Running / Tail / Brake lights 77 Argosy

[Landmammal]

We got our '77' Argosy last October. At the time we did not have the proper wiring in our TV. A tech jury rigged a 4 pin so the trailer would be road legal, and all the lights worked.

In prepping for the TAC Ohio meet, we took our Mountaineer to the shop and had them install a brake controller plus 7-pin wiring. We went to pick up the trailer and found that only one light works, the passenger rear turn signal/brake light. No driver's side lighting, no reverse, no running lights, no applied brake lights.

After doing some reading here, I can only assume that the Argosy still has the original 70's non standard 7pin plug. Am I right in assuming this? If so, how easy would it be to upgrade the Argosy plug to current standards? Or would it be easier to just twiddle with the new plug on the TV to get it to work? Finally, if it isn't the plug, where might I look next?

Hopefully we can get this fixed and make it to Wooster by Friday night

[DanielB]

First guess would be that they are just wired up differently. It would probably be easiest and quickest to change the wiring around on the plug from the tow vehicle. I'm guessing.

[TG Twinkie]

Change the trailer plug to match the TV. All that you need to do is identify each circuit on your trailer and connect it to the proper pin on the trailer plug to match the TV. Just pick up a plug that matches the receptacle on th TV.

[Splitrock]

Trailer wiring is diagramed in the service manual. I sent for mine from Airstream. It arrived in about three weeks. There's a lot of help here on the forum. I fixed mine all myself. It was a pretty straightforward job for me. There's only three things to go wrong with 12 volt lights . . . the bulb, the socket, or the wire.

I replaced all the clearance lights with new. I replaced all the bulbs in the other lights. I cleaned all the sockets and checked all the grounds. I used a small battery charger, a jumper light, and a small multi-meter to check all the wires one by one. I rewired the 7-way plug using a 7-way tester. I had two wires switched in the cord initially. When I reversed those two, everything worked.

The previous owner had removed all the fuses and eliminated the fuse block as well as disconnected the break away switch. I installed a new break away switch, wired it correctly, and installed a new fuse block according to the service manual. The electric brakes and the brake lights look a lot the same with a test light, so it's important to distinguish between those before towing. My blog shows what I did.

Gary

[Landmammal]

Thanks for the advice. We were able to still use our jury rigged 4pin.

When we get done with this weekend, we will look at tinkering with the argosy's plug to make it standard.