superhawk996 Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 (edited) I walk past the back door on my way to the shower and notice that the motorhome's parking lights are on....WTF? I flip the light switch on and off a few times to both the parking and headlight positions, still on with the switch off. The parking lights get a little brighter when switched on so it's obviously not a perfect connection to them. Not wanting to fuck with it I disconnect the engine battery and they're still on; double WTF. They're being powered by the house battery which should have no connection to them. I flip the switch on and off to the parking position a few times, now they don't get brighter when switched on, but still won't turn off. I flipped it to headlight and they turned off. Switched them on and off several times, no power just as it should be. Re-connect the engine battery and they're still off and working normally when turned on. All I can imagine is that there's a wire from the house battery circuit that came into contact with the light circuit somewhere and turning the headlights on overloaded that weak connection breaking the contact. I'll have to do some digging to see if I can find anything. It seems very unlikely anyone could help on this one, but if you got something go for it. I mostly just felt like sharing something trippy. 1985 GMC G30 in case there's an expert on them hiding here. It hasn't been driven in several months, no rain in months, no signs of rodents. Last time anyone was in it was a couple weeks ago. Edited August 24, 2022 by superhawk996 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 Do you have 5 G or a smart meter? How close are you to the edge of the earth? Sorry. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 If it was a F250 and it rained recently, I'd say GEM module. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomek Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 Invisible UFO hovering over RV. Strong magnetic field. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted August 24, 2022 Author Share Posted August 24, 2022 3 hours ago, blackhawkxx said: Do you have 5 G or a smart meter? How close are you to the edge of the earth? Sorry. I have both 5g and a smart meter, but the motorhome's roof is an aluminum sheet, equivalent to a foil hat, it should be safe. It is on the edge of my earth, I may have to consider that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted August 24, 2022 Author Share Posted August 24, 2022 Shit. The last person in it was Mikesail, our beer selection was pretty poor that evening, he's an electrical engineer. Mother fucker. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 Whew, glad it wasn't me. Just on the idea that it could be multiple oddities, double check the house-to-engine bridging relay. If stuck that would power the cab from the house battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon haney Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 Relax. You killed the mouse when you turned the headlights on. Problem solved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted August 24, 2022 Author Share Posted August 24, 2022 5 hours ago, SwampNut said: Whew, glad it wasn't me. Just on the idea that it could be multiple oddities, double check the house-to-engine bridging relay. If stuck that would power the cab from the house battery. I clicked it a few times before disconnecting the engine battery, then checked the voltmeter to see if either had been drawn down enough to warrant charging, both were showing different voltages. Neither was low enough to say which was powering the lights for sure. Probably the house because it's always notably higher and they seemed closer than usual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted August 24, 2022 Author Share Posted August 24, 2022 2 hours ago, jon haney said: Relax. You killed the mouse when you turned the headlights on. Problem solved. So maybe it wasn't my nervous fart that I was smelling. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furbird Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 Bear with me a second here because this may be a stretch, but did you have the car stereo on or have you had any issues with the radio? Reason I'm bringing this up is the factory wiring in that dash could have had two illumination wires... one is a steady and one is dimmer. If that steady wire found power, that would make the parking lights come on. This is assuming it is not the factory radio. If it IS the factory radio, you may have something funky going on inside it (I mean, it's only 40 years old.) And if it works off both house battery or run battery, then that could explain it being present no matter what battery you were on. In your panic you may have jostled the problem away with all the switch-flipping. Nearly a decade as a professional car audio installer and working on 12 volt shit since I was 15... I've seen strange things happen. The reality is I think it's just the switch is telling you it's on it's way out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 Not factory, finest quality 80s upgrade from Audiovox or Kraco, something like that. I never could get the Bluetooth to pair up. Probably needs new firmware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furbird Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 Might be Sparkomatic. I have yet to find an 8 track to Bluetooth adapter for my 71 Firebird. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 (edited) 8 Track To Bluetooth. Linky Your wires out of yhe back could conceivably been RCA jacks to speaker wire? Edited August 24, 2022 by XXitanium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 ...the other end. Output from the 8 track. This? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted August 25, 2022 Author Share Posted August 25, 2022 2 hours ago, Furbird said: Bear with me a second here because this may be a stretch, but did you have the car stereo on or have you had any issues with the radio? Reason I'm bringing this up is the factory wiring in that dash could have had two illumination wires... one is a steady and one is dimmer. If that steady wire found power, that would make the parking lights come on. This is assuming it is not the factory radio. If it IS the factory radio, you may have something funky going on inside it (I mean, it's only 40 years old.) And if it works off both house battery or run battery, then that could explain it being present no matter what battery you were on. In your panic you may have jostled the problem away with all the switch-flipping. Nearly a decade as a professional car audio installer and working on 12 volt shit since I was 15... I've seen strange things happen. The reality is I think it's just the switch is telling you it's on it's way out. There was no panic in the switch flipping, and the switch going out wouldn't explain it pulling power from the house battery since it's wired to the starting battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted August 25, 2022 Author Share Posted August 25, 2022 3 hours ago, SwampNut said: Not factory, finest quality 80s upgrade from Audiovox or Kraco, something like that. I never could get the Bluetooth to pair up. Probably needs new firmware. Unplugging the battery rebooted it, should be good to go now. It must be a highly sought after radio, they're sold out. https://www.ebay.com/p/1440357420 It appears that they made it from about '79-'84, maybe Winnebego installed it as part of the fancy motorhome stuff. It sounds decent enough and with the FM modulator we can stream super hi fidelity noises music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted August 25, 2022 Author Share Posted August 25, 2022 I briefly poked under the dash and was reminded what a train wreck it is under there, shitloads of wires all over the place. It's parked against a wall and I can't fully open the door to make it halfway reasonable to work on it, I've got too much other shit to get done so it'll have to wait. Worst case scen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 A friend of mine bought one of these today. It's a 19 72 Dodge. The body is galvanized. That's the only reason it looks so good being in Wisconsin. This isn't the actual picture, but one like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 $2,600.00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXBirdSlapper Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 1 hour ago, XXitanium said: A friend of mine bought one of these today. It's a 19 72 Dodge. The body is galvanized. That's the only reason it looks so good being in Wisconsin. This isn't the actual picture, but one like it. Heisenberg! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted August 25, 2022 Author Share Posted August 25, 2022 1 hour ago, XXitanium said: A friend of mine bought one of these today. It's a 19 72 Dodge. The body is galvanized. That's the only reason it looks so good being in Wisconsin. This isn't the actual picture, but one like it. Aluminum skin is pretty common with old motorhomes, never heard of one using galvanized steel. Take a magnet to it, I'm curious to know if it actually is steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 Did he buy it to travel around the country or a park in one spot to "camp" in for the season? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 He is living in it before he builds his NEXT brewery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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