Tail Light Wiring Location

[AldeanFan]

Can anyone please tell me where the wiring for the tail lights is routed in a ‘70’s trailer?
I’ve heard it is in the ceiling but would like to do corn before I start disassembling things.
Pictures would be great.

There is an intermittent short in my running lights on my ‘77 Safari,
I’ll start by checking the umbilical cord connection at the front but I’m concerned it is a chafed wire inside a wall.

[Aerowood]

My 71 was run down the ceiling, street side I think. I ran the replacement in the same place.

[overlander64]

Greetings AldeanFan!

Originally Posted by AldeanFan

Can anyone please tell me where the wiring for the tail lights is routed in a ‘70’s trailer?
I’ve heard it is in the ceiling but would like to do corn before I start disassembling things.
Pictures would be great.

There is an intermittent short in my running lights on my ‘77 Safari,
I’ll start by checking the umbilical cord connection at the front but I’m concerned it is a chafed wire inside a wall.

Before jumping into a major project, I might suggest examining both ends of the umbilical cord as well as the connector in the wall of your Safari as well as the connector on your tow vehicle for corrosion and tight connections. On both my '64 Airstream and '78 Airstream, two-thirds of my problems with running lights were directly connected to corrosion either on the wiring connections behind the connector on the tow vehicle, the blades on the RV type 7-pole connector, or corrosion on either the end or the wire connections on the trailer side. The vast majority of my problems disappeared after 2003 when I dispensed with RV blade type connectors and went to the 7-round pin connectors very similar to what Airstream utilized well into the 1970s. These are the 7-pole connectors utilized on semi trucks, and as such have excellent moisture shields over the wiring at the back, and the round-pins are an interference fit meaning that they self-clean as they are inserted/removed. I suspect that you may find that corrosion on/in one or both of your two female 7-pole connectors and/or one or both of your male 7-pole connectors may be the source of your errant short.

Good Luck with your Investigation!

Kevin

This is an example of the male connector that I am using on both of my trailers:



This is the female connector that I am using on my tow car:

[AldeanFan]

Originally Posted by Aerowood

My 71 was run down the ceiling, street side I think. I ran the replacement in the same place.

Thanks for confirming,
That is a big help

[AldeanFan]

Thanks for the suggestion,
I’ll definitely check the 7pin connectors.


I’m confident this so not a problem at the truck end because I have two trailers and two trucks. The issue persists with both trucks but only the one trailer.

[Dan@LED4RV]

Originally Posted by AldeanFan

Can anyone please tell me where the wiring for the tail lights is routed in a ‘70’s trailer?
I’ve heard it is in the ceiling but would like to do corn before I start disassembling things.
Pictures would be great.

There is an intermittent short in my running lights on my ‘77 Safari,
I’ll start by checking the umbilical cord connection at the front but I’m concerned it is a chafed wire inside a wall.

Sometimes they are run down the center in the ceiling and sometimes on the left side. Always behind the the left turn/tail is where they all run together. Behind the left side you will find the right turn signal wire. This is just for the Stop, Tail, and Turn.