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I’m the guy with the BIG grin, My very own bus!
I picked up my Prevost Beaver Coach Le Mirage XL 40 in Austin, TX on Thursday May 4th and drove it home to Murphy, NC stopping for fuel only! What a coach, 18 wheelers had no impact on the bus. It just looked at them and said Ha-Ha, go find someone else to bounce around! The ride is better than I could have ever expected. The quietness of the coach was another surprise with no engine noise and again to my surprise, no interior noise! I mean come one, all the cabinets, dinette, kitchen, windows and lighting, something has to rattle, clang and go bump in the night… But they didn’t! Not even noise from the door or side windows. Had it not been for some outside wind and rain and I had plenty of that, I’d of thought I was in the 2001 A Space Odyssey. However, when I was with Jon on Tuesday, he gave me an 8×10 signed glossing of himself. So one could say I had an Odyssey with me!
The coach is truly gorgeous! I know we all say that about our coach and we should because there’s not an ugly amongst em! My bus, “my bus, that sure does sound good, “my bus”! Ok, I’ll stop that now… This 1991 bus with no scrapes, no scratches, no dings, no dents and how is that possible? The interior is the same way, its all wood, even the ceiling and if there’s so much as a scratch I’ve not seen it yet! What a source of pride to be the owner of this beautiful coach and be able to have the high honer of keeping it up to the high standards by the previous owners!
My 1100 mile journey was not without incident however. I wasn’t on I-35 too long moving along at 65 and getting the feel of the coach when a red light came on the dash and the speed dropped to 55. I huffed and I puffed and I pushed the peddle in, but 55 was it! I called the gentlemen I bought the coach from Brandon and told him about the speed and the engine light and also that the gauges were not showing a problem! He said for me to pull over but that was out of the question because it was 5 PM in Austin rush hour with no place to pull over! Not long afterwards that traffic came to a full stop and when it started moving again I could go no faster than 15 mph, yikes! “Hey same to you fella”! The only thing that kept them from full blown road rage is my putting Jon’s picture out the side window! I overheard a mother yelling to her kids to overt their eyes, but it was a little too late for little Billy! Hey he may have had to go in his pants anyway!
When I was able to get off the interstate Brandon had me go into the bay under the drivers window and flip up the test switch and read him the code being produced by the red flashing dash light. It showing code 63 (after I got home, I went over to the coach the next day and started the coach and tried the test again and it showed code 64, both injector codes.)
I spoke to Jim Lane today, the Beaver Coach guru of the central plains and points beyond and he told me what was happening. Then when I told him the cruse didn’t work or the Jake brake, he had what could only be explained as an epiphany. That means “insight” Jon, sorry for the big word! Jim thinks it’s either an injector or the Jake brake and I need to go to a diesel shop to get it checked out and fixed. He also told me that the 15 mph was the computer putting the bus in “limp mode”.
I asked Jim if I could do it myself and he was less than encouraging. It was something like “You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around, but that’s not what its all about”… No one can say Jim doesn’t know music! So finding a place to take my new baby is first on my list for Monday.
If you’re wondering why I drove straight through its because night driving would lesson my chances of traffic where I may have to start and stop a lot. And once it was light out I felt I’d be out of any major metro area. Its quite a statement for the bus that I never felt uncomfortable or fatigued. What a bus!
Just as an aside, I wasn’t far out of Austin when I saw on the other side of I-35 a plastic tag axle coach on fire! The fire looked to be just behind the door and I said “Thank you Lord, I thought I had it bad”!
Harry
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32 Replies
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Congratulations on the new coach. Your quest and your find is a testament to the fact that great Prevosts in great condition can be had for five digit prices.
Too bad you couldn’t take the coach to:
Brian Stanton
American Fleet Inc
417.865.4420
417.234.7334
bstanton.americanfleetinc@gmail.com
http://www.americanfleetinc.comHe seems like a very knowledgeable Detroit engine guy. Was kinda on your way home in Springfield, MO. Sounds like you have a couple of engine related issues.
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Harry,
All of us start on a long educational process when we get our first coach, and it never stops. At one time a set of wrenches and screwdrivers was all that was needed, but today, even with coaches of your vintage your tool box needs some form of internet access.
When I read your post I typed “DDEC II code 63” and I got the following link. As you can see some familiarity with the coach and its devices and systems will be important but the link that brings you to the Detroit Diesel manual section a technician would use could have been helpful.
The process for you has begun and from time to time you are going to need help, or at the very least, answers so begin by getting to develop resouces. Jim is a good one, but to your list add Prevost Car, Detroit Diesel, and the manufacturers of the major house components.
http://dmbruss.com/images/Schematics/DDEC/63_Flash_Code_63_PWM_Fault.pdf
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Nice looking coach.
Welcome to the 8V92 club. Still a few of us around.
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Harry, you got you a real beauty. Congrats!
But? one second your in Austin and can go only 15 mph, and the next your home in NC? Did you drive 15 mph all the home? or what?
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Here’s a stupid question.You bought the bus in Austin and drove it 1100 miles to NC straight through except to stop for fuel…your bus went into limp mode and sut you down to 15 MPH. how long does it take to drive 1100 miles at 15 mph? lol
congrats on the fine ride
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Again, welcome to the “8V92 Classics Club”. We had a similar low power problem when we picked up our bus at Legends Coach in Rockwell Texas. Pulled in and changed oil filters. Problem solved. Don’t know how long your bus has been sitting, so I would try the filter change before I tore into the engine. You do not state how many miles on your “bus”.
Again, welcome and enjoy.
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One thing to add more confusion…….I had a bus that would intermittently run normally, then would barely get above idle.
In one instance the throttle position sensor had a bag plug and once that was corrected all was good. In another instance the problem was a turbo boost sensor. The point is reading the codes helps to focus attention towards the problem because usually strange problems that cause the engine to have limited power also usually cause codes.
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I agree with Big Cannon. My first Prevost experienced exactly what you described and ended up being filters. Luckily for me I was in Franklin, TN when it happened and only had a 90 minute “limp” over to Prevost for the diagnosis and repair. Good luck.
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Hi guys and thank you for the well wishes and information.The bus has 168,000 miles and the filters were changed 3 months ago. I didn’t drive home at 15 mph I drove at 55 mph. It would keep running at 55 until I had to slow to around 10 or come to a complete stop. From a full stop when I couldn’t go more than 15 mph, after a 1/4 mile to a mile it would go right back to 55.
The guy I bought it from thinks it’s a loose wire somewhere in the engine compartment. If you guys have any ideas of what I should try before taking it to a shop I’d sure be happy to try it.
One other thing. If I turned the engine off and back on again it would run at any speed I wanted it too. 65, 70 no problem. But it would only do it for a short time, maybe 4 to 10 miles and then back to 55 when the red light would come on.
The code the test flashed was 63-1. And the cruse and Jake didn’t work!
Harry
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Harry,
I will leave it to the experts to find the real problem, but to me it sounds like fuel starvation. I would change all fuel filters before spending money on anything else. They are cheap and most shops will do that as the first troubleshooting step. Cut open the old filters and see if they are full of black gooey stuff.
Good luck with your bus, it will all work out in the end. It can be a struggle for the first 6 months or so, to find, learn and understand all the bits and pieces that make it all work. But all the work is worth it once you are on the road and having fun.
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I know Brandon pointed out the fuel filter but I don’t remember where it is? Is there a chance I can buy the filters locally in my small town of Murphy, NC or do I need to order them? Would Walmart have them?
I do know that Branded added an additive (sorry I don’t remember the name) everytime he added fuel.
Harry
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Harry, my buddy bought a 93 Newell w/8V92 3 yrs ago. His went into Limp mode when he was driving back to TX after buying it. He found two DDEC II CBs in the engine compartment that were crusty, he bypassed both of them and put 20 amp fuses in place of each and hasn’t had a problem since.
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Harry: If I were you (and I’ve been in your place), I’d get the Prevost Community NAPA discount card. Its likely you’ll find those filters at NAPA … along with lots of other stuff you didn’t know you needed. I’ve never changed the fuel filters on a diesel, so I’ll let the other guys who have done it tell you how to do it properly.
Have fun.
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Hi Dick,
I did a search for “Prevost Community NAPA discount card” and saw some discussion but not where to get it. Do you happen to have it?
Hey Don, what are the CB’s and are they in the engine compartment where I can find them?
I’ve been going through the books I got with the bus but so far nothing on the part numbers of the filters I need? You guys metioned changing the fuel filter and I’m trying to find the one to buy. Can I change the filter or is it something difficult to get to and change?
Harry
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Harry,
I have never changed filters on an 8V92 so try this. Open your engine compartment doors and start looking for long round cannisters that have things like:
Fleetguard
Napa
WIX
and a number printed on them. Write down those numbers and go to NAPA to get replacements. Replacing the filters is not hard, it is like doing car or truck filters, just larger. Fuel filters and oil filters should be pre filled to prevent dry starts for oil and fuel filters filled to make first start easier.
Someone with 8V92 experience will be able to provide more details.
The NAPA card info is on the Home Page of PC when you sign in. Look for a RED “PC Members Discounts” button. The NAPA, Tire, and Fuel discount info is there.
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