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Old 06-17-2019, 02:12 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
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Year: 2000
Coachwork: Thomas Built
Chassis: Saf T Liner MVP EF
Engine: CAT 3126B + Alison AT545
Left Signal Horn - why MD, Why?

So my bus has been setup so that it honks while making left turns and when the hazards are on. Why Maryland decided that was unknown.

Anyone have any suggestions for a 2000 Thomas Built Safe-T-Liner MVP EF?

I bought a tester light but because I have mine parked in a residential area the neighbors no likey when I go left or try to diagnose.

I will post a picture of my power panel this weekend. I'm out of state with the day job.

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Old 06-17-2019, 02:34 PM   #2
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That's a weird "feature!"


As a first suggestion, find the horn unit and unplug it. Connect a test lamp instead. That'll make the diagnostic process much more neighbor-friendly.
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Old 06-17-2019, 02:46 PM   #3
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I'm not entirely convinced that's an intentional "feature" (or even legal in most places), but undoing it is a good idea. Sounds like a turn signal wire is connected to (or possibly just touching) the horn circuit. I agree, disconnect the horn and use a test light to diagnose.
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Old 06-17-2019, 03:15 PM   #4
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I highly doubt that's a feature. You likely have wires shorted somewhere. Most likely in the tilt area of the steering column.
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Old 06-17-2019, 03:47 PM   #5
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Yeah, unplug the horn. Don’t need a horn when you got a finger!

Kidding!

+1 on the steering column short
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Old 06-17-2019, 04:04 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aegis2x View Post
So my bus has been setup so that it honks while making left turns and when the hazards are on. Why Maryland decided that was unknown.

Anyone have any suggestions for a 2000 Thomas Built Safe-T-Liner MVP EF?

I bought a tester light but because I have mine parked in a residential area the neighbors no likey when I go left or try to diagnose.

I will post a picture of my power panel this weekend. I'm out of state with the day job.
Could be shorted wires, but I call BS on this being a law of any sort. I did find something about an adopted policy in Cleveland for their RTA buses. My money is on a disgruntled mechanic who had a beef with a boss or a driver and was quitting anyway. Or perhaps a prankster who got fired and no one could figure out how to take it back to normal.

Case in point -- My mother drove for the county I lived in as a kid. One of the bus garage mechanics was our neighbor, whom my folks had purchased their property from. He thought it would be a good prank to jump the overhead ceiling lights from the flashing loading / unloading lights (our buses didn't have ambers back then). There were a few other pranks he pulled of the sort.

But back to your situation, it could be something as simple as jumper wires at the fuse block. I would start there -- look for any 'extra' wiring at the flasher relays. But as others have suggested, disconnect the horn, neighbors will be much happier until you figure this out.

Oh, and BTW, if it was done that way for a serious reason, it's because pedestrians are stupid and don't pay attention. ;)
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Old 06-17-2019, 08:08 PM   #7
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I'd go with "stupid pedestrians" and add deep school board pockets.

Maybe once you figure out what is really going on you might consider hooking up a small not too noisy beeper that sounds when the directionals are on. My little skoolie is noisy enough that I can't always hear the directional flasher so I'm happy with the extra heads up---other drivers, no doubt, are as well.
Jack
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Old 06-18-2019, 06:42 AM   #8
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Another possibility would be a simple jumper wire from the signal flasher output or left front signal wiring to the horn. That would do it.
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Old 06-18-2019, 09:09 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CHEESE_WAGON View Post
Another possibility would be a simple jumper wire from the signal flasher output or left front signal wiring to the horn. That would do it.
many moons ago, an old junker car I was driving had a similar fault - turned out to be a worn wire shorting out under the horn button - of course in those teen aged years of mine, the solution was to disconnect the wire and motor on
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Old 06-18-2019, 10:47 AM   #10
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In your effort to troubleshoot this, it would be helpful to have wiring diagrams.

There’s probably a connector on the steering column wiring harness. If there’s a short in the steering column, a continuity test can prove or disprove this pretty quickly.
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Old 06-18-2019, 11:58 AM   #11
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Danjo View Post
In your effort to troubleshoot this, it would be helpful to have wiring diagrams.

There’s probably a connector on the steering column wiring harness. If there’s a short in the steering column, a continuity test can prove or disprove this pretty quickly.
Yes, they're posted on the door thankfully.

However it likely does not cover possible modifications. Also, the horn fuse does not seem to be labeled in the outer panel. Is there another fuse bux under the dash/steering column?
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Old 06-18-2019, 12:11 PM   #12
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This suggestion is not likely, but still a thought. Perhaps another horn was separately wired into the signal flasher output. Might make this much easier to disable, it certainly would have made it easier to do it in the first place.
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Old 06-18-2019, 02:32 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aegis2x View Post
Yes, they're posted on the door thankfully.

However it likely does not cover possible modifications. Also, the horn fuse does not seem to be labeled in the outer panel. Is there another fuse bux under the dash/steering column?
I was referring to ruling out a short. This is based on the assumption that the turn signal/horn connections that create the condition, if intentional, are not made in the column wiring. If that assumption seems reasonable, then doing a connectivity test would tell you that. To do it you need to find the column wiring harnesses connector and know what pinouts to measure across. And that’s assuming there is a connector. Many vehicles I’ve seen are made this way.
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Old 06-22-2019, 07:32 PM   #14
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
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Chassis: Saf T Liner MVP EF
Engine: CAT 3126B + Alison AT545
Finally at the bus, but working on other projects.

Managed to snap pics, but my priorities are the build at the moment. The diagram looks OK from my review but its a rats nest in there.
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