[toadtogo]

Slow Progress, but progress...

Since I wanted to clean and paint the tongue and the jack ground was a posted possible issue, I removed the jack to insure a clean ground contact between the jack base and tongue. With the jack on the bench for circuit testing, I discovered that the up/down switch did not have ground connection with the housing. After grinding the surfaces of the switch and its housing hole, I now have a bench functioning jack.

If our good weather continues, I should have the jack and tongue refinished ready for reinstallation.