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My 91 Beaver Coach Problems
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Harry,
i presume you meant alternator and not inverter. If he said inverter i am concerned for you as your inverters have nothing to do with your problems. Not checking batteries propetly before pulling and rebuilding a starter was strike 1. If they are talking about inverters I will skip strike two and go directly to strike 3.
Consider the option of calling Jeff to see if he can come to the coach. If he cant get away from the shop maybe he can send Josh or one of the other guys to change your batteries and be his eyes and ears over the phone troubleshooting. Im not sure if thats an option but might be worth an inquiry. :0 Jeff -
I second what Jeff just posted. Getting Josh from ETLC to you coach (70 miles) would be a smart move.
If you want to install new batteries, I’m good with that.
Google Midtronics SCP-100 battery load tester; it’s a $400 piece of technology. Some Prevost owners carry one in their coach. It’s probably what NAPA would use to test your batteries if you’d split them and taken them in to NAPA to be tested. Google load testing group 31 lead acid batteries and I think you’ll find good information about the process. A battery can have enough juice in it to light a simple 12volt trouble light but be junk. One bad cell in a single battery of the four is like a drop of gasoline, which will spoil the whole bucket of lemonade.
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DO NOT, I REPEAT, D.O. N. O. T. Let anyone near your bus’s HOUSE INVERTERS. They have nothing to do with your starting engine issue, and that goes for your house battery bank. EEK, HANDS OFF house electrical system! -
I like your attitude. Hang in there.
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Harry,
I don’t want to dump on you any more than I have already, but if the mechanic actually said inverter and not alternator keep him away from your coach.
Further, if you do choose to allow him to install your batteries (do you even know the existing ones are bad?) do not allow him or anyone to remove a battery cable from the old ones without marking it so it goes back on in the exact same way it came off. Mis-wiring the chassis batteries is the number one or close to number one cause of coaches not starting. Don’t add to your issue by hooking the new ones up wrong. Take pictures, draw diagrams, look at the wiring diagram that should be on the battery side door, and mark the cable ends with the location it goes to. Also to eliminate the excitment of the sparks those cables can create wrap them with electrical or duct tape so they don’t hit a ground or another cable or battery post. When one of those suckers starts sparking you can’t buy excitment like that.
Back to the alternator or inverter comment. I’ll pretend he meant alternator. Yours is gear driven off the back of the engine so if there is a real concern about it putting out more voltage than it should just disconnect the field wire from the base of the voltage regulator. That will disable the alternator so that after you get the engine running you can deal with that as a separate issue. If it did put out more voltage than it was supposed to you would have gotten a big red light on the dash, and the problem would not be the alternator but the regulator. It is likely a black Delco regulator like this.
I really doubt you have an issue with the regulator or alternator and as mentioned above there is no way your inverters have anything to do with what is going on.
Be really careful you don’t let this “mechanic” keep leading you astray.
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To clarify, I did not intend to imply that Josh or any other of Jeffs people could not trouble shoot these issues on their own. My point was that whomever came would have the best in the business a ph call away if needed.
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I believe this is what he was talking about when he said inverter (the boxes with the white labels). I don’t know, I really don’t! I just know he pointed to them when we were there yesterday. And that the 2nd box is what converted to 24 volt. But I’m not 100% sure if thats what he meant this morning when he was mentioning inverter. What he has said and how I’m relating it to you could be a little different which I know doesn’t help!
I think I’ll do what you said Jon, I’ll put a piece of duct tape on the end of each cable and mark where it goes back on the new battery. That was the main fear I had about changing the batteries myself was hooking them up wrong. You guys don’t seem to like the idea of the mechanic doing it so that leaves me.
Someone mentioned having it toed and I’ve not looked at what Good Sam’s will or will not do as yet. But I’d rather not have to have my bus toed. I just don’t! If I have no other choice then so be it, but I’ll start with new batteries first! This whole thing is making me nuts, but I’ll hang in less you guys call me a big baby! I’ll just clutch my blanky a little tighter…
I just checked Good Sam’s and they say…
Anytime you break down, call our toll-free number for assistance.
- 24/7 Service
- We pay 100% of the towing fees to the nearest service center-no matter if it’s 5 or 500 miles away
- No pre-set mileage restrictions or dollar limits
Harry
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Those are the Vanner equalizers that ensure that 12V devices don’t just draw from the lower two batteries. Usually pretty bullet proof. Ignore for now and focus on batteries.
As others have said, be sure to mark the battery cables, don’t wear a watch, no gold chains and insulate your wrench. You do NOT want a short. With a little care, changing the batteries is straightforward. And get a voltmeter if you have not already.
Gerald
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Harry,
Also take off any rings you may have – on your fingers. My uncle once got a really bad burn when working on a car battery when he short circuited. Hurt for weeks until the burned skin gave way to new.
I noticed two wires in one of you pics of the back wall in the engine area that were hanging in mid air with electrical tape over the ends. Is that something you did, the mechanic did or were the wires that way when you bought the coach? I can’t tell what they are for but I’d be suspicious of any loose wires that have taped ends until I found out where they go and what function they control. Just saying …
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Yes the wires were that way when I got the coach. And as for jewelry, as long as I can keep my nose ring!Harry
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Harry, if you have one of those, you better watch out where you are putting your nose. Believe it or not, the nose is most hyper sensitive and a short wearing a nose ring will be extremely painful!
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Harry, if the mechanic said the equalizers may have caused the problem don’t ever let him near the bus. He is full of shit and is taking you on Mr. Toad’s wild ride.
The equalizer as said before maintains the correct relationship between the 24 and 12 volt legs of the battery bank. It does not make electricity but uses the 24 volt input to keep the 12 volt legs properly charged.
You need to take a breath, step back and figure how to get someone that actually has a clue to your coach with some testers and tools and get you going. Keep your Good Sam’s guy away, keep the starter guy away, and have the expert methodically analyze your problem(s), correct them and get you back on the road.
It is vital that someone start from the beginning because at this point you do not know if your coach would not start because the batteries were bad, or if the reason the solenoid burned up is the problem or if the problem was just a bad solenoid that burned up. If your original chassis batteries are or were good something discharged them and that needs to be identified. If they were bad in the first place then the starter was probably good. There are far too many things that need to be checked and checking does not mean a test light comes on.
In case I was not making myself clear, fire the mechanic, or at the very least, just to minimize damage to your coach, just give him your wallet and its contents and keep him away from the coach.
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Harry,
I know about rings and sparking. I also “Zip Tie” ea cluster of wires coming off their respective terminals then make a map on paper what terminal had what wires by using colored plastic tape on the zipped wires and the corresponding battery terminal with same color. I place the old batteries on the ground next to bus with corresponding colored tape on the terminals and take photos too. Other than a one time spark arch, followed incredulouness since I knew I touch nothing a second spark realized arched from wrench/ring Bay compartment in our H3-45 -
HJ, like others I’m astonished that a mechanic would rebuild the starter without first ruling out battery problems, but I assume you will eventually sort out the problem and get back on the road. However, this is not likely to be the last mechanical problem you will experience. I can’t help but note that all of your posts over the past few months indicate that you ran out and bought a very complicated and expensive 25+ year old machine with very little knowledge of what makes it go. You really need to educate yourself. I’m not saying you need to become a diesel mechanic, but you (and every other Rv’er for that matter) need to at least know the basics of the coach’s electrical (house and chassis), fuel, suspension, brake and drive systems. Without some basic knowledge, you won’t know when a mechanic from an unknown shop is telling something sensible or totally wacky.
Believe me, I’m no mechanic. I take my bus to the shop for repairs that many on this board would do in their own garage and finish before lunch. But at least I have a good idea of what each component does and how it is supposed to work. That way, I can at least diagnose what part of the bus is the problem so I can point the tech in the right direction. And I know when I’m told something that sounds crazy.
There is a ton of information available in the articles section of this site. Youtube and elsewhere on the web are fully of good information. Take advantage of these sources and get well informed. Otherwise, I’m afraid you are destined to become a former Rv’er because your experience will never be what you hoped it would be.
Sincerely wishing you good luck with your bus.
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on side of vanners(equalizers)
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