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Old 01-17-2017, 09:15 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Vandalism and jacked electrical panel

Well, my bus was vandalized over new year's eve, several busted out windows and ramshackling of the interior. The biggest hit was to the electrical panel on the outside though. The hooligans removed several relays and fuses and now I do not know what is supposed to go where. The bus is a 2002 Thomas and I found several fuses laying in the grass several yards away. I have tried, unsuccessfully, to piece it all back together from the diagram but I can't even get dash lights to come back on. I know there are several spares in the system but am really at a loss as to what is required to get it to fire up and be drivable. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated and some specifics as to what goes where or maybe even a picture of the completed set up would be of great value! Thanks in advance for any help I can get. JT

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Old 01-17-2017, 09:24 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by jthntrmn View Post
Well, my bus was vandalized over new year's eve, several busted out windows and ramshackling of the interior. The biggest hit was to the electrical panel on the outside though. The hooligans removed several relays and fuses and now I do not know what is supposed to go where. The bus is a 2002 Thomas and I found several fuses laying in the grass several yards away. I have tried, unsuccessfully, to piece it all back together from the diagram but I can't even get dash lights to come back on. I know there are several spares in the system but am really at a loss as to what is required to get it to fire up and be drivable. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated and some specifics as to what goes where or maybe even a picture of the completed set up would be of great value! Thanks in advance for any help I can get. JT

Vandals and thieves can kiss my ass!!!
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Old 01-17-2017, 09:37 PM   #3
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can you post a picture of your panel and the diagram you have with it? i'll see if theres anything i can do. i hate to hear of this situation.
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Old 01-18-2017, 06:41 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by jthntrmn View Post
Well, my bus was vandalized over new year's eve, several busted out windows and ramshackling of the interior. The biggest hit was to the electrical panel on the outside though. The hooligans removed several relays and fuses and now I do not know what is supposed to go where. The bus is a 2002 Thomas and I found several fuses laying in the grass several yards away. I have tried, unsuccessfully, to piece it all back together from the diagram but I can't even get dash lights to come back on. I know there are several spares in the system but am really at a loss as to what is required to get it to fire up and be drivable. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated and some specifics as to what goes where or maybe even a picture of the completed set up would be of great value! Thanks in advance for any help I can get. JT
You should be able to get a hold of Thomas and get a wiring diagram. If you don't understand the print, see if you can find someone who understands schematics. Electricians will understand it but automotive wiring is a totally different animal. Remember, electricians are just "plumbers with their brains blown out"
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Old 01-18-2017, 09:23 AM   #5
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And yet another reason we should be cutting off thieves hands in this country... sorry to hear about the vandalism, any chance the thieves were caught on security footage or anything?
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Old 01-18-2017, 11:43 AM   #6
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Vandals and thieves can kiss my ass!!!
There is a special place in Hell for Jackers!

Cause you personal pain and financial loss for what????

I have seen Thomas wiring diagrams posted somewhere. I don't recall exactly where but I will see if I may have it in my browser history. If not maybe someone else here has seen it?

I wish you a quick and complete recovery.

S.
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Old 01-19-2017, 12:37 PM   #7
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No there isn't any video footage. I live in a small college town and my bus is parked on my property right next to a public park and a basketball court. There are people hanging out there all hours of the day and night. We are in the process of moving and then this happened. What are the odds? It's just frustrating!
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Old 01-19-2017, 12:53 PM   #8
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Here is a pic of how it looks now. I don't know what is missing or what needs to go where.
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Old 01-19-2017, 03:51 PM   #9
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Here is a pic of how it looks now. I don't know what is missing or what needs to go where.
Hopefully they weren't complete degenerates and didn't move fuses around on you. I'm assuming a couple of drunk frat bros wouldn't scheme that much.
.
I don't know if it helps but I have a pile of windows from my Carpenter bus in NY. They are all functional. You can have them for the cost of shipping but I doubt they're exact fits...
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Old 01-19-2017, 07:00 PM   #10
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Old 01-19-2017, 09:22 PM   #11
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How do you spell jusyfyable homeside?
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Old 01-19-2017, 11:36 PM   #12
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Old 01-20-2017, 06:11 AM   #13
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There is nothing that raises my ire more than the irresponsible behavior of some people. You can bet the ranch that if you messed with some of their stuff they would be hollering louder than you are right now.

I suppose I would look at the broken windows as an opportunity in favor of making the decision to eliminate some of the windows. It may just be easier to move intact windows from spaces that you don't want windows to spaces where windows were broken.

If you need more windows than you have intact windows you may find glass replacement might be covered under your homeowner's or renter's insurance.

As far as the electrical panel is concerned, I would go to the nearest bus garage that has a similar year and model bus as yours. I would then compare the picture of your panel to a panel in a bus that is running. In that way you would be able to determine what is missing.

You will most probably need to get out a multi-meter to determine which, if any, of the relays and fuses that were messed with are now no longer working.

I have never had personal experience troubleshooting an electrical panel such as the one you have. Which is why I would suggest you check out a running bus electrical panel. I doubt every single one of those circuits is used in every bus since buses have such a long list of available options. But figuring out which circuits are active and which ones are not will be very time consuming and frustrating.

The only other suggestion I would have is to purchase a gross of the proper relays and/or fuses and plug one into every available circuit.

I hope the fleas of a thousand camels will infect the arm pits of whomever messed with our bus!

Good luck and keep us posted as to your progress.
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Old 01-20-2017, 07:14 AM   #14
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I hope the fleas of a thousand camels will infect the arm pits of whomever messed with our bus!.
Agreed, although I think having the fleas infest their nose hairs would more satisfying. And this might also be a good time to figure out a way to lock your electrical panel door.
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Old 01-20-2017, 09:32 AM   #15
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And if you catch one of the little bastards and hurt them....
You're in trouble!
There is only a crime if there is evidence of said crime citizen...
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Old 01-20-2017, 01:58 PM   #16
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Sorry to hear. It is sad, but locking all storage and main doors is kinda a necessity these days to prevent douch bags from mucking about...especially batteries and electrical access doors. I use combination locks with all the same code so I do not have to worry about keys. You can also get the door "connection" alarms, or micro pressure switches that activate a horn, alarm, smoke, fire crackers, strobe lights ect.

Best of Luck
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Old 01-20-2017, 04:47 PM   #17
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Thumbs up

Sorry to hear this happened to you. I suppose there is a lesson to be learned here. When someone gets a bus, take pics of panels such as yours to have an idea down the road of what goes where.
Now, if it was me, I'd make a list of the fuses you have left taat were removed by sizes first and get a count. Same for relays.
Then power the bus up again and make a list of what works and what doesn't. Will it still start? If not likely it is a relay that was removed. But try the fuses first to get lights, wipers, etc working.
Only insert 15 amp fuses ubtil you determine what it feeds then you can upsize them for the heater fans for example.
I hope someone here has pics or a panel directory they can give you but any reputable bus dealer should be able to get you the info you need.
Take note of the relays you still have and the way they are plugged in, the orientation if you will. Then install the missing ones in the same orientation first or you will waste a lot of time trying to figure things out. They are that way for a reason, to feed the coils all the same and then contact arrangements are easier to arrange.
If you need more help. jus hollah!
Best of luck!
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Old 01-25-2017, 10:13 PM   #18
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Old 01-26-2017, 12:01 PM   #19
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I suppose there is a lesson to be learned here. When someone gets a bus, take pics of panels such as yours to have an idea down the road of what goes where.
Excellent advice. I try to do this with any equipment I am working on. It's always obviously where things go when they are put together properly. After they are lying in parts on my workbench, on the other hand, it is a different story.

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