Electrifing Issues

[Doug Mager]

The Trailer Goddess and I 'tried' to come to the aid of a new found Egger (attended our Fall Egg meet) this weekend. He is experiencing electrical issues, some of which we were able to sort out, without getting 'down n dirty'!!

His Trillium ( a 1976??) was new to them last year. The old owner (apparently) told them that the trailer came with a converter(inverter??). In usage last season they (new owners) discovered the 12volt appliances fading more n more every weekend, ending now in a total 12V power loss. I believe he has communicated with the old owner and was told that the system SHOULD recharge while connected to the tow vehicle (running, not with vehicle shut off). The new owner has tried this idea a few times with NO luck. Our task Sunday was to find out whaddup?!?!

The new owner has said he has gone through the trailer very thoughly and NOT been able to find ANY signs of a converter/charger AT ALL. ( I suggested that IF he can find it that it may not be functioning and it might/should have a reset button OR at least an in line fuse, which MAY be blown) In my bag of testing supplys I had along, I had a portable 12V power supply which has (removeable) jumper cables with it. I applied this portable supply to the 'stale' battery and the owner checked inside the egg for any signs of 'light'. He was rather surprised to find EVERYTHING 12V worked fine!!

So, we/I looked into the trailer to car connector (a round 7 pin, of which I have very LIMITED knowledge). The enclosed wiring looked odd somehow, but the owner says it works when connected to the tow vehicle.....so the 12V from the T.V. IS getting through to the trailer. Inside the plug, here is a little of what I saw. Firstly was a buildup of oxidization on all the connecting screws n wiring, which NEEDS to be addressed. This was NOT unexpected to me because of the maze of wiring going INTO the plug!! I noted too that the large center pin (which should have a small screw to hold the wire in place) was missing ANY wire and the small screw.

The trailer has electric brakes which are (for NOW) not connected, as he has yet to connect (wire in) the controller to their new T.V.

My question(s) is/are, ....this center pin, Is it NOT for the GROUND wire?? Or is it for the onboard electric brake system?? ....AND for the electric brakes, is there a + and a - wire running to the trailer wiriing plug? Obviously, if while searching, we/he cannot find a converter/inverter, there is NOT one. This trailer HAS had some modifications done to it by the old owner, and I guess this (these electrical mods) is one of those things that MIGHTA been best dealt with by some one (a pro??) that knows more about what they are doing.

Seeing as how the battery has sat (spent) fort almost a year, I have suggested FIRST giving the battery a good charge, then taking the battery and having it load tested to ascertain its charge holding capability. IF it turns out to be less than standard a new battery SHOULD be ordered. Also in this order, I have suggested the new owner purchase a small battery maintainer and wire it into the battery (at the battery) and keeping it plugged in (to shore power) when the trailer is sitting idle. We have done this to our egg's 12V system and it works perfectly!!!



....any thoughts/ideas????

[Donna D.]

Doug, I can't answer most of your issues, but there are a couple of PDF documents in the document center that may help with the tug/tow 7-pin confusion.
7-Pin Trailer End
7-Pin Tug End


On edit: you'll notice the color flags... are the wire colors.

[Doug Mager]

Thanks, I'll go 'snoopin' '!!!

[Doug Mager]

Thanks, I'll go 'snoopin' '!!!

Yes thanks Donna that is an EGGSelant (Egg Salad) LOL, place to start....

[Booker B.]

Doug, I am pretty sure that all the Trilliums after 74/75 (maybe earlier) had the inverter located below the furnace spot. I have seen several of them(include my 76) and they are all the same Progressive Dynamics PD6911. So unless the guy installed an aftermarket one in that same area (which is where everything logically ties together) he was putting one over on him.

I have been very happy with my WFCO 3 stage converter I bought - my only complaint is that when I have 2 or 3 lights on and the 110 plugged in the internal fan kicks on. Not really an issue as we never camp with shore power.

[Doug Mager]

Thanks Booker and just a little 'addendum' here I forget to add. The old owner had pulled the old furnace AND I couldn't even find the circuit breaker box (in the trailer). The fridge is also AWOL, replaced instead with a horkin BIG furnace that is prolly OVERKILL in that l'il egg, unless one was plannin a 'grow op'!!!! (Hay, this IS B.C. ....Bud Capitol,LOL!!!)

Shore power seems to come in from curb side just to the left of the doorway (and under the vertical cupboard) ....I'd expect that IF the trailer had a converted, it'd be easily located and visable.

[Booker B.]

My 1972 Trillium had curbside power (not roadside like my 1976) and it lead to a breaker box at the bottom of the closet which had just 1 20 amp breaker. I never did figure out if there was a converter in the trailer as I was just starting to explore the electrical in it.

[brendadave]

Shore power seems to come in from curb side just to the left of the doorway (and under the vertical cupboard) ....I'd expect that IF the trailer had a converted, it'd be easily located and visable.

I would suspect this isn't a '76 Trillium, from all I have seen, they moved the shore power from beside the door in '75 to the other side in '76.

As far as the other goes, I would also suspect there is no converter of anykind based on what you have said.

With the tow vehicle plugged into the trailer, do the 12 volt lights work? If yes, then the plugs are wired correctly. As for why it isn't charging, my only guess (I'm sure there are many other reasons) is that the AMP output from the tow vehicle isn't enough to charge the battery and do whatever else it does, OR, the trips are too short to allow the battery to charge from the two vehicle.

Good luck.

[Ed Harris]

I think you are talking about a 1300?
On mine there was really no electrical system to speak of when I got it.
There was a shore power connection that merely powered the light above the stove and two outlets inside but there was no breaker or fuse of any kind on the AC side.

The only DC circuit in the trailer was the hot wire from the trailer connector wired directly to the interior round lights.
A battery could be installed on the tounge and connected to this charge line from the tug but again there was no circuit to speak of.No fuses,no converter,nothing.

On more deluxe models there was a siple converter that was merely a 12vdc transformer that could power the 12volt loads when a manual switch was flipped to the house power position. The alternative was to power from the battery and there was also a center off position.

This could also charge/biol the battery as it was a barely regulated charging circuit to say the least.

I suspect this trailer is much like mine was and there are no real electronics there at all.

Hope this made some sense.

[Booker B.]

I would suspect this isn't a '76 Trillium, from all I have seen, they moved the shor power from beside the door in '75 to the other side in '76.

Thanks for that info Brenda/Dave (whichever personality you are today) - that's good info to know. I still plan to put Trillium history website together this fall and those kind of details are gold.

Ed, what year was your Trillium? I know I have read it somewhere in the forums but on dial-up it takes forever to scan the threads.

[Ed Harris]

I had a 73 1300 which I was refferring to and I have also had a 78 4500 which did have the above mentioned unsophisticated{just a transformer} converter.