4 Curious Georges' 2001 Saf-T-Liner - Page 24

BlackJohn · 12-31-2017, 04:50 PM

Disconnect all power on the bus and be prepared to take as long as it takes to make it right.
Open that connector up and you'll see more of the same corrosion. It might clean up like new, maybe not. Make notes of what went where before and take pics for ref. Number things with Brady markers.
Open those looms and follow wiring back looking for any and all defects.
If you can find both ends of a wire, write down the resistance value for ref to others in the same loom.
Try and determine what went where first before doing anything.
I am really surprised you didn't notice that before. Those things need repair before any conversion or travel.
Pics will be helpful here, and hope you have or can get schematics.

John

Twigg · 12-31-2017, 05:08 PM

If the connector is good I would disassemble it, clean it and all the pins.

Then I would strip the harness back to good wire and remake it, soldering and heatshrinking all the wires to give you the length you need. Then refit the connector.

Failing that, can you source a new harness at reasonable cost?

david.dgeorge07 · 12-31-2017, 05:22 PM

https://youtu.be/Z4PwhTPDlR0

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david.dgeorge07 · 12-31-2017, 05:22 PM

I found the above video to be pretty helpful. It looks like I need one of those special wire remover tools for this style of harness. The harness is really clean on the inside I think it’s primarily that the wires themselves are damaged before they go into the harness.

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Twigg · 12-31-2017, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by david.dgeorge07

I found the above video to be pretty helpful. It looks like I need one of those special wire remover tools for this style of harness. The harness is really clean on the inside I think it’s primarily that the wires themselves are damaged before they go into the harness.

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Right, but you can go back 2 or 3" just to make sure. You would be adding new wire, so length isn't an issue.

More often than not, fine jeweler's screwdrivers will help remove the pins from the connector.

david.dgeorge07 · 01-01-2018, 03:58 PM

OK so I have an update! The repair is not complete because I have not yet found a way to remove the pins from the wiring harness, but I was able to get enough fresh copper on the harness side to solder or on a jumper wire and then I stripped back to clean wire on the other side and soldered the other end of the jumper wire in. There was one black wire that looked really suspicious so that’s the one that I chose to address. I just turned on the key and the voltage showed up at 12.1 V. I have not started the vehicle yet because it is extremely cold and I haven’t had the block heater on but I expect that the gauges will all likely function properly since it seemed like the voltage was the canary in the coal mine for the rest of them. As soon as I can get a hold of a removal tool I will work to fix all of the wires that look like they may be compromised.

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david.dgeorge07 · 01-01-2018, 04:01 PM

Although none of the rest of the insulated wires look bad...

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Robin97396 · 01-01-2018, 04:42 PM

Wow, you really should get some kind of skoolie electrical merit badge for finding that one wire causing the problem. I'd never seen that pin removal tool before either. I have seen corroded pins.

This is always a learning experience for myself and other non-electrician types. Thanks to both of you.

joeblack5 · 01-01-2018, 06:20 PM

often a pin removal tool for that style connector is a tight tube around the pin. The pin has two little tabs that spring out preventing the pin from sliding out of the connector.The tube that needs to fit tight around the pin forces an old the tabs together and then the whole pin can slide out. Find a thin wall metal tube ( inside an old parker ballpoint)n and see if it would fit snug around your pin or drill a hole in a piece of sold metal that is the size of the pin. If yopu do not have a lathe but you do have a drill press then use a drill in the vice and the metal in the chuck.

good luck
later j

david.dgeorge07 · 01-01-2018, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin97396

Wow, you really should get some kind of skoolie electrical merit badge for finding that one wire causing the problem. I'd never seen that pin removal tool before either. I have seen corroded pins.

This is always a learning experience for myself and other non-electrician types. Thanks to both of you.

I don’t know if I’m really that much of an electrical type but I was able to take the good advice from those here on the site and use some common sense to see where it looked like problems lay.

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david.dgeorge07 · 01-01-2018, 07:47 PM

Now that I know what I know here’s my best guess at what happened: I think starting it in the cold when everything was brittle and stiff contributed to the timing of the failure. Proximity to the engine was why high idle fixed it - less vibration -and heat from the engine is why it followed a trend of getting worse after the bus warmed up - poor connections degrade with heat.

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Twigg · 01-02-2018, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeblack5

often a pin removal tool for that style connector is a tight tube around the pin. The pin has two little tabs that spring out preventing the pin from sliding out of the connector.The tube that needs to fit tight around the pin forces an old the tabs together and then the whole pin can slide out. Find a thin wall metal tube ( inside an old parker ballpoint)n and see if it would fit snug around your pin or drill a hole in a piece of sold metal that is the size of the pin. If yopu do not have a lathe but you do have a drill press then use a drill in the vice and the metal in the chuck.

good luck
later j

This ^^^

Standard method of removing pins from connectors.

cadillackid · 01-02-2018, 07:17 AM

im luicky enough being in the Telecom business to have a pin removal tool set that works on most anything..... im wondering if the pin removal tool for Weather-pak connectors will work.. my weather-pak connector kit came with one in it.. joe has it right.. its a circular tube with a section cut out of it so the wire can slide into the tube from the side.. then you press in the tool from the back.. rotate and pull the wire out..

here is one like i have in my Weather-pak connector kit.. your connectors look almost like MOLEX maybe? hard to tell without seeing both halves of them unplugged..

https://www.delcity.net/store/Metri!...BoCd94QAvD_BwE

here is one for MOLEX connectors..

https://www.amazon.com/Connector-Rem...0B8KFPBA703DE0

-Christopher

Twigg · 01-02-2018, 09:55 AM

The ones I've used ... you slide the tool over the front of the pin, closing the tabs on the pin, then pull the pin out from the back by the wire. Pins are attached to the wires before they are simply pushed into the connector where the tabs lock them in place.

There are other configurations though.

joeblack5 · 01-02-2018, 11:49 AM

Yes there are all kinds. Most are pretty expensive for what they are. We work with molex and I have that size.
Sometimes some other dimension comes by and you have to improvise.
Good luck
Later j

Jolly Roger bus 223 · 01-02-2018, 03:58 PM

Just an idea from a non sparky type?
They make drill tip bits for security head screws that have a hole drilled in the center to fit the little tit/nipple in the center of the screw.
A good bit is only drilled the specific depth to fit the screw exactly but it just so happens that the harbor freight ones are drilled almost the full length of the bit. Which means if you put it in a drill instead of a hand driver you get one screw per bit and you have a cheap set of bits to get the only size bit you needed and now it's wasted.
Anyway one of the small Torx head bits with the hole in it might do the job?
Good luck

david.dgeorge07 · 01-02-2018, 10:30 PM

All good ideas. I tried the tube from a ballpoint pen to no avail. I broke down and ordered an inexpensive set from Amazon. Having exactly the right inner and outer diameter seems to be important. While waiting for that to arrive I got a little more done inside.

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david.dgeorge07 · 01-05-2018, 03:15 PM

Made some progress on a utility closet/garage. Little propane furnace has sure been a lifesaver with the temperatures down in the teens. It’s made working in this cold not only bearable but actually pretty comfortable.

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david.dgeorge07 · 01-05-2018, 07:43 PM

Well, these arrived.

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o1marc · 01-06-2018, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cadillackid

it doesnt have to be bottled to go to a Jiffy lube type place.. only an auto parts store.. when i go to a jiffy place they let me pour it right into their big oil drum.

to re-bottle, take the 1 gallon juck and set it inside a 5 gallon bucket.. and then a funnel and the jug wont fall over.

-Christopher

When I worked at O'Reilly's a few years ago it wasn't that we let the customer pour the oil, it was a requirement that only the customer was allowed to dump his oil in our tank. Had to sign a sheet with name, add.,amount of gallons,etc.

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