| Author | Message | ||
| Roy Strickland
Rating: N/A |
I know this may be a question best suited for the RTS Bus Nuts group at yahoo, and I have asked there, but I have to be moderated, so I didn't know how long it would take to get an answer, so I thought I'd check with you guys over here, since this is the only place I have ever posted (about the bus). When you start the bus, (78' GMC RTS Series 01) as the air pressure builds, at around 60 - 70 psi, the Exit Door Light illuminates, the green light by the back door comes on, and the brakes remain applied and the throttle disabled.... (HAHAHA, turn the switch off and it disables it or whatever.) So, no GIANT problem. HOWEVER, I was wondering if anyone knew a quick way to disable this switch altogether? It seems to have reared itself in our last cold spell. I have tried playing with the door switch a little and no luck there. I wouldn't even know where to start looking. When the Exit Door light is on, you can hear air leaking from what seems to be just behind the rear door down low. If you switch the run switch off, the Exit Door light goes out and the air leak stops. (You can also drive with the run switch off. Once the bus is moving, you can switch it back on and the Exit Door light will stay out.) This seems to be related to the Speed Switch light as well, as when you come to a stop (run switch on) and the speed switch light illuminates, the Exit Door light comes on again as well. I would rather disable the system if possible as opposed to replacing parts because the system is useless for me. My rear door is bolted shut. Thanks to all for any help you can offer. I really appreciate everyone here, especially those that have helped me in the past!!! | ||
| David Hartley (Drdave)
Rating: N/A |
There is a microswitch on the cam follower of the door mechanism that causes that problem. The switch tells the interlocks that it thinks the door is open or maybe even to open. The easiest thing to do is disconnect the entire wiring harness from the rear door. But in a pinch you might try pulling the wires one at a time from each of the switches until the light and interlock are released and light goes off. In my two RTS buses I have cut and removed the whole rear door cable harness at the front junction box over the front door where it connects to the terminal strip with no ill effects. If the rear door is not needed and the light circuits for the rack lights are not needed I just remove the whole cable bundle. | ||
| Jeff (Jeff)
Rating: N/A |
What I did with my RTS bus was...... I closed the rear door on the bus and made sure the bus would move. Then I shut the bus down and disconnected the terminal block for the big wire loom that is over the drivers left shoulder going to the right side of the bus. I then started the bus and made sure the bus would still move. The controls no longer worked for the rear door. I could open it manually. (To continue removing the inside stuff I did not need) I also got the wheel chair lift out. What you lose in removing the wire loom to the right side (curb) is the hot wire to the front clearance lamps on the roof. No big deal! Just run a new wire to the lights. If you install the R & M cap, you will run all new hot and ground wires anyway. If you do install the R & M cap, get help and do it in a warm area. I did mine alone and it did not go completely as planned / designed. Jeff 1988 TMC RTS-06 6v92TA DDEC-IV / 731v Member 4:10 club | ||
| Roy Strickland smokey
Rating: N/A |
Boy oh' boy, well. I am a bus idiot. I can't find any of these harnesses. I don't really even see any panels that look removable. I am gonna do some digging and see what I can screw up. I have the little deal with 20 or 30 circuit breakers in it, could it be disabled there? What about the speed switch? The two seem to be tied together. I am gonna do some more digging, I would appreciate it if someone could give me a little more specific info on wiring locations... Are there panels that need to be removed? I just have no clue what I'm looking for as far as the cover. (I know what a wiring harness looks like, just can't find the little bugger.) Thanks for all of the help. I appreciate it! RS Charter Member of the 57 MPH, 3-4 MPG, and free mosquito control Club. (My bus is smoking really really bad in the cold weather- It didn't smoke much at all when it was warm.) It smokes blue until it runs for a minute or so, then it smokes nicely when you accelerate. What's weird.... sometimes it will smoke on acceleration, sometimes it won't so much. I think it about worn out I guess.... The hub odometer only read 700 miles when I bought it, doesn't that usually indicate major service if it is reset? (Perhaps the San Antonio transit authority reset it when they were selling them) | ||
| Roy Strickland
Rating: N/A |
Well ok, bus idiot was a chicken to remove anything, but now I see the covers over the front door (removed by me) and over driver left shoulder (still in place). I see the wiring. I do not see any connectors. I tinkered with the door open/close lever a little more and now it seems to be working, but I feel positive we haven't seen the last of it. So I'd still like to figure out where to go now. Thanks, RS | ||
| Tom Caffrey (Pvcces)
Rating: N/A |
Roy, fuel mileage is very dependent on engine condition in these two stroke engines; a worn engine can double fuel consumption. Four strokes seem to go through more oil when worn out, but the fuel consumption doesn't increase as much. Wear in either case will make starting harder. For what it's worth. Tom Caffrey PD4106-2576 Suncatcher Ketchikan, Alaska | ||
| David Hartley (Drdave)
Rating: N/A |
The cover over the front door is the one, To the right of the air actuator is a terminal board with a bunch of numbered terminals. If you trace the wires that attach to the terminals, Locate the ones that go back towards the rear door. You can clip them one at a time. To the right of that is the cable bundle that goes towards the back inside the light housing. The passenger side lights and rear door wires are in that bundle. That is the one that you can remove. Passenger side!!! Whatever you do, Do NOT remove that big bundle of wires that go up the wall beside the driver. It contains "ALL" of the engine circuits and a lot more. Smoke? What oil is in the engine? If it's not 40wt like Shell Rotella or CF rated single grade it will smoke and smoke and leak too! If somebody put 15w40 in it.. Change it before its too late. Dave.... | ||
| Roy Strickland
Rating: N/A |
Dave, I am a cheapskate.. LOL I have been buying the straight 30 wt. oil from Wal-Mart... Supertech. It says right on the bottle, CF2 (for my 8v71) and specially formulated for DD 2 strokes. (I have a new 2 gallon jug of the 15W40, as it was rated for CF2, but I think I'll take it back. I have the worst time trying to find the right stuff without paying $11/gal. The straight 30 wt. oil at Wal-Mart is almost $12/2gal., but my wife works there so I get it for about $10.80. :-) Half price. (But that could be a classic case of... "at what cost to me") I don't know. What is everyone running? I started with the Delo 400 until I realized it was for 4 strokes.... I switched to the Rotella T 30 wt., and then to the Wal-Mart oil... LOL I'd like to find straight 40 wt. but all I can find is 30..... I hate smaller towns.. LOL Not really. :-) Would straight 40 wt. be best for me in south GA? The beast sure has been smoking awful hard lately in the cold. It did pretty good earlier tonight, I started it and it smoked pretty good for a couple of minutes and then recessed to tolerable levels... LOL It sure didn't smoke much in the summer, but now.... ...... HA I got another question too... does anyone know of any other transmissions that can be used in an RTS??? Turdy is only rated for 277 hp or whatever 275... WHATEVA.. LOL I found a sweet deal on an 8v92TA, but what would you mate to it??? (Poor V730 wouldn't make it out of my neighborhood with my lead foot.) I can't believe that so many other buses have the 8v71 and I got the slowest piece around. Talk about hills, oh boy, hit an overpass, bye bye atleast 5 mph.... I know the thing is heavy, but come on. I wouldn't dare try the mountains... I'd kinda like to be able to do some "farming". (My RTS has become my everyday vehicle.... I have a car, but it's not nearly as much fun to drive. 4mpg is eating me a new one... I haven't really done any conversion at all. I took seating for 31 people out.. they were heavy.. that didn't help much. All I have is the seats that face each other over the front wheel well covers, two of the seats that mount on the sidewall that face each other and the 5 seats that go across the very back, as they seem to be the door to the engine access inside. Other than that, it's a shell. (I had it weighed as it sits now, about full of fuel and with me in it... 26,400 lbs.) I can't imagine what the clunker would do with a load of people. And it's funny, some days are better than others as far as acceleration goes. It seems like it has a little more power after it has warmed up good. Still lacks though. I guess I got what I paid for... LOL $2495, what can I say. I've probably put 3 or 4 thousand miles on it since Aug. If I can get the dang thing to stop blowing oil all over the place, I will be happy. I am gonna clean the engine really good and try to figure out what's leaking. Lately, I have been driving at the low end of 3rd gear, 40 - 45 or so. I have achieved a new record for the least oil consumption.... but step it up to 55 for a while, it blows oil all over everything, out the back. The oil cap has been coming off...(this makes for a real pleasant affair..) I got it held on with some ground wire... So anyway, I'll clean it up good, let it dry then rev it up while parked and see if I can see anything. That dang fan blows like nothing I've ever seen. Anyways, sorry for all of the rambling. I am 25 and I have wanted a bus since I was about 4... I honestly don't have the budget I need for this sort of undertaking, but I do what I can. Geez, for what the crappy fuel mileage I get, I could have bought a new one. (well, almost... :-) ) You guys will get another laugh out of this... I bought a new Generac generator... It's a 7550 EXL. Like 7500 continuous watts and 12,500 surge. THAT HAS TO BE THE LOUDEST PIECE OF CRAP ON RECORD... OR CLOSE. Surely someone makes some kind of muffler to shut that thing up some... I paid $1100 at Home Depot... It sure seemed to have a higher wattage rating than any of the others they had at comparable prices, but again at what cost to me.... they should have a gear in the thing so it doesn't have to turn so many RPM's... no doubt a 3600 RPM model... My neighbors called the police on me the day before yesterday because of the smoke... LOL. So I take my other neighbors to the store and went for my routine tire pressure check and all, I get back to the house and I see the cop at the neighbors.. they are pointing at ME.... So, the cop gets in his little Durango, comes to my house and start asking about the bus. Neighbors said I was leaving a halo in the neighborhood and that they had their windows open and I choked them. GIVE ME A FLIPPIN BREAK... Who opens their windows in the winter? Police told me it was the 2nd complaint about the matter. Also told be I could be cited for excessive smoke or whatever. And also, they say the bus is really loud... Well I got news for them... It's not nearly as loud or intruding as their raggedy motor cycle or their kids rap music. I'd like to drive the thing through the middle of their doublewide and show them what it's all about... but that won't help much. I don't understand why the guy couldn't just tell me personally, he's got to call the police. Atleast the cop was nice. You'd have to meet my neighbors to understand. Bunch of whinos. I'd like to break down in front of his driveway and mysterioulsy have a disastrous air leak that prevents enough pressure from building to release the brakes. Then lets see what they got to tow me off with. Someone better have a granny gear, that's all I got to say. Anyways, sorry for the rambling, just want to share my experiences with everyone... It's kind of funny really. (Atleast to me) | ||
| sylverstone (Sylverstone_pd4501864)
Rating: N/A |
hey roy, good to see ya. umm.. not to put too fine a point on it, but you should be running straight 40 weight in an 8v-71. i could be wrong, but i was under the impression that 30 wt was not an option. ... and you should be able to get it for about 9 bucks a gallon in bulk. -dd | ||
| FAST FRED Rating: N/A |
Your friendly DD dealer has the correct oil and filters , at not unreasonably prices. The older the engine the more it will smoke on cold startup. If EVERY cylinder fired the FIRST time , there would be no smoke , but..... If the white smoke goes away after the circ water temp is 120 , and the oil consumption isn't excessive , no problem. The way oil pours out of many DD engines that were "rebuilt" by mediocre wrenches , DOES make monitoring how much was burned V-S how muck leaks an interesting exercise. FAST FRED | ||
| John MC9 Rating: N/A |
Ahhhhh..... Hadda' dry my eyes three times, reading your last post, Roy! Too flippin' funny for words, really... Nice job! Listen, 40w cf2 only. After an oil change in my massive leaker-blower-spit-it-outter, dark cloud from hell MC9, from the previous owner's 10w40 Target special.... to Delo 100 40w...... only the rear main seal leak remained... but not nearly as bad.. If it cures your ills or not, is quite another thing. Blue smoke is crankcase oil burning. Not a good thing to see happening. But the wrong oil will cause that, especially at startup and worse when cold. Black smoke on acceleration is unburned fuel. Too much into the cylinders.. Bigger injectors than originally called for, can do it. If it's a very small amount when you just lightly accelerate, and heavy black when you tromp on it, then it's controllable and not something to get ulcers over. Make sure the air cleaner is clean and without obstructions... Next, you can take off a valve cover and see what number injector is being used. If the rack isn't set right, it can do it also... On some buses, they've used an accelerator delay. It's installed to the rack, and regulates the amount of accelerator action to what the engine need to keep from taking in too much fuel. The trouble with those things, is it makes you wait when you're trying to pull away quick, so many ops remove the thing. If you try to accelerate quick, you'll leave a black cloud. Tickle the pedal, and you can keep it to a minimum. Smaller injectors can solve the problem. The Generac genset is one of the worst in the world. I'm surprised you've bought one, after all that's been written about the things on this (and other) forums. Roy.... after reading your posts... it makes me glad that I paid attention to what the majority here say about -anything- about buses. When ten guys out of 15 tell you not to try something, you can usually take it to the bank. It doesn't matter if the ten are "experts" or 1st timers, if it seems to make sense, and there's some explanation for their reasoning, I don't bother wasting my time trying to battle what will only become an inevitable failure.. I did, it did, and I won't do it again. Delo cf2 40w. | ||
| David Hartley (Drdave)
Rating: N/A |
Roy, You are stuck with the Allison V-730 for Life! It has a max HP rating of 350 hp. It also is only setup on your bus for a Left Hand turning engine. You should be using ONLY 40wt Oil in that engine and nothing else unless you are located in the ice fields of Alaska. Trying to think of replacing the engine with any other bigger engine would be futile at best. Truck and Bus engines are Right Hand turning engines " T " Drive rigs. Besides it sounds like you couldn't afford the $5,000 to $10,000 needed to start such a project. There are some alternative engine/transmission combos out there but are very hard to find and even harder to afford. ie; Cummins with a Voith ZFR transmission, Or Series 50 electronic Detroit Diesel 4-cylinder with Allison V731-R transmission. Mostly you have a choice of the 8V71 or the 6V92TA engines ( Left hand turning ) and the Allison V730 or V731 electronic transmission. Oh.. By the way. If you have seating for 15 or more or are hauling around non-family you can be clipped by the cops. I would assume you don't have a DOT number, Commercial Insurance and Tag and a CDL class B with Passenger endorsement. They will get seriously on your case especially if you have any kind of accident. | ||
| Roy Strickland
Rating: N/A |
Thanks guys, I really enjoy reading all of these posts and sharing my experiences with you. Please bear in mind that I had purchased my Generac BEFORE I found this community/group. ..... Oh boy, there goes the cop callers motorcycle... I should go fire ole' smokey up. Uh oh, now two motorcycles. No way my bus is that loud.... time to halo the neighborhood. Crank that bike again... here I come. Skeeter control is on the way. Well ok, I'm gonna leave them alone, but I do have an upcoming present for them... and the friendly local police. Ever seen the graphics with Calvin "peeing" on stuff? Oh boy, I'm about to paint 6 of them down the side of my bus.... One of them says "pee on WHINY NEIGHBORS" bunch of cry-babies. See how they like that when it passes by. Funny you mention the commercial insurance... when I first got my insurance, they gave me RV insurance through State Farm and it cost me $8.25/mo. Then they decided that they couldn't insure it as an RV. I have to pay commercial insurance at $49/mo. But its ok, its not out of sight or anything. Anyway, thanks for all of the posts. I always enjoy reading them. Have a good day everyone!! RS | ||
| David Hartley (Drdave)
Rating: N/A |
My little Isuzu NPR box truck cost me $1,400 a year on insurance. My MCI conversion is about $380.00 a year for minumimum coverage to keep a tag. I don't know what insurance regulations are for your state but I think you said you are in Georgia. It's probably not a good thing to keep doing stuff that bugs the cops. They will lose that sense of humor one day and you really don't want to become the moving target. You might try painting it John Deere Green and hanging a 3-Point Hitch on the bumper if it gets too rough...  |