Notes on discoveries made while troubleshooting the wiring on my bus.

[zubzub]

I've been sorting out the wiring on my '53 4104 now for a bit.  Generally it's gone well but slowly.  My 1st inclination to rip it all out and start new still might have been faster, but I have  enjoyed working through the wiring diagrams and getting to know my bus better.
1. One of the things that has always bugged me about the bus was a constant drain on the batteries....I'm not sure how much but it would always have a load on the battery....turns out the old relays that I kind of like because they are so rugged and tunable also leak current.
I was working on the horn relay when I discovered there was + current "B" terminal when the points were open....this makes no sense really, but I guess internal corrosion is causing some part of the relay to short.  Only 2 volts were sneaking through so I guess I could use it as some kind of resistor.  Anyhow I replaced it with a little cube relay, and I guess there will be a few more to change along the way.  I've got tons of cube relays pulled off of transits headed for the great bus yard in the sky.
2. The other thing I have learnt is that fixing stuff can really make things worse.  Case in point , when I rebuilt the rear control panel (the one that allows you to turn on the engine from the engine bay)  I let loose a sackful of snakes).  PO or more likely POs have wired around all the shutdown systems over the years (I would have down the same), but when I "fixed" the rear control things got wonky all over the place.  All of a sudden the charging indicator tell tale on the dash would turn on when I turned on the marker lights.  Took awhile for me to figure that one out as the marker light issue turned up 3 months after I had "fixed" the control panel. 
3. remove the front seat when working on control panel.  Fixing old wiring is hard enough, pull the seat and get a nice cushion to sit on, oh and absolutely use a drill driven socket to screw and unscrew the junction post nuts.
  Anyhow just thought I would pass this on in case anyone needs the info.
 

[oldmansax]

That's good info. I found out some of the same things while doing my '72 MCI. I am kind of dreading what I will find on the WanderLodge I just bought. The last PL was a "tinkerer" & liked to "fix" things.

TOM

[BG6]

turns out the old relays that I kind of like because they are so rugged and tunable also leak current.

. . .

Anyhow I replaced it with a little cube relay, and I guess there will be a few more to change along the way.  I've got tons of cube relays pulled off of transits headed for the great bus yard in the sky.

Just FYI, box relays are rated for 500,000 cycles, but the rating is for the relay itself, and will only hit that mark if the contacts are periodically polished and the metal crud is cleaned out.  Hard to do when it's in a sealed box.

Cube relays are rated at 400,000 cycles, but are "fire and forget" -- no maintenance necessary.

[steve wardwell]

Yep one of my biggest fears on "this old bus" is a fire buried deep in the original wiring somewhere a  present from some mouse that got away. I don't lose sleep over it as I could just as well die tomorrow (although I'm not planing to ). I just  think the odds of a failure are high there.....just sayin.............s............

[gus]

Steve,

This is kind of my philosophy also. I expect any minute for it to go up in flames from an electrical fire or a holey muffler or fall apart if I hit something!!

My only consolation is I don't have a fortune invested in it and insurance will probably pay most of what it is worth.