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clboyd · 11-19-2007, 09:23 AM

I am a newbie to the Airstream, having purchased a used one-owner 1976 31 foot Sovereign in May 2007 from the estate of a 91 year old man.

Over the weekend the radio stopped working; I suspect it may be a blown fuse. However, I have looked all over the trailer and cannot find the 12 volt fuse panel! The manual says it is supposed to be under the galley behind a sliding door, but there is only 1 sliding door on the side of the galley unit that opens into the area behind the stove, and there is nothing looking like the picture of the 12 volt fuse panel in the manual. I have looked under the galley area via the door at the bottom of the galley cabinet, in all of the closets, in all of the cabinets, and no fuse panel! Can anyone steer me in the right direction?

Thanks for any help offered.

Regards,
Charlie

thecatsandi · 11-19-2007, 09:33 AM

Under the couch?

overlander63 · 11-19-2007, 09:34 AM

The fuse panel will be inside the Univolt housing. Ours was inside an access panel in the curbside closet, behind the bathtub. Replacing the univolt was a true joy.

ibgl6 · 11-19-2007, 09:35 AM

Mine is located on the front of the univolt converter 1973 Overlander an access is via a storage door on curb side near the rear dont know if that will help.... SAM

Zeppelinium · 11-19-2007, 10:00 AM

find the Univolt. There will be a door on it held closed with a thumbscrew. Fuses inside, a little bit cramped.

Zep

TwinkytheKid · 11-19-2007, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeppelinium

find the Univolt. There will be a door on it held closed with a thumbscrew. Fuses inside, a little bit cramped.

Zep

A little cramped?

Listen for the hummmmmm, the fuse panel will be there.

richinny · 11-19-2007, 10:31 AM

do the radio units use in line fuses like the cars do?

overlander63 · 11-19-2007, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richinny

do the radio units use in line fuses like the cars do?

Ours has inline fuses at the radio.

juel · 11-19-2007, 11:46 AM

This is my 76, 31ft. Sovereign. This is the rear bed model, so your's may be different, but the fuse panel is right inside the door and the breakers are in the hall closet.

**azflycaster** · 11-19-2007, 11:51 AM

My radio has an inline fuse as well. It is not the original radio.

87MH · 11-19-2007, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clboyd

Over the weekend the radio stopped working; I suspect it may be a blown fuse. However, I have looked all over the trailer and cannot find the 12 volt fuse panel! The manual says it is supposed to be under the galley behind a sliding door, but there is only 1 sliding door on the side of the galley unit that opens into the area behind the stove, and there is nothing looking like the picture of the 12 volt fuse panel in the manual. I have looked under the galley area via the door at the bottom of the galley cabinet, in all of the closets, in all of the cabinets, and no fuse panel! Can anyone steer me in the right direction?Charlie

Charlie:

Congrats on your great find....It could be that your '76 was a "crossover" model.

Investigate the area immediately below the front window and behind the gaucho (couch). The gauco folds down by lifting up on the seat and pulling it toward you (rearward). There could be a double door behind the gaucho backrest. The below pics represent the location and fuse layout of the '78 (built in '77).

Luck.....

The door in the middle under the window hides the fuse panel on the '78.

Mikethefixit · 11-19-2007, 04:26 PM

Ditto That's where my fuse panel is on our 77 Overlander 27 Ours has a panel held on by 8 screws

clboyd · 11-19-2007, 05:21 PM

I am so grateful ... and astonished ... at the 10 speedy replies posted to my inquiry about the location of my 12 volt fuse panel! To richinny and overlander63, I never thought to look for an inline fuse ... the radio is a Motorola AM/FM/8 track (I believe it is original, looks like a car radio, all encased in cabinetry between the gaucho and the entrance door) ... and yes, most car radios of that era have inline fuses; when I return to the Airstream on Wednesday, that is the first place I will look!

Juel, thanks for your advice and explicit photos. I have the same sliding door on the end of the galley cabinet by the entrance door, but the interior view of mine is totally different ... wish my 12 volt panel was located there, that would surely make servicing fuses easier! BTW my Sovereign has a double bed in the back, but the floor plan differs from the Airstream manual, as my layout more resembles the twin bed plan in the manual ... I suspect that the original owner may have had the twin beds removed and replaced with a double bed unit, because the location of electric outlets and the wall-mounted lights/shelves are like they should be for twin beds, and some water valves are out in the open in the rear roadside corner -- I am sure they would have been covered up by a roadside twin bed.

87MH and Mikethefixit, I will surely investigate your advice! I never even thought to look under or behind the gaucho, so that will be the second place I look.

BTW the original owner of the Sovereign was from Michigan and appears to have belonged to the WBCC, as his member number is on front and back of the trailer, and the WBCC logo is on a round sticker on the rear of the trailer. I heard from the consignment dealer that he and his wife used to caravan in the late 70's and early 80's, then when his wife died, he ensconced the Airstream in a mobile home park in Dade City, FL and used it as a winter residence for about 10 years. All was original in the trailer when we acquired it, and in surprisingly good condition, normal wear and tear excepted. The vinyl wallpaper inside was NASTY (he must have smoked, and the Florida heat and humidity did a number on the adhesive, which he remedied with several different kinds of adhesive and a staple gun!). We stripped all of the wallpaper, filled and sanded the wall surfaces, which appeared to be luan wood, then painted them with a high-gloss enamel that matches the color of the interior shell. The carpeting is in sad shape and soon to be replaced with a laminate floor. The color scheme is very mid-70's ... beige, brown, dark wood, and harvest gold! However, we LOVE the Airstream and are now looking for a tow vehicle, perhaps one that matches the era of the Airstream ... any suggestions?

Again, my thanks for all of the help, I am OVERWHELMED!

Regards,
Charlie

clboyd · 11-23-2007, 09:53 AM

Came up to our campsite in the woods along the Withlacooche River to spend the long Thanksgiving weekend in the Airstream, and being a quite damp and rainy Thanksgiving morning and afternoon, between bastes of the turkey on the Weber grille I went hunting for the elusive 12 volt fuse panel in my 1976 31 foot Sovereign. Still no luck! I checked behind and under the front gaucho as others have suggested, but all that is there is a small (smaller than the Univolt depicted in some of the pics) rectangular cover that is immediately behind the 7-wire connector on the exterior front of the behind the LP gas tanks. This small box-shaped cover is retained by phillips-headed screws, but because the gaucho frame and the storage drawer units below the gaucho are in the way, you cannot get at the screws on the side or perhaps the bottom flanges of the cover to remove it to see what might be behind it. I suspect it is the wiring for the 7-pin trailer-to-vehicle connector. I cannot believe that Airstream would put the fuse panel behind and below the gaucho, which would require removing the entire gaucho and storage door assemby to access, inspect, and change a fuse! I have emptied and checked evey exterior storage compartment, every interior closet and cabinet, and I cannot find anything resembling the depicted Univolt. Thank goodness only the radio and not the lighting is out! Any clues to the location of the 12 volt fuse panel will be more than welcome from this frustrated camper!

**azflycaster** · 11-23-2007, 10:30 AM

I have a 76 service manual and it shows 4 different diagrams for a 31 foot model depending on the layout. 3 of them show the 12 volt distribution on the curb side near the middle of the trailer. One shows it curb side near the rear. It will be located near to where the battery compartment is located. In my 75 TW it is located in the closet in the rear bath, curbside near the floor.

clboyd · 11-23-2007, 05:34 PM

Well, I finally gave up and had a seasoned RV repair guy take a look at my Airstream to assist in finding the Univolt and the 12 volt fuses ... and, lo and behold, the reason I could not find either one is because ... they no longer exist! Apparently the former owner had replaced the OEM Univolt and 12 volt fuse panel with a new inverter and bi-metal circuit breakers. His opinion is that what I have is much, much better than the OEM setup; he was also able to remedy the power problem to the radio, which was a loose retaining nut on the positive wire on the circuit breaker.

Again, I thank all on this forum who offered assistance and advice. I am now enjoying my new AM/FM/CD unit with an AUX input for an IPOD/MP3 player or other device. I can even rig up a cable from my DVD player and watch movies with the sound coming from the Airstream speakers! While the old OEM speakers sound great with the new unit, I may try replacing the old speakers with new speakers of the same size to get even better sound.

Staghorn916 · 08-17-2008, 11:06 PM

Mine is in the rear compartment, right side of the battery.

J. L. Taylor · 10-22-2008, 04:53 PM

I too have the same problem in a 1977 Safari. I've found the inverter, but I can't get to it to change anything. I wonder if I should pull the front couch and inspect all that's up front. I've lost the RH Brake Lights (bulbs OK) and the RH Signal (bulbs OK), and wonder if there is a fuse (?) for them. Is there a decent book for these things?

licketysplit · 10-28-2008, 03:29 PM

Can I replace the univolt (assuming I can find it) in my 76 Sovereign with a Progressive Dynamics Converter? Is there an ideal replacement product?
Thank you!

**azflycaster** · 10-28-2008, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. L. Taylor

I too have the same problem in a 1977 Safari. I've found the inverter, but I can't get to it to change anything. I wonder if I should pull the front couch and inspect all that's up front. I've lost the RH Brake Lights (bulbs OK) and the RH Signal (bulbs OK), and wonder if there is a fuse (?) for them. Is there a decent book for these things?

The service manual is very detailed. You can order one from the Airstream store. I think they are around $60.