[SilverStreak] brake wiring

[Jd Lyall <news@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I took a 400 mile trip this past weekend with the 1975 26 foot 
Continental. Last year when I started to hook up I had wiring problems 
and spent days working on it. Mostly figuring the system out, of course. 
It was a ground problem, as usual.

So this time I stopped at a rest area around Willits (no cal) and when 
we returned and fired up the truck the Prodigy controller (new last 
year) started flashing error signals at me. Dug up the box for the 
controller from the Streak and decoded overload.

I went under the Streak into the wiring cavity where I had re-done all 
the connections. Figured that was the most likely problem knowing my 
usual problems with wire nuts. Nope, everything looked good. Connecting 
the battery terminals directly to the brake lines produced no noise from 
the brakes, and a bit of spark from the touching wires.

Crawling under the trailer to look at the wires connecting the wheels 
showed me nothing. After two hours of so I was raising the axles to see 
if maybe a brake was so loose that it was over-centered. Then I saw the 
left rear brake wire was very tight between the clip on the axle and the 
giant U-bolt that secures the axle to the spring.

Pulled that out and discovered that the wire was pinched enough to 
finally ground out on the rusted clip itself. After 32 years it finally 
pinched itself thru to ground out at that rest stop.

Just wanted to share.

Oh, while trying to back into my space at home at 9pm (after 4 days 
away) I dented the right rear corner of the trailer. The truck backup 
lights blinded me but I foolishly persisted; thereby damaging my 
trailer. Bummer. Some wood block hammering will be experimented with.