"Starting Problem" 1984 GM 6.2L "Running Buffalo".... Sits!
 

Tempermental Multi Battery Motorhome BS.... again....
Or is it?
Honestly, I'm perplexed!
I'm thinking it is a ground problem.... somewhere.......

Just made a run from TX to VA & haven't been able to budge since!
(Some here at DB know the problems I have had & have overcome.
<>-<>(jump in here.)<>-<>
Or just check out my previous postings to catch up.... please!

1984 Fleetwood Pace Arrow I picked up to Restore/MODIFY (while using.... lol gotta laugh....) Is really giving me the shake down.

Is anyone here familiar with Motorhome multi battery setups?
I have two 12v & 1 Deep Cycle. (two 12v for chassis & 1 DC for interior that also is connected to the ig-solenoid to be a boost when chassis bats are low)

Gimme Sompthin to start with.

Already Tried:
Had Starter rebuilt (burnt armature) New Starter Solenoid & Ignition Solenoid. The Ignition Solenoid & wires get hot when trying to start & the starter is turning slow (bogging down) I'm not familiar with multi battery setups, or diesels,(rember this is my first Diesel :) so this is quite a challange. I look forward to hearing from all Bombers.

In case ya didn't know, I'm a musician & this lil 26' GM Motorhome is not only my ride, it's my home away from (& even when)home that helps put butter on the bread ;)
Help me get & keep "Running Buffalo" (aka "Sitting Buffalo") RUNNING!:sos:

Many Thanks
GtrPknToolToatinMama
Lady Dove

Have you checked the batteries to see if maybe one of them are bad? On our old camper it had a main power disconect to turn the batteries off when it was pluged in to power that shorted out and killed the batteries in the whole camper. You can always run another ground from the batteries to the frame and a ground from the engine to the frame and see if that helps. Disconnect the batteries from each other and have them checked, I'm thinking you have a battery with a weak cell in it though if it is turning over slow.

Like he said. You can also check and see if the batt's are low on water, if they aren't maint. free batt. If all the cells are full, borrow a load tester. If you need to replace both batt's, remember to hook positive to positive and either ground to the block. Might also be a good idea to replace all the cables. Diesel starters, especially the direct drives, need all the cranking amps they can handle.

All three batteries are new & charged.
I have been having a problem with the wires getting hot & actually melting some casings on the ignition solenoid.
Also, the sequence was wrong & corrected..... still it's a no go....
I'll be replacing all leads/cables tomorrow & I'll let ya know how it goes....
(hope I don't have to remove that @#*&^%*!!! starter again....

Thanks for jumping in.:U:

Make sure you get as big a cable as you can get. Those wreched starters hate low current.

yes make up some 3/0 cables, with quality ends, your problem is fixed if your battery's are 1200 amps.

Hows the Sitting Buffalo ?

I was gonna say run a big ground wire to the chassis or block, but that's already been said.

I think the guy did a crappy rebuild. May want to take it to a parts store and have it checked.

Still Sitting.... arghhh
 

Still Sitting .... arghhh

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dunno, but after trying to crank it up a couple of times today, I got a lil puff of smoke back at me through the dog box.... (cranking in short 5sec burst immediately after glow plug light is out & waiting a minute or two before trying again)
I was checking the air/fuel/water separator to see if the fuel leak had come back & found there was actually quite a bit of air escape before fuel showed up. Probably happening at the sensor on the afws unit.
Still, the starter was rebuilt in Texas & I'm in Va.....
I really don't relish the thought of that starter trying to bash my head in again, It already tried to once.... lol

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Got a great Cable Kit Manufacture recommendation for me? ;)

any update???

I'm having to wait for good weather, so I can get under it & remove the starter without drowning:alone:

Rain Rain Rain....
 

Arghhhhhh.... Still Raining.... :alone::waiting2:
Sure would be nice to have some kind of shelter!
Looks like bad weather for a few more days, so I'm gonna kick back, pop a cork & pick some tunes:c::w2:

Shade tree mechanics has it's +'s and -'s. Was going to tackle a head gasket job Saturday, but calling for wind/rain:baby:

True, & totally at the mercy of nature ;)....
I am lucky in one respect & even though it is minimal access, (flat flip up lid) At least I can fiddle with what I can reach topside through the engine cover.
When I do the interior, I'm gonna see if I can modify the box for more access.
I know I'm going to make a small access door for the brake master cylinder which resides under the floor at the throttle peddle. A Real Bear to get to and a knuckle buster just to pop the top! I had to bend a perfectly good screwdriver to get a good angle to open it, stick my finger in it to check the level, use a tiny shot glass to top it off & trying to keep things clean! Not to mention, all while contorted & stuck in the wheel well! A real pain in the...
They really didn't have any love for the mechanic in mind when this thing was built.
But hey, I wanted this project & look forward to gettin it done!

hmmmmmm I'm thinking Pontoons!
Rain Rain Rain.... and more rain.... :waiting2:

You mentioned you got new batteries? Now seems to me, the only way the cables get hot is if the starter requires more juice than the batteries can put out. How much CA & CCA's do they put out? Just a thought. Also could be one of em is bad. Hard to believe on new batteries, but it can happen. Another thought.

I'll give em a check.... thanx
They do drain pretty quick after a couple attempts at starting....

2 1200 amp batteries, battery cables with ends not corroded, good connections, good starter, mine always cranked, you might need new glove plugs, sometimes they seems good, pull them and check them on a battery

Glove plugs??? I know I know!!

:w2:smiling....

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When/if the weather lets up long enough, I'll be replacing all cables/checking batt's & glow plugs.... if no problem there, I'm droppin the starter to see if it was a bad re-build.
:humm:

Mornin :)
Got a little done yesterday & under close inspection, I found a burnt damaged cable where a long bolt coming off of the starter solenoid had rubbed through the casing.
It's "supposed" to be clear for a little while today, then More Rain until Wed.
If it's clear long enough today, I'll be repairing the Bat shelf, re-arranging the batteries so I can get good equal length cables made for the starter bats & keep the deep cycle house bat off to one side.

Pic of how it is set up now! All wrong!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i.../Batteries.jpg

The short ground wire should actually be running all the way over to the other battery, not the DC bat! I do believe that is right.... :humm:
Well, I have to clean up some rust rot & build a lil support for the outside corner of the shelf before I do anything else.
It's drizzlin outside right now, hope that sun pop's out soon:waiting2:

i just bought a new starter for my 6.2 that i chase tornados in. its name is "hoss":rocking:

Giddy~up:U:

Friggin Jack!
 

Been Waiting WEEKS for my 22 ton jack to arrive & guess what?
FKR won't jack! @#$#@%@#$%!!!!!
Please.... someone just come over n kick me in the head n wake me up from this nightmare!!!!!!!!

ahhhhhh ok..... poured a shot (errrrr couple shot's.... ok!) n now feelin a lil better....

While waiting for the Jack, I bought cement for laying a pad for the MH aka: Running(sitting) Buffalo.
All the while.... waiting for the wet weather to end or at least slow down....

I just got the electrical schematics from "Fleetwood" for my Rig. Yippi I O Ki A!!!!
Three Batery Setup is in Parallel, but says nothing about a deep cell (deep cycle) battery in the setup.... ok, so I'm just gonna re-wire all new HD leads, in the sequence it sent me, keeping the DC in center position (as it was when I bought it). (Schematics just says aux 1 aux 2 & main(starter) batt.

Sound right?

Got It!!!!
 

Yippi I o Ki a
My official 1985 GM 6.2L Mechanics Service Manual has arrived!:rocking:
I'm Stoked!!!! :yeah:

[IMG]http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...eselManual.jpg[/IMG]

You need a service manual, FOR A 6.2??!!!!

Oh yeah!
Especially since this is my First Diesel & it is a totally different animal than a Gas Engine.
Already has answered one question that had me perplexed while I was stranded in Texas.
Like what kind of sensor was leaking in the center of the "Air/Fuel/Water Separator unit.
There are 3 sensors in the Separator unit & now I know what they all are.
Fuel Heater/Filter Change Signal/Water in Fuel Signal.

Yes, A Service Manual Tis a good thang :)

Just kiddin around a little.

ha ha.... got me lol

Drove em enough, thats why I :poak:

Battery Diagram Arrived!
 

Fleetwood was kind enough to send me some schematics, but I'm havin a lil trouble reading it.
It shows the three batteries set up in parallel, but I still am confused about the Deep Cycle placement.

The middle AUX battery is where the DC is in my rig.

Ok, hope ya can see the pic's.... took them with my cell phone.... arghhhh
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...terySetup2.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...tterySetup.jpg

Zoom or a magnifying glass may be needed.... sorry....:w2:

As you can see from the picture below, it's not set up anything like what Fleetwood sent.... arghhhhh:argh:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i.../Batteries.jpg

You might have it like that now, but all 3 gnd. cable tie together and bolt to the frame, big cables on top of it. The + lead of the deep cell goes to a relay then the +'s on the starting batt's tie together and one lead goes to the starter.

Actually, only a couple of the leads & some of the wires are hooked up like in the diagram they sent.
Too many who are not familiar with a MotorHome setup (including me), but with "good intentions" have looked at it & moved things around, it's no wonder Running Buffalo is on strike:notworking:
Looks like I'll be moving things around & making up an additional short lead today;)

Lil luck here<<<<

Kind of hard to read the schematics...

But, with the schematics in front of you - you should have no trouble tracing the wires and rewiring. Pick a starting point on the schematic and walk through each and every wire. And take your time - it wont be as hard as it looks. Good luck.

GPM - did you ever get your batteries figured out?

Arghhh, not yet my friend.
Had to temporarily put it on the back burner. Right now I'm working on some wind damage from when those tornadoes passed through. Fixing leaks & restoring power to one side of the coach. All will be much easier once the weather clears again. Crazy Weather!
I've got pretty much what I need, to get it done, just waiting on the weather.... again....
Murphy's Law:tttt:

Spent my winter waitin on the weather to. Tornados took my barn and shop a few days after Cristmas and then froze up tight the next day for some weeks so I couldnt even break the debris lose. Truck sat dead in the driveway while I worked on it here and there when the weather would get nice since the shop was gone. IT SUCKS.

Good luck on it and keep us up on how it's all goin.

Am going to close this for now. You are welcome to reopen it if you need to.

Finally Got it done;)
 

Well, it's been a long haul, but got it done!

Re-wired the Batt leads in parallel and bypassed the solenoid that is supposed to kick in the other batteries when the starter batt gets weak.
Now all three batts kick in at the same time..... Plenty of juice now;)
Put in a new starter, instead of rebuilding the old one.... again.

Varoom.... on the road again!

Now the only thing I have to do is fix that lil fuel leak at the sensor on the air fuel water separator unit.... if I can find a place that has one.
Probably looking at updating the system, but that's another venture;)

Many Thanks to Everyone for the support here at DB:U:
Hope Everyone had a Very Merry Christmas!
GPM:ok1: