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My 91 Beaver Coach Problems
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And a few more! And 91 is the Prevost not the Beaver Coach!
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Does the AC work? Those look like the original hoses.
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What looked like the head of a large CB on the first photo turns out to be the receiver for the cover screw so that is good news because it shows all the heat was concentrated in the area of the solenoid. But due to the color shift on the paint on the electrical box that box saw some very high temps for an extended period. An internal arc would not have the duration needed.
Clearly the solenoid needs to be replaced along with any wires that have had the insulation damaged. There might be rubber compounds that can be applied to bare wires to replace the insulation and if the wires leave the box via the wire bundle that might have to be how the repairs are made.
But none of this yet seems to answer why that solenoid got so hot for such long time period it did so much heat damage. In one of the newer photos it looks like some of the box paint was blistered. The bus was just short of having a fire which makes assessing the cause of the problem pretty important.
I hope I have retained some of the solenoids I used to carry for spares and if so they are for you Harry. I’ll look this afternoon.
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Yes the guy I bought the coach from ran the AC when the coach was parked and it was very cold. I also ran the over the road air for a third of the trip home until it froze me out. I had to call and ask him how to turn it off while I could still move? I was driving and it wasn’t a good time to be looking around.
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Hi Jon, I missed your last post. I shut the coach off a few times coming home but it fired right up. I remember when I got home I told my wife there are two power cutoffs to the engine batteries and I only turned off one of them. I went back in the morning and turn it off but that was only a matter of 14 hours. Could that have caused a problem such as this?Harry
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The two shut-offs are the big black handled one that shuts off the 24V power to the coach and the smaller 12V shut off switch is for the ECM. There is no way to say one way or another if they contributed to the problem without checking the circuits.
The solenoid that appears to be at the center of the problem is rated for continuous duty so even if by some defect it has had power to it all the time it should not be the cause of the problem. I just cannot remember if that particular one is switched just to engage the starter or if it is switched when the ignition (key) is on.
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That solenoid on mine is labeled,, (R4) Starter Solenoid,, on door schematic.
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I’m on the same thought as “Dick in Wisconsin”. The batteries seem to me to be aged by the dirt and especially the peeling labels. Between the Webasto burner box and the OTR hoses, the 4 chassis battery accessibility is tough, with all that’s in the way. But that doesn’t explain your “hot” issue.
Harry, when you get starter back in and “it” doesn’t turn over, but all dash light and the starting process seems to happen on twelve volt side, hook a 24 v battery charger up to jump posts on starter where they should return after rebuild the “red and black terminal covers on starter. You say you have “No Shore Power” to plug a battery charger to, BUT you DO. Fire up your generator, plug 24 volt charger into an outlet in the bus whether inside or we had one in bay “one” of Beaver 34. And if possible, run generator for 5-6 hours and see what happens. Sorry I didn’t think about you using generator for powering a battery charger until this morning. Guess fresh idea comes with new week. ;-))
I don’t understand how you made from Texas to NC. It looks like Jeff’s place is 70 miles from you
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Hi Glen, RE: “That solenoid on mine is labeled,, (R4) Starter Solenoid,, on door schematic”
I’ll look at mine later today to see if mine says the same thing?
Hi Jim: RE: I don’t understand how you made from Texas to NC. It looks like Jeff’s place is 70 miles from you.
The only answer is superior driving skills! Seriously though Jim, it’s superior driving skills… I’ve thought the same thing about getting back home. I’m so happy this did not happen out in the middle of “Never-Never Land”! As far as Jeff’s place is concerned, I didn’t think they could correct my 55/15 mph, no cruise control and no Jake brake situation? I thought that was the reason Clark Power Services in Knoxville was recommended. I also found out they have a 8V92 specialist on board!
I further understand that Jeff charges $1500 to answer the phone, $2500 to make an appointment and a $100,0000 irrevocable letter of credit tendered before the service door is open! I for one think that $1500 for answering the phone is way over the top!
Harry
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I agree with Jim about wondering how you completed the trip.
One thing optimistic folks need to understand on these coaches is that the warning lights and the gauges are trying to tell us something and when we choose to ignore them there can be consequences. Some problems require no immediate action, especially if we have some alternate means to deal with the problem, such as a failed alternator if we have an onboard battery charger and the ability to avoid the use of lights or OTR.
Some lights can be ignored if we know them to be based on false readings. A bad coolant level sensor is one example and by jumping between the two pins on the plug we can avoid a shutdown.
But sometimes the cost of ignoring an unknown warning light or gauge reading can get expensive. It is always the best decision to stop and determine what is going on. Then based on that information it can be determined if resuming travel is prudent. The good news is a lot of the indications of problems can be sensor or monitor problems, but until that is determined to be the case the best thing to do is to stop.
No need for speculation about batteries now because once the new starter is installed that potential problem is going to be quickly ruled in or out.
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I just talked to the mechanic and he said he will not know about the starter until 3:00 this afternoon. The guy doing the rebuild is having trouble getting parts. It seems he can get a rebuilt for $6500 but the parts are harder to come by. I’ll keep you posted.I want my bus back… Ahhhhhh! Sorry, didn’t mean to say that out loud!
BTW, do all 8V92 diesels have 4 batteries like in an 18 wheeler etc?
Harry
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Prevost coaches typically have 4 group 31 lead acid batteries, usually Delco 1150 or the equivalent Interstate, but some have had a pair of 8D AGM.
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Thanks Jon, so they’ve all had 4? -
Harry: How many chassis batteries do you have? Look at them very closely. Are they all the same manufacturer? Are all the markings identical? Its important to ascertain and ensure if all the batteries are the same and of very similar age. Maybe you can find a date code on them, post it, and someone here can decipher it to a date and month. Do this to confirm what the seller said regarding the age of the batteries. Trust, but verify.
Harry I hope realize how lucky you are. You’re 70 miles from Jeff Rowe; I’m 700. Many of his regular customers live further away . I’m not going to BS you (like some other guys on this forum might), but we’re at Jeff’s shop having the oil in the generator changed and a couple of other things taken car of. We happened to be in the general area which made the trip much shorter.
I won’t speak for Jeff on what he will or wont work on, but you’ll find he’ll draw a firm line on the shop floor showing where his chassis/engine/transmission expertise starts to wane.
You’ll also find that if your Prevost Community dues are current and paid-up, Jeff’s charges are much more reasonable than what you posted above.
Most of us can only dream of being that near Jeff’s shop.
Jeff and Lindsay
91 Marathon XL -
yes….what Dick said. Jeff
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