I made a mistake.

[DreamWeaverBus]

Guys... I have done a terrible thing...

So last year, I cut the wires to the back door and roof hatches, running afoul of the safety lock system. WHY, with all the years of research and prep I have done, did I do this stupid thing? Because I am a stupid idiot, OKAY? I was in a rush, trying to get the bus ready to be spray foamed before the weather turned, and I just cut the wires.

Of course, since then the bus hasn't started, and has been landed and stranded in the backyard.

Obviously this situation can't continue. I need to get it repaired.

I SUCK at wires and electronics, so telling me what to do to my own bus probably won't help. You might as well tell my dog; he'll understand you almost as well as I. I've read the threads, I REALLY tried to understand them and I just don't. I've even had an electrician friend give a go at repairing it, with no luck. (to be fair, house electrician but at least he understands the stuff rather better than I)

SO. I need to hire someone to fix it for me. Problem is, apparently there is no such thing as a school bus wire repair guy. Unless there IS and I've been missing it?

My question is, does anyone know what kind of person I should call for bus wire/safety interlock repairs like this?

Please help me out. I need to repair my mistakes. I wanna hear my bus engine roar again. I wanna take the DreamWeaver places...

[UnicornWizard]

Sorry to hear about your electrical woes. Don't be too hard on yourself though. There's always a solution. I'm just going to kickstart the discussion with a few questions. Those systems usually go to a switch with some kind of bypass that has to do with breaking the circuit yes? Was your electrician able trace those wires back to where they tie into the bus? Would it be possible to recreate the bypass loop?

I'm very curious about these things. As an aspiring travelling skoolie electrician this is the kind of problem I hope to be solving for people.

[plfking]

Originally Posted by DreamWeaverBus

My question is, does anyone know what kind of person I should call for bus wire/safety interlock repairs like this?

For specialized knowledge like that, I think I'd find my local school bus garage, explain my situation to the manager, and ask him if his best electrical wizard wants to earn some extra cash.

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by plfking

For specialized knowledge like that, I think I'd find my local school bus garage, explain my situation to the manager, and ask him if his best electrical wizard wants to earn some extra cash.

Yeah, I second that. Ask for the shop foreman and explain what's going on. Might be a good resource for future work and advice.

[Meathead]

Is that a C2 that you have?

[DreamWeaverBus]

UnicornWizard- "Those systems usually go to a switch with some kind of bypass that has to do with breaking the circuit yes? Was your electrician able trace those wires back to where they tie into the bus? Would it be possible to recreate the bypass loop?"

I seem to remember my electrician friend telling me he'd try to figure out some way to bypass the system. Right now the whole circuit is open. I think he was TRYING to trace the wires but the wires didn't all make sense to him. But ultimately yes, the goal is to bypass the circuit loop.

BTW - Thank you for telling me not to be hard on myself. I was being hard on myself as a preventative measure because I expected people to shame me for this. I'm sorry for expecting the worst, but I really appreciate the best.

I KNOW there is a solution! I just can't wrap my brain around electronics, which is REALLY frustrating!! XD

*Also I like your name a lot, makes me think of Shmendrick...*

[DreamWeaverBus]

Originally Posted by plfking

For specialized knowledge like that, I think I'd find my local school bus garage, explain my situation to the manager, and ask him if his best electrical wizard wants to earn some extra cash.

I TOTALLY Would! Unfortunatly my local bus barn, of the very high school I went to and in the very town I live in.... can't/won't help... Gramma reckons he's not too bright and I had the same feeling...

There IS another guy here in town who happened to get a skoolie at the same time as me... I talked to him once, the second skoolie I've ever met in person... mb I should talk to him again, see if he has electrical experience.

There's also other bus barns around here somewhere... How much do you guys think a job like this should be paid?

[DreamWeaverBus]

Originally Posted by Meathead

Is that a C2 that you have?

What's a C2?

[DreamWeaverBus]

I'm going to call Midwest Transit, the company I bought my bus from, if they can do such repairs, when I asked google for "school bus electrical repairs' they came up as an option... Makes sense right?

[BarnYardCamp]

Try a search
at the top of this forum page is a small "search" box that gives the option of either a skoolie or google search. With the skoolie option checked, I typed in safety bypass and came up with a bunch of threads that discuss this.
I've read so many build threads lately that they are all running together but I seem to recall that somebody had to pull a wire from a relay up under the dash and install a jumper wire between to poles on the relay.
Good luck...and keep us posted when you get it figured out.

[DreamWeaverBus]

That also sounds familiar to me...

[Meathead]

What Thomas bus do you have? If it’s a rear engine bus, I know how to do what you want. Your profile says Thomas and Freightliner chassis but I’m not familiar w all Thomas busses.

[Buskenny]

It’s scary. There are so many wires going everywhere! I’ve stayed far away from cut offs! Can you reassemble the original? Or did you rip it out? Problem is with 5 (mine)open swaitches it’s hard to know when one is fixed

[WIbluebird]

Originally Posted by Buskenny

It’s scary. There are so many wires going everywhere! I’ve stayed far away from cut offs! Can you reassemble the original? Or did you rip it out? Problem is with 5 (mine)open swaitches it’s hard to know when one is fixed

Lots of those wires are for school bus equipment you will no longer need. I suggest stripping out the interior panels and tracing/deleting the circuits you will no longer need (such as stop lights, strobe, heater fans, etc).

This will clean up the fuse blocks and bus bars quite nicely.

[DreamWeaverBus]

Originally Posted by Meathead

What Thomas bus do you have? If it’s a rear engine bus, I know how to do what you want. Your profile says Thomas and Freightliner chassis but I’m not familiar w all Thomas busses.

It's a front engine bus lol

Darn! If there IS anyone in this forum who knows how to do this, I'd pay! My tax return is coming in soon lol

[DreamWeaverBus]

Originally Posted by Buskenny

It’s scary. There are so many wires going everywhere! I’ve stayed far away from cut offs! Can you reassemble the original? Or did you rip it out? Problem is with 5 (mine)open swaitches it’s hard to know when one is fixed

SCARY is right!! People here keep talking like it's so simple but they don't seem to understand what a screw up I am! Or how a simple thing is quickly turned into a nightmare because YOUR bus happens to look NOTHING like all the pictures online or something. I literally feel like I will make a big unfixable mistake somewhere...

We have what I reckon to be MOST of the old wires, tucked in a box. I took out the interior lights and radios, tried to leave exterior light wires and so on...

[JDSquared]

Originally Posted by DreamWeaverBus

We have what I reckon to be MOST of the old wires, tucked in a box. I took out the interior lights and radios, tried to leave exterior light wires and so on...

My first question would be where did you physically cut the wires? I still have a 6in piece hanging from my emergency hatches where I cut my wires. It's red with a number stamped on it. When I pulled the wire I pulled it all the way out to the panel under the driver's window. I cut it there and I believe I still have a red piece of wire coming from the bus bar.

Because of the buzzers and everything the rear emergency door was different on mine. Except the same red wire went back there. It also went to my two emergency windows and my other emergency hatch. I'm pretty sure that's the only wire you absolutely need right now to put back into place. I would start there if it was me anyway.

Do you have a wire hanging from any of those spots where you cut it?

[magnakansas]

where in southern illinois are you.... I am in topeka kansas about 5 hours out of st louis...

william hell call me 785 207 7600

[DreamWeaverBus]

Originally Posted by JDSquared

My first question would be where did you physically cut the wires? I still have a 6in piece hanging from my emergency hatches where I cut my wires. It's red with a number stamped on it. When I pulled the wire I pulled it all the way out to the panel under the driver's window. I cut it there and I believe I still have a red piece of wire coming from the bus bar.

Because of the buzzers and everything the rear emergency door was different on mine. Except the same red wire went back there. It also went to my two emergency windows and my other emergency hatch. I'm pretty sure that's the only wire you absolutely need right now to put back into place. I would start there if it was me anyway.

Do you have a wire hanging from any of those spots where you cut it?

The back emergency roof hatch we completely removed. The front one still has a short thick wire hanging out of it, but we haven't been able to find a match for it anywhere. It might have gotten thrown away... The back door, I took the wooden pieces off the wall in front of it, but haven't cut into the paper I put over it yet. I don't see the point until I have something effective to really do...

In the front emergency hatch there was two wires, which I was told to wire together to close that circuit. I managed to figure it out by using a light tester, only to have my electrician friend undo it and tell me I'd done it wrong. Of CURSE I had.. -_- But the back one seems to only have one wire, so I have nothing to close it to...

[Meathead]

Do you have a diagram like this somewhere?



This is from my Thomas pusher.
Putting the original wires back together is one way of doing it.

The other way is to think about what is going on here. All of those start relays are just clutter in between your key switch and your starter. On my bus we ran a wire from the IGN terminal on my keyswitch to the last relay on the engine, bypassing all of this. This is easier on a rear engine bus bc there is a start button in the engine compartment. This new ignition wire of course will not go straight to the starter. It will only trip a switch and activate a larger amperage wire to the starter. An automotive mechanic should be able to bypass those extra relays once you explain what you want. It’s a standard start circuit w a bunch of junk in the way.

Then you can pull off all of those freaking buzzers!
Yes , they will still be buzzing bc the bus thinks your windows are still open.
Keep the air tank buzzer.

I hope this makes sense. I’m on my first cup this am.
Get back to me if not.
I know what you are feeling. I did the same shite, and some member on here explained the “ basic start circuit theory” and we figured it out
Good Luck! Dave