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Old 12-28-2008, 05:04 PM   #1
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1963 26' Overlander
Tacoma , Washington
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Taillight problems

Am having problems with taillights in my 63 overlander. All work fine when the trailer is not attached directly to tv. As soon as I hitch up the tail light circuit in my 95 suburban blows the 20 amp fuse. Is it the trailer or the tv causing the problem. Also no running lights. The brake and turn signals work fine. Looking for help Fishboy
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Old 12-28-2008, 05:16 PM   #2
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2005 22' Safari
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The wiring in the plug changed in the 1970s. Maybe the Overlander still is using the old wiring.
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Old 12-28-2008, 05:45 PM   #3
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1991 34' Limited
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Check harness

A friend of mine has a 96 Suburb and he was having a problem with blowing a fuse every time he UNHOOKED form his urtility trailer.
The lights all worked fine UNTIL he would unhook. We found a short in the harness that is up under and in front of the rear bumper. There are a number of configurations on that harness. all the way from a 4 pin, 5 pin, 6 pin, 7 pin, 7 blade and one that will even allow you to plug in 7 blade and a 4 pin side by side.. Don't ask why, they just did it.
That is where his problem was. In the harness and the adapter sections.
I rewired it with a standard 7 hole and he then bought an adapter that pluges into that for his 4 wire utility trailer.
Now no problems
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Old 12-29-2008, 09:10 AM   #4
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1964 26' Overlander
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Taillight pr4oblems

Greetings Fishboy!

Welcome to the Forums!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishboy View Post
Am having problems with taillights in my 63 overlander. All work fine when the trailer is not attached directly to tv. As soon as I hitch up the tail light circuit in my 95 suburban blows the 20 amp fuse. Is it the trailer or the tv causing the problem. Also no running lights. The brake and turn signals work fine. Looking for help Fishboy
There are a number of potential causes for this situation.
  • Between the 1950s and the 1980s Airstream used a number of different wiring schematics for the Bargman/Polack 7-pole connector. If the Overlander is new to you, this would be suspect number one -- both of my coaches had connectors wired to the standard for their production dates so were not compatible with my tow vehicle wired to the current industry standard -- prior to towing, I installed new Polack 7-pole connectors wired to match the current industry standard of my tow vehicle.
  • If the Bargman/Polack connector on your tow vehicle is several years old, it is possible that there may be an issue with corrossion or loose wires causing contacts to touch when the coach is plugged into the connector. When I lived in Wisconsin and my tow vehicle had regular exposure to salt on the winter roads, it was an annual job to disassemble the truck end of the connector to clean and tighten the connections -- haven't had to do this for the past four years since moving from areas where salt use was heavy in winter.
  • You don't mention the coach's clearance lights -- they would be on the tailight circuit and a short in one or more of them could cause the problem you describe with the tailight circuit on your Suburban -- I had this problem with my '64 Overlander -- two of its original teardrop clearance lights were shorting the circuit breaker for the tailights on my '99 Suburban -- when new reproduction clearance lights were installed all around the Overlander the problem disappeared.
  • Another issue to consider would be the coach's umbilical cord -- if it is original or very old, it is possible that there may be unseen issues that are causing the problem when it is under "stess" when connected to the tow vehicle -- abraded wires chafing together for instance -- or -- splices that are no longer totally secure.
  • Related to a problem with the umbilical cord itself would be the junction box where the cord joins the coach's wiring -- there could be problems in that box caused by corrossion -- or rodents may have gotten in there at some point in time and "feasted" on the wiring.
Good luck with your investigation!

Kevin
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