Electrical gremlins

johnny

New member
May 10, 2011
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I had two gremlins pop up recently, the turn/hazard flasher stopped flashing and the timed warning light for setting the Electro-Level became flaky.
I replaced the warning control with the PC setup I've mentioned earlier, just like the previous coach. I've an electronic flasher due Friday for the
turn/hazard. 8 bucks from Amazon Prime, vs 20+ from AutoZone and Advanced.. Both of them failed in that the heater for the bimetal failed. Not
uncommon after 40 years, but a PIA to find them behind the dash.
My roof antenna quit and I identified a short in the coax leading from it to the power injector, so for want of the time to run a new one, I've been
using an outboard coax in the toll window to the injector - works fine but requires a climb up the ladder at setup and knockdown, and it looks tacky.
We be replacing the wire - shorted coax is very uncommon, I suspect it's pinched somewhere.
I've gotten tired of the lack of domelights up front, so I'm tackling them as well. First, disassemble the switches and crocus cloth the contacts.
Fortunately they're made to disassemble. A bit of alcohol, a bit of crocus to polish, and the switches now work. A look at the diagram shows the
three position switch is OFF, ON, and SWITCHED. Switched is connected to the headlight switch like cars of the day - turn the knob to full bright and
it switches the dome on by grounding it. As luck would have it, the door switch also grounds, with a wire 'for use by the upfitter'. Well, mine now
runs to the headlight switch. In the center position, the lamp is off. Go one way, it comes on. Go the other way and the door or the headlight knob
turns it on. No more getting in and fumbling in the dark to get some light up front!. Try it, you'll like it.

--johnny
--
76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.
"I forgive them all, save those who hurt the dogs. They must answer to me in hell" - ol Andy, paraphrased
 
Johnny, You may find the upfitter went from coax to 300 ohm somewhere in the ceiling. Avion did that on mine. Never did find the other end of the 300
ohm lead. Might be a bit of trouble, but replace the whole length with RG6.
Tom
--
2012 Phoenix Cruiser model 2552
KA4CSG
 
No, this'n is a GMC upfit - Eleganza II. I think a PO or two back had the Winegard installed, it's the smaller of the two and the cable is routed
into the icebox vent and then down to the frame and back up in front of the passenger seat behind the trim panel.. I figure it's crimped someplace
along the way. Actually, if you use baluns, 300 Ohm wouldn't hurt anything. It's less lossy than RG, but probably the gain wouldn't overcome the
loss from two baluns. The coach is fitted with two TVs, the roof antenna, and a cablevision connection coiled up in the power bay. I've a complete
spare Winegard in the box, I suspect the switch/power injector is in there someplace. The switch on the one in the coach is busted. It's fitted to
the glovebox door, I'll leave the new one there since there's a large hole in the door for it. I have plenty of RG6 kicking around. Since the
amplifier is in the antenna itself, I may us RG-59 instead - it has a tighter bend radius and it's easier to get through tight places. Being that
it's an amplified signal, the loss difference at UHF for ten - 12 feet of it isn't going to be an issue. Couple tenths of a dB at best I'd think.

--johnny
--
76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.
"I forgive them all, save those who hurt the dogs. They must answer to me in hell" - ol Andy, paraphrased
 
Voila! We be dome lights.

--johnny
--
76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.
"I forgive them all, save those who hurt the dogs. They must answer to me in hell" - ol Andy, paraphrased