Bus broke down

[chev49]

Originally Posted by adic27

I called AAA in Texas and the said they only 7 miles for the first 7 days or something. Even with that they said they done insure buses... or tow busses. Can't remember which

triple a PLUS... not that

[adic27]

Got the bus back to Houston driving on the batteries. It sat for months with them disconnected and when i connected them the bus started right up. Battery voltage was pretty low. Let them stay connected and the batteries were completely drained the next day. Left them connected for days (maybe more than a week) before I eventually took em to be tested. 3 different places said they couldn't even get them to test to be able to charge them.

Got a brand new pair at oreillys (got lucky) and a guy sold me a kill switch so i can disconnect the batteries when i wanted to without having to mess with wires. He explained to me how to install it and i figured I'd figure it out. Looked at some youtube vids and now i assume i need an additional wire? He didn't mention it so I'm here to ask how to install. Any help would be appreciated

Thanks

[BlackJohn]

Why do you think you need another wire?

That switch should be put in line with either the pos or neg cables, one, not both.
So two simple connections to the switch on one wire, doesn't get any simpler than that.

Any pics of what you have done?

John

[cadillackid]

how many amps is the kill switch rated for? typically the kill switch is NOT installed directly from the battery but there is usually on most busses a huge battery wire that goes from the battery to a post on the starter... then all other accessories come off of the starter on various wires.. on myt DEV bus, a single Massiv wire comes from the battery to the starter.. then another large wire goes from the starter post to the kill switch post.. the second kill switch post then has all of the accessory wires on it... this way your kill switch never handles the massiv current the starter pulls when cold starting.. but turns off all of the possible parasitic loads that typically run batteries dead..

-Christopher

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

I second that.
The kill switch is something in this situation is for being lazy?
Pics of your battery wiring would help you and us a lot.
Maybe your extra wire has found a good spot to drain your batteries and maybe your solenoid valves ain't shutting off like there supposed t?
Hard to say without a visual?

[adic27]

I'll take a pic when the sun comes up. The switch is because im going to attempt to find out what is draining my battery and dont wanna keep having to use tools messing with the terminals. Using a method i saw on youtube...


https://youtu.be/B__DqK90IIc

Will this work? I'm going to get my alternator tested first

Also, if i take the negative cable from one of the batteries and connect it to one of the 2 screws on the kill switch how would i attach the other screw to the other battery without having another wire? Maybe I need to just have a look because im missing something lol. Pretty sure its much more simple than what I'm thinking about.

[adic27]

Here is a pic of how the batteries are set up

2 positives on the left, 1 negative on the left
One positive on the right two negatives on the left

The wire that's wrapped in plastic on the left is the positve that goes on the left battery. Not going to connect it until I get the alternator checked. Think its a bad diode... hopefully

[Rusty]

What often happens is when you have dead batteries and try to charge them with the alternator, it roasts the alternator. It isn't meant to do that job and cannot raise the dead.

So, the alternator works too hard, gets hot and diodes fry and that means unregulated voltage, possibly AC as alternators make AC current, diodes convert to DC.

So then the ECU or the Injector pump computer fries. The electronic dashboards do not like over-voltage and get wonky.



Please fill out your profile so we know what bus you have.

What alternator? Those Leece Neville ones have a bunch of quality problems, I read. I was going to rebuild mine, but decided to get better (modern) alternator.

Leece Neville


I have new 200 amp Bosch alternators in both mounting styles if you need new one.

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f14/bo...uge-20498.html

[adic27]

Can't remember the brand, gotta check the box in storage. Got it from a alternator shop in lake charles. The guy who owned the shop told me he can tell that it was bad by looking at it and that if one of my batteries were dead then I was gonna kill the new alternator in a matter of seconds. Being desperate to wanna get the bus to Houston I chanced it and think I killed the new alternator. Smelled it too. Went to get the batteries checked and one checked out bad. Got a replacement and was driving on the batteries but didn't know it. Kinda like i was going in circles. Wish I would've gotten the batteries tested before I installed the new alternator.

Anyways, i was thinking of calling international to get an alternator to be "on the safe side". That's what i was advised to do by the person who helped me get my bus to houston. Do you think international would sell me a cheap one like the problematic one you mentioned?

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by adic27

Can't remember the brand, gotta check the box in storage. Got it from a alternator shop in lake charles. The guy who owned the shop told me he can tell that it was bad by looking at it and that if one of my batteries were dead then I was gonna kill the new alternator in a matter of seconds. Being desperate to wanna get the bus to Houston I chanced it and think I killed the new alternator. Smelled it too. Went to get the batteries checked and one checked out bad. Got a replacement and was driving on the batteries but didn't know it. Kinda like i was going in circles. Wish I would've gotten the batteries tested before I installed the new alternator.

Anyways, i was thinking of calling international to get an alternator to be "on the safe side". That's what i was advised to do by the person who helped me get my bus to houston. Do you think international would sell me a cheap one like the problematic one you mentioned?

buy one of rusty's. I run one on my DEV bus and when the one in redbyrd dies (its a delco).. I'll switch to one of these too..
-Christopher

[adic27]

Anyone care to chime in on how to install that isolator switch?

[adic27]

Found out my altenator is good but was just hooked up wrong smh. The guy i paid to help me out in louisiana was a "mechanic" so i dont see how he screwed this up.

The altenator place i got it tested at told me all i need to do to is connect the red wire to the post screw on the alt. And i should be good to go. He pointed out were the ground should be hooked up, which it was already, but he said it wasnt needed since the engine grounds it already?

I also mentioned that i might have ruin the diode. He said I probably did but I don't need it. I forget why he said I don't need it but could someone confirm this, or explain. I'm sure he knew what he was talking about but just want to be sure and know why

[cadillackid]

a bad diode will often cause the alternator to charge at less than its rated capacity.. it can also allow the battery to be drained by the alternator.. if a diode shorts. then it allows power to to be pulled from the battery when the engine is off..
-Christopher

[adic27]

So if he says i dont need anything hooked up to the "diode" post/ screw, am i good if the only wire hooked up is the red/hot/battery wire?

The guy who "helped" me had a white wire going to the ground and the red wire goin to a post that wasn't red. There were 2 posts, on on each side of the red post, and he had the red going to one of those posts. The guy at the altenator shop said those 2 posts were optional but i forgot what he said they could be used for

[ben2go]

DIODE - An electrical device that will allow current to pass through itself in one direction only.

If the diode fails, the batteries will continuously discharge through the alternator until they are dead. Some alternators are damaged by this internally. Think of a diode like a one way valve for voltage. Power can flow out, but it can't flow back in.

[adic27]

Originally Posted by ben2go

If the diode fails, the batteries will continuously discharge through the alternator until they are dead. Some alternators are damaged by this internally. Think of a diode like a one way valve for voltage. Power can flow out, but it can't flow back in.

Thanks for replying..

I asked if it was damaged internally and he showed me that his machine read 14 volts. Will i be fine with just the red wire hooked up to the post on my alternator that indicates "battery"? Just dont wanna chance it again since the guy at O'Reilly Auto Parts knew something was killing my. Batteries but still swapped them out.

So is one wire (red) all I need? The only knowledge I have of alternators is when i replaced my 89 Buick regal alternator on my own because of how much auto mechanics wanted to charge me. Learned as I attempted, but that was long ago. Sorry if I'm not understanding the obvious

[Kubla]

One wire means internally regulated, but if it has a terminal labeled "ground" hook a wire between that and the negative on the battery, it will help the alternator to work right

[Rusty]

There are mainly 3 different ways to hook up an alternator. I usually stick to how it was, unless there is a problem or I want to add a gauge.

He might have mixed-up a wire somehow.




-diagram says "light" , it means idiot light on dash.

[adic27]

Rusty, you got any were else I can get that diagram? Its too pixelated on this forum.

Thanks

[Robin97396]

If you click on the photo, instead of enlarging it, you'll get a clear view.