neptune Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Have (and love) A 1976 Chinook that I assume is a Pick-up model. I am haveing a bit of a problem with the interior lighting inside the motorhome portion on the right side. I have a circuit tester, and can trace the lines by putting pulses down a wire and searching for the pulse further along the wires. I understand that the lights (two on each side for the motorhome interior) come from a separate fuze-protected line direct from the battery, and understand how it routes underneath the cab frame, T's off to left and right, and then goes up somehow into the motorhome itself. I really sort of trace the red (+) line up the side near the door, but cannot see where the green (-) wire runs. Am also having a problem with both teh tail light as well as the license plate light on the right. Have spent quite a bit of time trying to trace these lines to find the fault (s) (unrelated I am sure) and am running out of energy and enthusiasm. I do have the Toyota Trucks Repair Manual, but of course this does not address the wiring inside the motorhome itself. So - I am puzzled as to how to find the fault in these wirings unles I can find out where the wires run in the motorhome. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Location in Boulder, Colorado. neptune@ecentral.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoprat Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Howdy. Most times with the exterior lights it's corrosion on the bulb contacts. The ground contacts and wires are also culprits. Chech out these easy to get to areas first before ya start removing panels , etc. Oh, and check out to see if somebody installed a trailer harness. Some times corrosion enters into the harness splices andcan cause all sorts of problems. As far as the interior, check out the simple things first. Check the bulbs and contacts, see if your getting power to the lights and check the grounds by connecting a 12 volt test lamp across the bulb contacts. If you have done these things, I apologize for wasting your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neptune Posted July 6, 2008 Author Share Posted July 6, 2008 SHOPRAT - thanks for the feedback. I have done most of that sensible stuff and even have a circuit-tracer whereby I can put a signal on one end of a wire (with the battery cable off, natch) and then use a sensor to see which wire is being energized. Doing this I have been able to begin to get a general handle on where the wires run, but I really cannot get at them. One interesting point. I can use a VTVM and get a 12.3 reading off the rear right light, but even using a bare bulb to test, the bulb does not light. If I then put a bulb in the forward right light and check the vltage on the rear light, there is no voltage. I hypothesize that somewhere there is either a power wire or the ground wire that is connected by just a thread or two such that voltage is registered across the "fault" but there isn't enough "thread" of wire to accept an amperage draw. But - how to take things apart to find it? I'd just rewire, but I cannot get the wires loose or determine precisely where they run inside the plastic of the Chinook portion, thus I am wondering if there might be some info as to how this Chinook addition to the Toyota body was built and how the wires run inside the plastic. I have attached a photo to show exactly what "Matilda" looks like. I suspect the problem is in the vertical plastic area behind the door of the cab, and I can find where this exits the plastic and runs forward under the truck chassis and engine block to the batery/fuse. I would be surprised if the problem were in the Chinook portion itself, but cannot access that vertical area without tearing thigs apart. I can see the red (+) wire in there, but cannot find where the green (- ground) wire runs until it attches to the chassis. Oh well - Would a Toyota dealer have any idea how this is wired and how to get at it, or would I be best off taking it to an auto-electrical shop? Maybe an RV dealer? Thanks again for your help - or that from anyone else who migh have some helpful ideas. Neptune@ecentral.com Boulder, CO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinook1977 Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Hey Neptune, nice looking chinook! Im a new owner of a chinook aswell and have spent some time trying to do some research on it. I managed to track down a link to the scans of the actual owners manual!!! I found it searching thru the yahoo group. I would like to thanks whomever is hosting this and did the scans, Big-UP Yourself!!! The electrical schematics are at the end. Hope this helps and good luck! http://brochures.slosh.com/frame.shtml?chalet/chinook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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