1998 T-1950 Help, no lights up front, Wiring?

[BigEd6134]

New to me '98 T-1950 (Love it), two lights under the front overhead cabinet and the one outside above the battery do not work. Checked the switches and bulbs with voltmeter continuity checks ok. Also the tank/batt gage does not work, water pump switch does. The fuses all check ok. with continuity. What's the problem? Any wiring diagram for the T1950 available? Frustrated, Ed

[JohnB]

Hi Ed

Sorry about your lights and yes, electrical problems of this nature can be frustrating at times. But we may be able to help point you to some areas to look for.

Wiring diagrams. We have 1. It if from a 2004 T2499 but other then floor plan it should give you a hint of what one would look like. http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/downloads.php?do=file&id=357

Now since you are armed with a volt meter there are some things to check or maybe you did.

The bulb seems to be good but that means then 1 of maybe 2 things not working.

1. Are the fixtures getting power? Take you meter and put the negative on a known working ground. One you tested for sure and know it is good. Not the one in the fixture. Then take the positive meter lead and see if the fixture is getting 12 Volts? If yes, then your fixture ground may not be right. If no, then some how the hot lead to join those fixtures has become disconnected. Where? well more on that in a moment.

2. Well you have power but no light. This suggests you may have lost ground to those 3 fixtures. If your meter has ohms, test from a known good ground up to the fixture ground? Do you have ground? If not then some how the ground for those 3 fixtures may be unhooked. Odds are if the ground is missing, try each fixture to each fixture for continuity on the ground wires of those 3. If the 3 fixtures have continuity to each other on the ground side but no path to battery negative, then there may be 1 wire loose tying all 3 together to ground.

You are missing the hot or ground or both. Need to work on sorting out which it is. That is most likely the easy part. Once you find that then you have to sort out where it is unhooked. That is not so easy but here is a place to start.

Find the last light close by that works. Pull the fixture down and look at the wires behind it. Odds are they jumped from a fixture near by for ground and hot and hopefully the wire nut is loose at that light unhooking the lights not working. Sunline did run 2 wires (hot and ground) thru the camper all the way from converter to each light string.( at least I know on the newer ones, do not know all of them) But they did daisy chain from light to light. So if you are unhooked in the middle the end of the chain will not work.

Good luck and hope this helps

John

[BigEd6134]

Thanks John, I found the disconnected ground wire above the lights in the radio compartment. That fixed all three lights. Now I wonder why my water level light control doesn't work at all, (pump light works though).

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by BigEd6134

Thanks John, I found the disconnected ground wire above the lights in the radio compartment. That fixed all three lights. Now I wonder why my water level light control doesn't work at all, (pump light works though).

Hi Ed

Well good hunting on the grounds!!!

Now the water level light control does not work. I'm assuming you mean the tank level indicator unit.

Pending camper year Sunline used a few different brands. The newer ones use a KIB tank monitor KIB Enterprises - Monitor Panels

Does yours look at all like a KIB model?

This one came on TT's made in early to mid 2004


This one came on TT's made in 2003 and maybe a few years older.


If yours looks like that, does anything on it work or nothing?

If yours is another brand, what brand is it? and does anything on it work or just a specific tank level not work? I may be able to help tell you where to go poke around looking for something.

John

[BigEd6134]

John, Thanks again. The previous owner obviously wanted the radio out the unit quick. When I got the camper half the speakers were hooked up (fixed). The ground wire not connected for the front light string, and the POWER (hot) wire to the tank level indicator, both in the radio compartment. Everthing works now. : )
Thanks again, Ed

[JohnB]

Hi Ed

Well that was easy.. Good! Seems the ole rip and strip got ya....

Look at it this way, now you know how 1/2 the camper is wired... LOL

Happy camping

John