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Old 09-21-2022, 06:05 PM   #21
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1949 22' Liner
1969 27' Overlander
1969 27' Overlander
Walnut Creek , California
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 325
Quote:
Originally Posted by pappysnap View Post
Thank you and yes I have decided to stick with the 7-pin. Your advice is great but my skill level is lacking. I have an amp meter I use to check continuity but I’m assuming your talking about an ohm meter which I’ve never used. The breakaway switch has two wires connected to two wires that appear to be inside the tongue. One is red and the other is yellow. When you say blue wire are you referring to the blue wire on the new seven wire cord?
It probably is red and yellow. I am home now so I can look. The red is coming from your trailer battery and the yellow is going back out to your brakes. Probably. Do you have 12 volts on the red wire? This power comes from your trailer battery. By the way, The meter used to check continuity is an OHM meter. You are reading OHMs. You should invest in a digital multimeter. Sounds like you need one. Do you have a 10 amp battery charger?
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Old 09-21-2022, 06:20 PM   #22
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1994 25' Excella
Waukesha , Wisconsin
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There are two filaments in that bulb. The smaller one is the tail lights, the larger the stop/turn. When you press the brakes in the tow vehicle, both of the larger filaments should light up. Activate the turn signals to one side or the other and the corresponding light in the trailer should blink.

You've got to confirm that the place you are connecting to on the tow vehicle's 7-wire receptacle is correct. There should be the following terminals on the 7-wire:

Brake controller
Positive
Negative
Backup lights
Left turn/brake lights
Right turn/brake lights
Running/tail lights

All of this can be confirmed with a volt meter or a test lamp with pigtails. Make a chart so you know which goes where on your tow vehicle's 7-wire connector.

The wires on your trailer should correspond to these, but I have no idea which color is which for you. When I was trying to sort out my 7-wire cable on my trailer I used a small motorcycle battery and a pair of alligator clip jumper leads to test. The negative lead from the battery was connected to the chassis, and then I connected the positive lead from the battery one by one to the light circuit wires in the trailer to see what lit up.

One big warning though, if you do this with a wire in the trailer connected to the chassis (negative wire) sparks will fly. You've got to make sure that you're only testing wires which go to the positive side of your light circuits. Don't test the brakes this way either.
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Old 09-21-2022, 07:03 PM   #23
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1949 22' Liner
1969 27' Overlander
1969 27' Overlander
Walnut Creek , California
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 325
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jcondon View Post
It probably is red and yellow. I am home now so I can look. The red is coming from your trailer battery and the yellow is going back out to your brakes. Probably. Do you have 12 volts on the red wire? This power comes from your trailer battery. By the way, The meter used to check continuity is an OHM meter. You are reading OHMs. You should invest in a digital multimeter. Sounds like you need one. Do you have a 10 amp battery charger?
I have two 1969 Overlanders and on one the colors at the break away are orange and white and the other is red and yellow. My yellow is a little smaller than the red. Colors back then didn't mean much.
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Old 09-22-2022, 08:49 AM   #24
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1949 22' Liner
1969 27' Overlander
1969 27' Overlander
Walnut Creek , California
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 325
Quote:
Originally Posted by pappysnap View Post
My issue is not resolved. When I turn the left blinker on the TV the left turn/stop wire blinks. But it only operates one side of the bulb when you hook up the fixture and apply the brakes. I’ve owned quite a number of vintage trailers but I’ve never had this much trouble before.

Am I connecting the wires correctly? On the left side rear I have a red wire that is the left turn/stop. I connected it to the red lead on the tail light fixture. I have a green wire that is the marker lights. I connected it to the white lead on the fixture. When I turn on the lights, blinker, and brake on the TV only one side of the bulb blinks. I reversed the connection on the light fixture and got the same result.
One side of the bulb is the turn and brake light. The other side is the running lights. They are two entirely separate things. Both filaments will never blink together.
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Old 09-23-2022, 08:29 AM   #25
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Originally Posted by richard5933 View Post
One big warning though, if you do this with a wire in the trailer connected to the chassis (negative wire) sparks will fly. You've got to make sure that you're only testing wires which go to the positive side of your light circuits. Don't test the brakes this way either.
Great info. Yes I use a test light to trace the function from the TV side and also from the front to the rear of the camper. I try to keep wire nuts on disconnected wires but I’ve had a few accidents. This can blow blow fuses in the TV too. In my 2004 F-150 you have to be a contortionist to Change out a fuse. It’s not pleasant.
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Old 09-23-2022, 08:36 AM   #26
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I give up.

Yesterday I towed the camper to a service center. There has been a lot of great information in this thread. I also got great info from a thread written in 2011! Thanks to all who contributed and I will come back here with the solution if I get one. Cheers!
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Old 09-28-2022, 08:26 PM   #27
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The issue is solved.

This issue is solved. Airforums was a big help and my RV Service Center contributed as well. There were two main issues…one involving fuses on the TV and the other involving grounding on the tail light canisters. Two fuses on the TV were blown which rendered all testing and trouble shooting erroneous. I was somewhat careless while testing the turn/stop/marker 12V circuits and probably blew those fuses by accidentally touching a wire that was charged with 12V to the camper skin. If you see sparks the next step is to check the fuses on the TV. My RV Service Center discovered the blown fuses. I replaced the fuses and started over being very careful not to short a circuit. I used a 12V tester to check the 7-pin connections on the TV and found the configuration standard. I plugged the 7 wire cord into the TV and I then matched each colored wire on the other end and installed the plug-in. The plug-in end plugs into a Pollak 7-pin outlet mounted on the front of the camper. All of the 12V towing circuits on the camper plug in to the back of this outlet and I matched them with the front of the outlet with the test light. With the fuses on the TV replaced I’m thinking I’m good to go. I started with the right backup light and was completely miffed when I got no light. At this point I decided to go to Harbor Freight and buy a 4-pin turn/stop/market kit with tail lights that attach magnetically. But then the miracle happened. When I originally pulled the canisters I noticed that they were not screwed in. The red and white leads from the bulb fed out the bottom of the fixture and the fixtures were just jammed into the sockets pinching the leads but making the canister tight in the socket. Fortunately none of the leads were shorted. To fix this I drilled a 1/4” hole in the back at the base and routed the leads out the back. This got them out of the way of the bottom of the fixture. I also put a small offset on both sides of the mounting bracket. This raised the socket enough that it didn’t crowd the bulb. Rerouting the wires out the back of the canister made the canister loose and it needed a self tapping screw to secure it in the socket. When the screw began to seat the light came on! That was the ground that was needed. The red and white leads on the bulb fixtures are both positive. The ground is wired inside the fixture. In my case the red lead tied to the marker lights and the white lead tied to the turn/stop wire. On the reverse (backup) light you only use the white lead. Just cap the red lead with a wire nut. When you secure the fixture with a screw that provides the ground. Hope this is helpful.
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