| Author | Message | ||
| norcal kyle (Kylexisxrad)
Registered Member Username: Kylexisxrad Post Number: 178 Registered: 12-2005 Posted From: 70.212.169.184 Rating: N/A |
hi all, so i traveled with my friends from CA to pick up their newly purchased 1981 Eagle entertainer, 6v92 w/ about 60mi(yes, 60) and a 740(its actually garth brooks old bus, aha), and since we left springfield today, its just been one problem after another, but now its one i cant seem to resolve myself. quick backstory: the bus has been more or less sitting since november(about 5 trips in the last year), so today the PO called and had a tow service come and put new batteries in the bus. heres where it gets odd. the service guy pulled the 3 batteries and instead of reinstalling 3 new ones, he changed the wiring and put TWO exide px-31 650a batteries(12 volt). the bus cranked over just fine, and we hit the road back to CA. we stopped in Webb City, MO at the Walmart so i shut the bus down and we went shopping. i came back about 45min later and went to crank her over and nothing. i could hear the starter trying to turn it over and the dash was lit fine but it just wouldnt turn. i went to ask a nice trucker for a jump and when i got back inside my friend danny tried one more time for the hell of it and the bus started like nothing was wrong. so we hit the road and all seems fine. we get about 15mi down the road(was it highway 4???) and i notice that my blinker doesnt come on when i went to merge. then i notice that i can barely see my headlights. i go to throw my flashers on but they dont come on!!!!!! so i pull off the highway in the middle of nowhere at a mobile home park and my lights are almost completely out, i mean barely on. and getting dimmer. the security guard graciously follows us with his hazards on about 2mi to seneca, mo with my friend dan shining a maglite out the windshield so i can see where i am going. now were parked at a conoco station trying to figure out our next move. the previous owner said that we can bring it back to springfield tomorrow and the tow company will try and take care of it, but we have to be in Chicago on monday, and still have to drive back to CA to pick up the rest of the band and trailer before hand(26hr drive), then drive back so i would like to see if we can figure out this situation before we waste time and have to cancel a sold out show. i think it could just be bad ground, but im nowhere near an electrician, and we have almost no tools, so that limits us, although i do have the manuals. is there anyone near here that can possibly help us? we would be ever so grateful and can offer a CD and free shirt for our time, lol. feel free to post here as we have internet on the bus and i will be checking this all night.... kyle in norcal 1980 Eagle 10 #30223(currently driving #30605) | ||
| Michael Sheldon (Msheldon)
Registered Member Username: Msheldon Post Number: 48 Registered: 10-2006 Posted From: 68.230.115.166 Rating: N/A |
I can't help you much since I'm in AZ, but if the engine was running and your lights were dim, you've got a problem in the charging system. I'd say most likely either bad cables, or a bad alternator. | ||
| niles steckbauer (Niles500)
Registered Member Username: Niles500 Post Number: 786 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 72.91.168.92 Rating: N/A |
NC - your electrical system is running entirely off your batteries - the mill will run on its own once started - the reason the wait between attempted starts (45 min) was because the pause elevated the surface charge enough to turn the starter - if you had no outside discharge (from headlights,blinkers,flashers) you would be fine - charge your batteries and get to the nearest service center that can evaluate your charging system - there are too many variables to evaluate as to why your having this problem - you need a competent service center to quickly evaluate the problem - HTH | ||
| Richard Bowyer (Drivingmisslazy)
Registered Member Username: Drivingmisslazy Post Number: 1994 Registered: 1-2001 Posted From: 75.108.72.199 Rating: N/A |
Any chance you have an on board genset? If so, this is an easy fix. I had this happen to me once on DML. She quit charging and I needed to get home. I went to pep boys and bought a cheap battery charger. Plugged it into the genset output and connected the 12 volts to the main battery. Worked great and I only lost about an hours time in all this. Richard PS, This is only a quick fix to get you home or to where you have time and tools to do the repair properly. (Message edited by DrivingMissLazy on September 28, 2007) | ||
| Mark R. Obtinario (Cowlitzcoach)
Registered Member Username: Cowlitzcoach Post Number: 164 Registered: 4-2001 Posted From: 204.245.250.41 Rating: N/A |
Rewiring three batteries into two batteries is not a big deal. The downside is you now have a whole lot less total battery reserve. Somewhere, somehow your alternator is not putting out any juice into the batteries. The first place to start is to test the alternator to see if it is putting anything out. If it has been only 60 miles since major work has been done on the power package it is very possible the alternator has been fried. Accidently crossing a power lead causing a spark can sometimes fry a diode bridge, particularly if the diode bridge is old. If you have juice at the alternator but not downstream it becomes a hunt to find out exactly where the break in the circuit is. More times than not the break in the circuit can be traced to bad grounds in the battery cables. This can be extremely frustrating if both ends look clean but the cable itself is no longer any good. BTDT! Your regulator may not be functioning. If it isn't functioning correctly it will not allow the alternator to do what it is supposed to do. As Niles has suggested, many variables come into play when you have a no charge problem. Good luck and let us know what happened. Mark O. Castle Rock, WA | ||
| Don Evans (Doninwa)
Registered Member Username: Doninwa Post Number: 83 Registered: 1-2007 Posted From: 65.61.96.82 Rating: N/A |
What does your voltmeter say? If it indicates normal voltage with nothing else turned on it is most likely a connection problem. You need to check all the connections to and from the batteries to the starter and the main ground to the body. Also check the cables from the alternator to the starter and the rest of the connections on the alternator. The grounds are just as important as the positive leads. If memory serves Eagles are known for bad connections on the ground side. Some have put ground cables from starter to batteries to solve the problem. The connections can be causing the intermittent starting, dim lights and possibly failure to charge. Start with a good tug on each end of every battery/ground cable. If you don't find anything loose, look at the connection. Any corrosion showing? If you find nothing then you must disassemble them and clean. At a minimum you need to buy a voltmeter. Does not need to be expensive. Check the battery voltage at the battery with nothing turned on. Check it again with the engine running. If the running voltage is higher then the alternator is putting out. If lower suspect the alternator. Another quick and dirty way to look for connections problems is to use a set of jumper cables to bypass the suspected cable. Example - put the jumper cables from the engine block to the negative battery terminal and try it. Same goes for the engine to body ground ect. Good luck Don 4107 (Message edited by doninwa on September 28, 2007) | ||
| David Evans (Dmd)
Registered Member Username: Dmd Post Number: 197 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 96.232.83.31 Rating: N/A |
This sucks because of your time frame and its hard to find an alternator shop open past noon on a saturday. Start looking for a shop that has rebuilt exchanges tonite if possible. This happened to us at Bussin 03 and we had to rent a car and drive to Sarasota. Richards idea will work, we have done that too with a $500 gas gen set running a battery charger. Good luck | ||
| Rob King (Skykingrob)
Registered Member Username: Skykingrob Post Number: 20 Registered: 10-2006 Posted From: 72.161.0.32 Rating: N/A |
He Kyle I live in Springfield, sorry to hear of your problems. I am unable to get away but there is a very reliable bus conversion group in Carthage. Carthage is about 30 miles from you. The name is Doug or Phil at 417-926-4446. I called a friend who lives in Neosho MO, just down the road from you, to see if he has someone he can recommend. I had to leave a cell message. I will let you know if he comes up with someone. What is your current status. Rob 91 LeMirage XL Missouri | ||
| Justin Griffith (Justin25taylor)
Registered Member Username: Justin25taylor Post Number: 50 Registered: 4-2007 Posted From: 71.155.170.72 Rating: N/A |
If you dont have a generator call me and I will walk you through checking the charging system on the phone if you cant find help locally. If it is Garth's old bus that Ty England was using, I just put a 15KW Kubota in it last winter. If you need to get going I am sure I can find and send a bus out to get y'all until yours gets fixed. Don't sweat it too much, sounds like a minor problem, like they say "Thats show business"  My cell number is 512-695-5849. Call anytime day or night. Best, Justin | ||
| Buswarrior (Buswarrior)
Registered Member Username: Buswarrior Post Number: 1081 Registered: 12-2000 Posted From: 74.12.73.134 Rating: N/A |
Hello. Come on fellows, these guys have got to GO! Run the generator, make your 12 volts by way of the generator alternator or a battery charger and get on down the road! Go easy on the electrics, lights/fans/radio. Don't shut the engine off, not that you have the time to be stopping it, and call ahead for someone who has a vested interest to get off the pot and find service on your arrival for a charging system problem in a BUS. Kick some ass in your group of supporters! And don't worry about when you are fueling, just DO IT! Or, get a replacement coach and worry about this later. To my regular fans: It's easy to have religious beliefs when your belly is full. If they wanted time wasting advice, they wouldn't have asked for help. Sometimes, we gotta do what we gotta do.... Note to memory: Don't put the band's schedule into jeopardy like this again with an untried vehicle/sound system/drummer/etc! happy coaching! buswarrior | ||
| norcal kyle (Kylexisxrad)
Registered Member Username: Kylexisxrad Post Number: 179 Registered: 12-2005 Posted From: 76.170.88.15 Rating: N/A |
guys, thanks for all the replies. after many, many many annoying setbacks, and a few cancelled shows, i finally pulled into corona, ca tonite. im super tired, so i wont regale you with the details now, but i promise to post more on what was happening, what went wrong, and the solution(i promise it will be good reading, lol) kyle in norcal ps: BW you crack me up, haha |