1985 FunLite wiring woes? Dead end wires... No external plug in... No ceiling lights.

I just bought an '85 Funlite - and I have a few electrical woes.
There are no cabin lights and I can find no plug in for the trailer.
Where is the factory plug in supposed to be?

I found converter(?) under the front driver side cabin seat that I would've thought would need to be plugged in to 110V AC from the outside, but it is plugged in to an outlet right next to the converter (under the same seat).
I do not know what is to power that outlet - it would have to draw power from somewhere.
As it is, I can find no exterior plug in for 110AC.

I also found 3 heavy gauge wires - stripped with nowhere to go - sitting under the seat on the entrance door side nearest the front of trailer. It's as if they at one time were plugged into something, and that "something" is no longer there. They disappear into the floor in front of the trailer, and I cannot see them under the trailer.

What I would give for photos and wiring diagrams!


~Rob

Hi, Rob - welcome to our group. I'm sure you've seen the HiLo manual for 1983 HiLos here: https://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f49/1983-hi-lo-manual-6838/. And, as you've found, the wiring diagram in it is not much help. I suspect if you found a diagram for a 1985 model, it would be the same.

If you've found the converter, and it sounds like you have, it is possibly one that plugs into its power source. If so, that wall plug would have wiring that would go to the shore power cord.

I think your BEST approach would be to try to get the brand and model number of that device and try to find a user's manual for it. That would help you see how to connect it to both receive and deliver power. A Google search using the brand and model number might yield results.

There ARE a few members with trailers of similar vintage. I'm sure they are wired almost identically to the way your's should be.

Good luck!

- Jack

I'm not sure I understand exactly what you are asking.

The power cord is usually in a compartment under the rv , Left Front Corner,
the cord goes to a breaker box / fuse center usually found near the refrigerator.
Converter hooks to the same breaker box

Arti -

I think you're on to something.
You see the pic above I posted?
That bundle of (3) wires is located in a storage compartment under the seat (right side, front - as if you were the passenger in a car towing the trailer)
At the bottom of that compartment is a lid with a hole in it, as if for a wire to go through. Lift that lid, and there is a small metal compartment under the trailer.
It appears to have at one time been accessible from the outside, but has been screwed closed. I'm beginning to think that this is where the original plug in would have resided!
Maybe the original wiring harness for the plug in was removed - for what purpose I don't know. I'll have to do some checking to see if those wires show continuity to the plug that the converter is plugged in to. Dimes to doughnuts they do!

Thank you very much!
I hope to have made a discovery toward progress within a few days...

Jack -

Between what you said & Arti shared - I think we're getting close.
The converter is definitely plugged into an outlet under the seat compartment (LH driver side, as if towing the trailer), and a brown cord is in the other outlet (origin & destination unknown at this time).
I'll bet the unknown heavy gauge wires in the compartment directly across from it
(The 3 wires in the pic I posted) route underneath & out of sight but are connected to that outlet. They are headed in that general direction in the pic.
I'll see if there is continuity between those wires and that outlet box.

Thank you!!!


~Rob

Good Morning
I got a chance to snap a couple of pictures this morning, While my camper is a bit newer I suspect it is similar to what you are working on.
The first picture is where the cord is stored outside, The power cord attaches to the breaker box and from there it powers up the 110 and converter for the 12 volts.

Rob, glad you're making progress, but I'll stick with my advice about trying to find out more information on that "converter" thing you have. Once you know what the inputs and outputs are, you can wire it up properly, without worrying too much.

And, to make things easier for you, the side of the trailer you are talking about is generally called the "street side". The other side (corresponding to passenger side in a car) is called the "curb side".

- Jack

The bare wires are still a mystery, but I have resolved the interior light issue and located the 110V plug in. The converter is working fine and there is light at the end of the tunnel... literally! It is odd to note that the bare wires under the seat all had continuity to ground.
Speaking of continuity to ground - this amazingly old school throw switch has fuses on it, but there is no power going to this. It only has ground when the switch is in the closed position.
Why would there be no power present to this?

Good to see some progress on the project. As Jack and Janet pointed out now is the time to make sure that the circuits are properly fused. We certainly don't want a fire.

If there is no power to a fuse block someone may have bypassed it so a bit of wire tracing is in order here.
Best

Thank you!
Slowly but surely