Author Topic: Mechanic/instructor Needed (Read 1528 times)

Wanderglobe · « **on:** June 08, 2006, 02:36:06 PM »

Hey all,

I've got a 1973 Bay and I need to fix a few things on it. Brakes need to be bled and I need to adjust the carbs and timing. I'm leaving the country in this bus in a few months and would really like to be able to do this work myself but I'm not a mechanic. I was wondering if there was someone out there who wouldn't mind pointing a finger and telling me what to do so that I can get into fixing the bus myself. I know I must sound like a n00b but we all start somewhere so...here I go. I'd jump right in if it wasn't my daily driver.

Also, I've installed another battery for juice to run the stereo, recharge batteries, run the cooler etc but my buddy in Seattle and I had some trouble figuring out which was what and what went where with the wiring. Here is his post.

\"Battery went in smooth, Isolator is in and locked down. We connected the batteries and alternator but for some reason were getting odd voltages at the terminal. Something like 4v at the alternator post, 12.6 at the house and 11.9 at the car, but 12.4 when the engine was off? As I found out the bus has some odd wiring \"mods\" to it, maybe due to the heater it had, but either way we didn't get it working properly so we swapped the wires back to original for now. Anybody know exactly what terminal you connect R to on an alternator without an internal regulator? \"

Wondering if someone might have an answer for this also.

Cheers.

BUSDADDY · « **Reply #1 on:** June 08, 2006, 03:01:05 PM »

What kind of isolator do you have? Is it a big finned aluminum block with three terminals on it? What are the other terminals labeled?

Wanderglobe · « **Reply #2 on:** June 08, 2006, 04:02:12 PM »

Here's a pic of it:

http://www.wanderglobe.com/gallery/albums/...lator_Setup.jpg

BUSDADDY · « **Reply #3 on:** June 08, 2006, 04:30:44 PM »

Hmmm... Looks alot like one I used to have in a truck.

As I recall you had to cut the big wire coming from the alternator and attach the alternator end to the middle terminal, one of the other terminals was labeled primary or main or something similar and that's what you hooked the other end of the wire you cut to. The third terminal was called aux. or something like that and it went to the second battery. You might want to try your local RV shop and get a second opinion. Those things are pretty common items. Good luck.

jason_hamilton · « **Reply #4 on:** June 08, 2006, 05:39:37 PM »

The next best thing to having your own personal mechanic is the \"Bug Me\" series of videos.
Volume 1 is all about tune-up, oil changes and other regular maintenance, and Volume 4 is all about brakes.
We carry them at AirSpeed ($29.95 each). Call me first so I can make sure they're in stock.

Wanderglobe · « **Reply #5 on:** June 09, 2006, 09:09:25 AM »

Quote

Hmmm... Looks alot like one I used to have in a truck.

As I recall you had to cut the big wire coming from the alternator and attach the alternator end to the middle terminal, one of the other terminals was labeled primary or main or something similar and that's what you hooked the other end of the wire you cut to. The third terminal was called aux. or something like that and it went to the second battery. You might want to try your local RV shop and get a second opinion. Those things are pretty common items. Good luck.

We did have the standard configuration hooked up but this was something different than most regular hook ups. Something to do with the alternator being a thousand years old.