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Old 01-20-2018, 07:31 PM   #1
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Location: Hudson Valley NY
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Question Total newbie. Just got a deal (I think), Looking for battery and any other help!

Hello all, and thanks in advance for any guidance you can lend.

I just bought a GMC 3500 6.5 turbo diesel, Corbeil body, 162k for $750. I know, at that price I felt there must be some serious issues, but it looks great besides some small dents. No major rust issues.

The guy said it he had it running about 3 weeks ago but we were unable to get it to start, in about 30 deg temp, even though it was turning over and felt like she might quite a few times. Didn't hear any scary sounds while turning over but I'm not a diesel specialist by any means. I'm looking to educate myself thoroughly on it before getting too deeply invested in this project.

I know they take a lot of juice to start, and I noticed there was no battery in the secondary compartment in back. Is this just for lighting and other aux or would the extra battery assist in cold start? I'm getting it towed to me tomorrow and would like to get it going obviously to hear how it sounds and address any issues I come across. Wanted to pick up 2 new batteries and wondering what I need and where I should go, just autozone/advance auto?

Should I be getting 1 starting battery and 1 deep cycle for the rear compartment, or 2 solid starting batteries?

And since we're here in electrical, are there any things I should be looking out for with the 6.5 td? Or with Corbeil body wiring? I've read some good some bad, and I didn't get a chance to check where the pmd is currently located yet but will be on that tomorrow.

Thanks a bunch, and sorry if this is a complete basic bit of questions, like I said, total newb here. Haven't done a lot of forums either.

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Old 01-20-2018, 08:07 PM   #2
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Good luck, hopefully you haven't shot yourself in the foot. Common sense tells me you don't give away a decent bus for $750 just because it has bad batteries.
Fill out your profile so we know where you are and can better assist you in trouble shooting What year is it?
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Old 01-20-2018, 08:14 PM   #3
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Whoops that's important. It's a 2001. I'll work on filling in my profile now. I know it seems worrisome, the batteries weren't the reason he was selling he had some other things going on, was hoping to convert to a camper and travel but going through divorce etc. I felt good about his character but I know intuition is never enough when it comes to business.
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Old 01-20-2018, 08:17 PM   #4
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Seating capacity? How many windows on the side?
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Old 01-20-2018, 08:30 PM   #5
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Five windows. I believe it had 16 Adult, 24 Children but I can't quite remember until I get it here tomorrow.
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Old 01-20-2018, 09:01 PM   #6
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Great deal, for $750 it is almost impossible to get hurt. On the powerstrokes you are supposed to have two batteries and below 35 it will get pretty problematic to get it started with one battery. You might be able to get by and put a set of jumper cables and a running car next to it.

Good luck,let us know. Corbeils are very nice bodies,( i have one, a 199, mine is aluminum and galvanized steel.

later j
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Old 01-20-2018, 09:04 PM   #7
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the 6.5 diesel has glow plugs.. so make sure the glowplug circuit is getting power and that the plugs are good.. I think its supposed to warm up a bit this week where you are, you may be able to get it going when its above 45 outside.. also how fresh is the fuel in the tank and the fuel filter?
-Christopher
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Old 01-20-2018, 10:28 PM   #8
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Congrats on the score!
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Old 01-20-2018, 10:34 PM   #9
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Thanks that's what I was figuring. If it came down to parts and scrap I'd get near my money back. I like the body, it's not terribly big and I have to bend my neck a touch inside, so if it feels tight for a conversion I may use it as a storage/work vehicle and save for something else. Just couldn't pass it up.
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Old 01-20-2018, 10:49 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
the 6.5 diesel has glow plugs.. so make sure the glowplug circuit is getting power and that the plugs are good.. I think its supposed to warm up a bit this week where you are, you may be able to get it going when its above 45 outside.. also how fresh is the fuel in the tank and the fuel filter?
-Christopher
I'll definitely check the circuit, but how can you tell if glow plugs are good. And are they easy to remove? The fuel may be old too, owner had it for about a year but I don't believe it moved much. Thanks!
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Old 01-21-2018, 12:10 AM   #11
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'tis the season for glow plug issues to keep buses from starting.

Theres a few pieces to the puzzle The bus will have glow plugs, a glow plug relay, a glow plug controller, and a temperature sensor. Each later piece requires the previous pieces.

You can test glow plugs with a multimeter on the resistance setting. A good glow plug will have some resistance (couple ohms) between the tip and ground (engine block if you're testing an installed plug, threads if not). If you have no continuity, it's burned out. If you have no resistance, its shorted closed. In many systems,having a bad glow plug can contribute to the other plugs failing sooner.

The relay is a big dumb switch that complates the glow plugs' power circuit. he relay will have 2 big wires and 2 small wires, the small wires are the trigger side and the big wires will be positive from battery and the feed to the glow plugs. It usually only runs them for a matter of 20 seconds or so, but you can test for voltage on the terminal that feeds the glow plugs when it should be running. If it isn't supplying voltage but the battery side does have 12v, you can manually bridge the 2 big terminals with a screwdriver for a few seconds to power them directly.

The glow plug controller in that unit is probably part of the ECU. I would install a manual glow button before replacing the ECU, but I'm cheap.

THe temperature sensor tells the glow plug controller what the temperature is, and that is used to determine how long to run the glow plugs. If it's telling the computer that its hot and toasty, it won't glow at all. I would solve this problem with a manual button override also.

I should mention that the weak spot of the 6.5 is the injection pump.
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