I had one of those painfull experiences last week when we took a three day trip to Silver Lake sand dunes in Michigan. It is a three hour trip from our home and the trip went great, until we got in to the camp ground registration area. I put the bus in reverse to straighten out and the engine quit. I had a bad feeling. It would not restart. It was about 9:00 pm on a Sunday so we spent the night in the parking lot. The next morning I called W.W. Williams two hours away. They made arrangements to have a tech come out to try to fix. They had replaced the ATEC computer a few years back. While I was waiting I went over everything I could think of (again). Within an hour I found the problem was a 15 cent in-line fuse. It was not marked as going to the ATEC. I replaced the fuse and it started. What a great feeling. We decided since the tech was more than half way to us we would have him double check everything. When he arrived he was unable to check for "codes" because our 1990 Prevost was too old for the current diagnostic equipment, a laptop. For some reason the check transmission light would not function, so we could not check the codes using the dash light. We stopped at their shop to have the codes read on our way home. Everything was fine, except for my wallet being lighter. I am still happy with WIlliams, but it was a valuable lesson.
My point is (finally), we may not think of our buses as old, but to the trucking industry they are. Make sure if you need to call someone for a similar problem you tell them. I mentioned it on the phone, but apparently, not to the right person. I'm happily back on the road.
Yeah, we're gettin' old...technology is changing at a breakneck pace. It just boggles my mind...of course, it doesn't take a lot to boggle my little mind...LOL!
Dennis
I know what you mean. I was helping my nephew on his dune buggy with a 1960's Corvair engine and I realized how simple it used to be to work with the old stuff. But it sure is nice having a dependable 8V92 with an automatic. I love the sound and power of my DDEC diesel, that didn't exist 30 years ago. Now if I can just remember my new password.
John