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Dead bus
I drove from Tulsa to Northern Wyoming on Tuesday/Wednesday. I have been on shore power for a couple of days, Webasto running, everything great. Started and drove the bus earlier today, came out to start the bus and got nothing. The Ignition comes on, then goes dead. I went to the rear to listen to see if the starter would even click. When I turn on the ignition, the tail lamps light, there is a click and it goes dead, light and all. I have good voltage, no error codes on the DDEC.
Where do I start?1998 XL45 Series 60
Thanks for your help. I’m stranded in Wyoming
Jackson Whitacre
918-640-3995
jacksonwhitacre@gmail.com -
16 Replies
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Jackson,
With such limited information about the bus and your skill level and tools the only suggestion I might offer for the moment is to go to the rear electric box and try a rear start.
If you have never done that, turn the ignition key on. then at the box, select rear start. The switch is on the RH side of the electric box. Then making sure you are clear of the belts and other moving parts, press the start button. If you have never done that before it may startle you if the engine spins and starts. Just make sure you don’t end up in a position to get tangled up in anything that will be moving after a start.
If that does not work then I would recommend some basic checks, but try what I suggested first.
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BTW, I do not understand why the tail lights would come on, or why they go off. If it won’t start let us know the exact sequence of what you are doing and what is happening. Usually when something is on, then there is a click and it goes off, that suggests a tripped circuit breaker. If one trips the circuit is truly dead and you cannot repeat what has just occurred, which is why if a rear start doesn’t work a lot of information is going to be needed.
Sometimes it is tough figuring out solutions when standing right at the coach with tools. Over the internet the difficulty increases significantly.
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Thanks for the quick reply.
I have tried to do a rear start. When I turn the switch up, I hear the relays click as usual, then the system kicks off, not allowing me to engage the starter.
At my first attempt to start from the front, I thought I heard it bump the starter, then nothing. I have clean terminals and good voltage. Fortunately, the webasto is running, so I’m not freezing.
It is pretty frustrating.
Any clues?
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Check the voltage on the engine’s starting batteries WHILE you try to start the coach. A battery(s) with an internal short will seem OK when no load is put on it but will show a significant drop in voltage when trying to start. By significant, I mean a drop from 12.2 to 8 volts or so. If your coach has a 24 volt engine/chassis system, look for a similar significant drop while trying to start.
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Les, I am waiting for daylight up here in Wyoming. I will check it first thing. I do have a 24v starter. What has me puzzled is that the starter won’t even engage, no click like a bad solenoid and no attempt to crank. Is there a fuse link that I’m missing?
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Exactly what Les said.
If you have been reading the forum for a while you will have seen that even new chassis batteries can fail, and what might seem like good voltage as a result of reading with the meter (no load) can drop to almost nothing when a load such as starting is applied.
You don’t provide much info on the converter, but some conversions have provision for charging batteries or connecting house batteries to chassis batteries for emergency starts. If you provide that info some advice can be converter specific.
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Jackson were r u in Wyoming I am at home until Tuesday I maybe able to come help u I live in wheatland wy
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Jackson,
It does sound battery related. Peter is in Wheatland, WY if that’s anywhere close to you.
Tell us your conversion..
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It’s a liberty Tom I talked to him on phone
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Has he checked any ground connections.
As we know most things with small current draws will come on but when a major load is applied with a lose ground, you will lose connection.
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Sounds just like the problem I had when one of my six month old chassis batteries went dead without warning, same symptoms. It had some juice, but not enough to engage the starter. Charging the batteries in the coach didn’t help. Only removing them, charging them, load testing them, and finally identifying and replacing the culprit solved the problem. How old are the chassis batteries?
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It maybe the starter if batteries are good , I had a coach do that one time and it was the starter it happened on the road after driving for 3 hours pulled in to rest area and shut it off and would not start again finally got it going bought new starter and never had trouble again When I tested starter it was bad , I put new Mitsubishi starter on that’s the new updated one they r way lighter than the old ones , All batteries were good when I tested them also
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In an emergency situation as above a hammer is an important tool to have. Hitting the side of the starter often reseats the brushes and the starer will work.
Brushes inside starter get hung up failing to make contact with the armature.
It doesn’t take much of a hit but this has worked in the past.
Example of brushes connected with copper wires….. seated at 1,4,7,11 position.
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Looks like a bad solenoid. Have good voltage at both sides of the solenoid when the starter button is engaged. Finally resorted to ‘old school shadetree’ and shorted across the poles. The starter spins but won’t engage. Looked up a cutaway and saw that the solenoid also mechanically pushes the starter gear into the starter ring. Going to try to remove the solenoid and see if I can make it go ‘one more time’. If so, this bus aint shutting down til we get back to Tulsa.
Thanks for all the help and making us feel like family.
Makes us proud to be Prevost people.
Jackson & Jessica Whitacre
1998 Liberty XL-45
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Glad you got it Jackson it was nice to visit with u on the phone maybe next time it will be just to say hello and not that u r broke down good luck
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