New rig, could use some troubleshooting advice.

[Justin210485]

Hello all, My name is Justin and I am new to the forum! My wife and I picked up a 1978 Ford Midas is super good condition for the upcoming summer.even though we got a killer deal, there are some repairs I need to take care of.

Break lights do not work.
Fuel tank selector does nothing
Crack in grey water tank

I have read that maybe its the break light switch under the dash near the pedal, so I will look there.

Rear main tank is selected but using the toggle switch doesnt change tanks.

Pretty good size crack in grey tank. Will replace later but would like to know if it can be sealed for some use beforehand.

Thanks all. Here are some pics of the rig!



new upload photos

[toedtoes]

Justin210485 wrote:
Ok so is it possible to run the lights off of the batteries themselves which are charging when the truck is running completely bypassing the converter? That's the only way I cpuld figure that the converter is not connected but things still work.

Correct. Anything that runs off 12v will run directly off the batteries.

The converter converts 110v to 12v when you are plugged in. Taking your household 15/20amp or RV 30/50amp shore power connection and converting that energy to 12v.

The inverter does the inverse. It takes your 12v power and inverts it to 110v allowing you to run 15/20amp appliances off the battery with no shore power.

[Justin210485]

Ok so is it possible to run the lights off of the batteries themselves which are charging when the truck is running completely bypassing the converter? That's the only way I cpuld figure that the converter is not connected but things still work.

[toedtoes]

$400 isn't bad in the long run. I ended up rebuilding my engine and switching out the original 2 barrel for a 4 barrel. I keep my fingers crossed this keeps him going for another 40 years. 🙂

[Justin210485]

Thanks for the info guys. Both tanks are working I was just being impatient. I'm on to the next project. The electrical. I want to restore power to the pass side ac outlets. While I was checking the water lines I found another cut a.c. line. So if this line goes where I think its going the converter may not even be connected. But if that's the case how are my lights and such working? This Midas continues to be a mystery as I go.

Some back story. The carb was acting up and it did not run well at all. Took forever to get it started ans then idled bad. Took it into a carb shop hete local. He said whoever owned it before me BADLY modified the carb from a 4 barrel to a 2 barrel. So $400 later I have a working engine that runs well and starts right up.

[TyroneandGladys]

Check your rear fuel pump it might be switching but with no fuel pump nada.

[ernie1]

Justin210485:
A number of years ago I had a 1989 Ford E350 Falcon that had dual tanks and the rear one suddenly decided to show that it was empty even though I knew it was full. After pulling the tank and the sending unit I found that the brass float had a pinhole in it and it had enough gas in it to where the gauge would show the tank was empty. I went to Ford and bought a new float for $10!!!! Imagine that! Worked great afterwards.

[toedtoes]

I agree with DrewE on both counts.

Also, it hasn't been brought up, but make sure to do a full test on the fuel lines and propane system. Those old fuel lines deteriorate and get pinholes in them. I had 15ft of line replaced - they couldn't find any leaks in the lines because smoke was coming out the entire length.

Check the propane system all the way through. I had a leak inside the heater line. Even though I wasn't going to use the heater, that leak was coming into the RV every time I turned on the propane. I ended up shutting off the heater connection and now all is good.

[DrewE]

If the wiring and outlets check out to be in good safe condition, I see no reason not to reconnect the wiring to them. I would check the wiring over as carefully as possible (or replace the disconnected portions) as the main reason I can think of why someone would disconnect it is due to some damage to it somewhere.

I know that it's a lot easier to spend someone else's money, but at some point you would probably be well served to upgrade that converter to a modern one such as a Progressive Dynamics 92xx series (9245 or 9260 would probably be entirely sufficient). It would almost certainly charge the batteries faster when depleted and be gentler on them once charged and probably supply cleaner DC power to boot.

[Justin210485]

You're right it says converter not inverter. So did you see any reason not to reconnect that AC that was cut at this point all it does is provide an AC outlet behind the fridge and another AC outlet near the entertainment area which is what I would like to restore.


hosting pic

[toedtoes]

RV ac units can often be too much for a regular 110/120 household outlet. Especially if something else is pulling from the same fuse at the same time. Could be happening with the fridge. Try hooking up the fridge to a dedicated fuse with nothing else attached to that fuse (or turned off) - does it still blow the fuse? If so, there's a problem. If not, it could just be that you had to much pulling at that moment.

Does the inverter actually say it's an inverter? It could actually be the converter that turns shore power into DC power. Few older RVs came with an inverter - they weren't feasable in those days. But they most all came with a converter.

And remember that on battery power, your outlets won't work (unless you actually have an inverter), but the lights should work just fine. On shore power, the outlets do work (pull directly from the 110 outlet) and the lights work by pulling power converted to DC by the the converter.

[Justin210485]

DrewE wrote:
The inverter produces 120V power from the 12V power from the batteries for powering whatever sorts of 120V devices you want to power when not connected to shore power. (Obviously there are limitations on how much power is available from an inverter.) Common examples include 120V televisions and other entertainment devices, laptops, crock pots, and maybe limited microwaving if the inverter and battery bank are sufficiently large.

As to why the 120V power to the fridge was cut, your guess may be as good as mine. Possibly there was some fault in the fridge or in the outlet it plugs into (water got into the outlet maybe).

So thats what I thought. But as it seems a.c. plugs and fridge a.c. only work on shore. I was looking at the inverter and it says the output is dc. Wouldnt it say a.c.? As for the fridge. I plugged it into an extension cord and then to a 120 outlet on the house. It imediatly blew the breaker. So as you said,it seems in order to keep from blowing the rv breaker they cut the ac outlet from the inverter. I dont know why they didnt just unplug it from the rear access panel.

[DrewE]

The inverter produces 120V power from the 12V power from the batteries for powering whatever sorts of 120V devices you want to power when not connected to shore power. (Obviously there are limitations on how much power is available from an inverter.) Common examples include 120V televisions and other entertainment devices, laptops, crock pots, and maybe limited microwaving if the inverter and battery bank are sufficiently large.

As to why the 120V power to the fridge was cut, your guess may be as good as mine. Possibly there was some fault in the fridge or in the outlet it plugs into (water got into the outlet maybe).

[Justin210485]

120 outlets work other then the 1 that was cut. All lights work in interior on and off shore power. This system does not use a generator. It has 2 batteries under the hood and 2 deep cycle batteries under bench in living area. What is the purpose of the inverter in this situation?

[toedtoes]

Justin210485 wrote:
Update: so I guess I just wasnt patient enough with the fuel tank switch. Today while driving I flipped it for the he'll of it , was also near empty. After about 5m the fuel gauge slowly rose to 1/3 tank. So that's great.

Glad to hear! Keep that sending unit contact info above - you never know when you'll need it.