Emergency Brake Won't Disengage

[Chess]

Couple more...

[Chess]

A video from a couple weeks ago when I was foolishly proud to get her running after replacing the battery. Little did I know I had more problems ahead

[Chess]

Well the video ain't uploading. Hopefully those few pictures can be of help for those of y'all trying to help me ID my problem.

[Mountain Gnome]

Originally Posted by Chess

Okay, the surface it is parked on is muddy and the tires left ruts that go several inches down. Inside the bus if we drop something it rolls from the drivers side to the passengers side, so it is not level in that direction.
I *think* it moves normally in revers, just a tap on the fuel and I'm afraid I'll back into the ditch, lol.
I hear a very distinct tone in the engine when I shift from neutral into drive, reverse and down the gears. I think the sound from neutral to drive is the most distinct and the other sounds are slighter but noticeable.
I appreciate your helping me brainstorm and sharing your knowledge with me. I have till Tuesday to get her driving safely before I have to tow her from the campground.

Are you simply stuck in the mud?
Pushing your way out of the mud is hard work for the motor/tranny, and the tranny may just be slipping as designed to do. Plenty revs, little movement, like on a steep steep driveway.
Back up, and the mud has already been cleared out of the way.

Then your brake light may be some other problem, but not keeping you stuck.

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by Mountain Gnome

Are you simply stuck in the mud?
Pushing your way out of the mud is hard work for the motor/tranny, and the tranny may just be slipping as designed to do. Plenty revs, little movement, like on a steep steep driveway.
Back up, and the mud has already been cleared out of the way.

Then your brake light may be some other problem, but not keeping you stuck.

That was my thought too. I just had the same thing happen, it would reverse fine but when trying to go forward would vibrate and didn't seem to have any power. I was able to rock it for a ways, going forward then reverse then forward again.....like when you're trying to get out of a snow drift. In the long run it had to be towed out with a tractor. It's a different experience than with a car, where you can hear and feel the tires spinning. Luckily for me, Kris was there to tell me the tires were spinning.

Hard to say for sure, but it could just be stuck and the brake light might be an unrelated issue.

[BlackJohn]

Originally Posted by Chess

My bus has been in storage all winter and it's been a bit of work to get her started again. Well today I tried to move her to a different storage spot and could not. The emergency break seems to be stuck and the lever to disengage it does not work.
She is a '96 Bluebird TC 2000 Cummins 12 v and auto alison transmission. I really had to floor it to just move her a little bit, if it were not for the light being on I would have thought she was stuck in the mud. The emergency break is to the left and is a foot pedal and a hand pull release, I hear something when I pull the release but I don't think it's releasing the emergency break. Also, the regular break makes a buzzing sort of sound if I do not tap it up with my boot after pressing on the break. (not sure if the two are connected)
I'm not mechanically savvy but need to get this figured out on my own and both fast and frugally.
Where is the emergency brake cable and where is it attached to?
How do I know if it is rusted in place?
Can I PB blast it and scrub the rust away or does in need replacing ASAP?
Would AAA be able to do anything to help in this situation as I need to move my bus but if I can't get the break off I can't drive her.

"The emergency break is to the left and is a foot pedal and a hand pull release, I hear something when I pull the release but I don't think it's releasing the emergency break."


Ok, this sounds right.



If your bus is running doing this, are the daytime running lights on or off?
If the ebrake is on, those lights tend to be off. Release the brake and they come on.


The dash light should go off when those lights are on.



If the dashlight remains on, pull the ebrake release handle and lift the foot brake engagement pedal with your left toe. It should come up enough to shut the light on the dash off.


This is normal in my truck everytime |I use the ebrake as something is keeping the switch from returning to its normal position.


Worth a try I guess then you know that part works or not.



John

[Chess]

Originally Posted by Mountain Gnome

Are you simply stuck in the mud?
Pushing your way out of the mud is hard work for the motor/tranny, and the tranny may just be slipping as designed to do. Plenty revs, little movement, like on a steep steep driveway.
Back up, and the mud has already been cleared out of the way.

Then your brake light may be some other problem, but not keeping you stuck.

Meh, for the sake of my bus I'm willing to compromise and hope I really am this much of a dumb blonde.

But, my car pulls in and out of the grassy/muddy parking area with no problem.

[Chess]

Originally Posted by Drew Bru

That was my thought too. I just had the same thing happen, it would reverse fine but when trying to go forward would vibrate and didn't seem to have any power. I was able to rock it for a ways, going forward then reverse then forward again.....like when you're trying to get out of a snow drift. In the long run it had to be towed out with a tractor. It's a different experience than with a car, where you can hear and feel the tires spinning. Luckily for me, Kris was there to tell me the tires were spinning.

Hard to say for sure, but it could just be stuck and the brake light might be an unrelated issue.

I am hoping y'all get a chance to laugh and say "I told you so!" That would make things a lot easier for me.

The bus is only about ten feet from a gravel area. I'm afraid to try to drive that ten feet if something is wrong with her. But now I'm thinking I should risk it and see how she feels once the tread has some grip on the gravel.

[Chess]

Originally Posted by BlackJohn

"The emergency break is to the left and is a foot pedal and a hand pull release, I hear something when I pull the release but I don't think it's releasing the emergency break."


Ok, this sounds right.



If your bus is running doing this, are the daytime running lights on or off?
If the ebrake is on, those lights tend to be off. Release the brake and they come on.


The dash light should go off when those lights are on.



If the dashlight remains on, pull the ebrake release handle and lift the foot brake engagement pedal with your left toe. It should come up enough to shut the light on the dash off.


This is normal in my truck everytime |I use the ebrake as something is keeping the switch from returning to its normal position.


Worth a try I guess then you know that part works or not.



John

I have no clue if the daytime running lights are on or off. If I don't 'turn on' any lights would they be on any way? If so I will double check the videos I took of her idling and exhaust when I got her running again.
I've done the jiggle foot pedal while pulling handle, toe under pedal pressing up, etc dance and nothing happened with the light.
The campground owner who is friends with the seller says he says just to jiggle the pedal and switch too.

[BlackJohn]

Originally Posted by Chess

I have no clue if the daytime running lights are on or off. If I don't 'turn on' any lights would they be on any way? If so I will double check the videos I took of her idling and exhaust when I got her running again.
I've done the jiggle foot pedal while pulling handle, toe under pedal pressing up, etc dance and nothing happened with the light.
The campground owner who is friends with the seller says he says just to jiggle the pedal and switch too.

Well when the bus is idling, get out of the seat and look at the headlights, dtrs should be on if so equipped with no emergency break on. Set the emergency brake and they should go off. They function from that switch you played with so if they are off, only then should you have a dash light for them on.
Not sure if the other handle would bring that light on but assume so. Can you see any wires in behind that might give a clue? Might be grounded permanently so light is on and nothing else is wrong.


I would drive it ahead and get on solid ground, that much mass you will feel it drag so that wouyld feel like stuck brakes.


John

[Brad_SwiftFur]

At this point, I'd fire it up, release the brake, put it in drive (or preferably "Low" gear) and give it full throttle. If the speedometer shows speed, and the bus is moving, then get it forward that 10 feet or so to the gravel and see how things go from there. You're driving a large, heavy vehicle compared to a car.



If you're showing MPH and not moving, then your wheels are spinning and you need pulled out of the mud. On the other hand, if you're not getting any speed, then your tires aren't spinning and there's something else going in. Stuck brakes? Slipping transmission? Engine not generating enough power to overcome the standstill?


I would not keep it floored for more than a few seconds at a time, if you're not moving. It generates a lot of heat, and you don't want to kill the transmission. But if it's moving, keep it floored at least until it's on solid ground. Remember, these are heavy vehicles and it's common to need to give 'em full throttle to start from a standstill.

[Chess]

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

At this point, I'd fire it up, release the brake, put it in drive (or preferably "Low" gear) and give it full throttle. If the speedometer shows speed, and the bus is moving, then get it forward that 10 feet or so to the gravel and see how things go from there. You're driving a large, heavy vehicle compared to a car.



If you're showing MPH and not moving, then your wheels are spinning and you need pulled out of the mud. On the other hand, if you're not getting any speed, then your tires aren't spinning and there's something else going in. Stuck brakes? Slipping transmission? Engine not generating enough power to overcome the standstill?


I would not keep it floored for more than a few seconds at a time, if you're not moving. It generates a lot of heat, and you don't want to kill the transmission. But if it's moving, keep it floored at least until it's on solid ground. Remember, these are heavy vehicles and it's common to need to give 'em full throttle to start from a standstill.

Just want to clarify my bus is over an hour away at a campground, not at my apartment complex. I'm not able to just hop over to it and get ya'lls suggestions done at once. But unless there are major thunderstorms I'll probably go out there tomorrow, if not then then on Tuesday.
Speaking of throttle, what is the throttle lock lever mentioned in the users manual. Do I need to do something with it to disengage the throttle when going from idling at neutral to drive?
If I don't get the problem solved before Tuesday I'll have to get her towed to a friends farm. Their dad is a retired bus driver who will be able to help me trouble shoot the simpler things, and probably knows folks who could help me out with the more difficult issues.

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Originally Posted by Chess

Just want to clarify my bus is over an hour away at a campground, not at my apartment complex. I'm not able to just hop over to it and get ya'lls suggestions done at once. But unless there are major thunderstorms I'll probably go out there tomorrow, if not then then on Tuesday.
Speaking of throttle, what is the throttle lock lever mentioned in the users manual. Do I need to do something with it to disengage the throttle when going from idling at neutral to drive?
If I don't get the problem solved before Tuesday I'll have to get her towed to a friends farm. Their dad is a retired bus driver who will be able to help me trouble shoot the simpler things, and probably knows folks who could help me out with the more difficult issues.

Some older buses, with mechanical throttles, would have a throttle lock which would keep the throttle opened up to wherever it was set. Often you could floor the pedal for extra throttle, releasing the pedal it would return to wherever you had the lock previously set.


The 2 main uses of this is to increase idle speed when parked - useful for warming up in cold weather, keeping the engine warm, or for the A/C system. The other use was a somewhat primitive cruise control system. I would recommend disengaging the throttle lock before putting it into gear. Mine was nothing more than a simple push-pull handle that remained in place by friction.

[Rovobay]

Chess, did you get this figured out?

[Chess]

Originally Posted by Rovobay

Chess, did you get this figured out?

I've figured out that the problem isn't my brakes. She will reverse just fine and the tow truck driver 'troubleshooted' for a while to see if he could figure out why she was not driving.
The more I learn about the AT 545 transmisison, the more I think it was overheated or a clutch locked (whatever that means) from being driven on high speeds on mountainous highways. I'm kind of waiting in limbo right now for a friend who works on diesels to have a couple days off to come out and look at her. Once I have more knowledge or info to share I'll post.

[Chess]

PS Pics on pg 6&7

[WARGEAR]

Did anyone mention to check the transmission fluid level yet? Perhaps it’s low and that’s your issue.

[Chess]

Originally Posted by WARGEAR

Did anyone mention to check the transmission fluid level yet? Perhaps it’s low and that’s your issue.

well I hope it's something that simple

[Chess]

Originally Posted by WARGEAR

Did anyone mention to check the transmission fluid level yet? Perhaps it’s low and that’s your issue.

Transmission fluid is at bottom of cold fill line, not in between or to the top of the range.
How much do I need to add to get her to the top of the cold idle line?

[WARGEAR]

Add a quart and see where it puts you. I tried to post a copy of the Allison AT/MT/HT auto transmissions operators manual but it won’t go through right now.