I am the new owner ( and member) of a 1995 32 ft Barth. I drove it home from TX to FL and before I got home the step has ceased to operate and is locked in the retracted position. I've checked switches, looked for fuses. Any idea where I should start looking?
Thanks for any suggestions.

"step has ceased to operate and is locked in the retracted position"

Had the exact same problem this summer on the way to the Northland. Checked everything, including taking the activator arm loose to see that it wasn't bound up. Finally used my brain (and ammeter) and discovered a wire grounded out on the step frame. Mine has a wire loom uncovered (in open air) from near the headlight down to the step, supported by tie-ties and plastic collars. The loom had worn through its plastic loomwrap -beneath a plastic holddown collar- and through to the copper of one wire; of course, until I took it free of the step frame, the flaw was hidden. The wire was NOT the supply wire, which was large- #12- but a message wire, so it did not trip the breaker when it grounded out. I installed a butt splice (I looove using that term), rewrapped the loom, reattached and all is well.
Note: the loom had a ground wire grounded to the step frame; check that to see there is a good ground.
I presume the electrical actuator is as mine: a cylinder in the doorframe mating electrically with a plate on the door face. Don't take the cylinder out if you don't have to; check on the wires at the step underneath the coach to see if current/signals are arriving.
NB: I advise against taking the mechanical extension arm/toothed gear loose, as it was tough getting it back in the right attitude to move the steps out & back properly. If you need to move it, don't drop the tiny (teflon?) plastic washers on the pivot screws. Good luck.
PS: Your "profile" shows your 32' 1995 Regency to have a Spartan Chassis with a GM Turbodiesel. Is that correct?

Welcome to the asylum, er, Barthmobile Forum...

My Breakaway has two magnetic switches set into the door frame. One controls the step lights, the other, the step. On mine, the step light switch occasionally sticks.

These will appear as small off-white circles held in place with two small rivets; try giving each a tap with a small hammer.

Ridgerider, did you buy this Barth?

Welcome to the site Ridgerider!

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
These will appear as small off-white circles held in place with two small rivets; try giving each a tap with a small hammer.

Shouldn't he try a strong magnet first?

The magnet would cause the switch to retract the step (door closed). Apparently the switch is opened by a spring (typical for magnetic switches), and the plunger may be stuck.

ADD: Be aware the electrics for all this is probably from the CHASSIS batteries; not the coach system.

Disconnect the motor from the control box.

Connect the motor to the battery, using jumpers from the battery, both hot and ground. Then reverse the polarity.

Does the motor stall in one polarity and move the step down in the other?

If the motor moves the step, you have a power or a control problem. If the motor does not move the step, it is either a motor problem or a mechanical step problem. Take out the clevis pin on the arm and see if the motor moves. If the motor is bad, search this site for motor part numbers at auto parts stores.

WHOA! Before you do anything, try this: Next to the door are 2,3, or 4 "light switches". Shut the door and move all switches to the opposite position. Open the door, and the step will go out; close the door, and the door will come in. One switch controls the step, except it will always come in when the ignition is on and the door is shut - if the switch is "off" the step will retract on start but will thereafter remain "in" until the switch is moved. Try it.
This is so IF your step looks like that in the Barth pictured below (step out).

Wow! I had no idea I had traded for such a talked about and pondered over motor home. I had never been to this site as it was just a motor home. I went to the net and typed in Barth and found this site. One question and I have more history on the coach than I thought possible. I think it is great and I thank you for the help on the step. I'll check out the wiring further when I have a few min. Yes, that is the Barth I traded for, Rusty. The dealer had taken it to UT and brought it down to TX to met me. I drove my trade-in out and drove this back. Maybe I can answer some of the questions about the coach. It has Regency stickers on it and the dealer thought that is what he was getting. Now he doesn't know and neither do I. They appear to be factory. It does have large basement doors, It has a V8 diesel which I believe to be the GM 6.5 or whatever. It is a Spartan chassis. It does say 32 ft on the side and messures to be 32 ft. The numbers everyone is asking for are ....9409-3934-30LK-19B. The manufactory date on the stamp is July 1994 but the title and paperwork have it as a 1995 model. Maybe you can tell me what I got. It is a little unstable in high crosswinds but then I traded a 40 ft Neoplan 3 axel bus weighting 38,000 lb that was very stable but also only got 5 miles to the gal. of fuel with a 8v92 430hp. I needed something getting better fuel milage and was ready to downsize some. I think both of us got what we were looking for and can use.
I'm sure as I try to find out more about the coach I'll be back. Thanks again. Oh It does have 19.5 rubber.

Well, your coach is not a Regency (it's a Breakaway), and is likely a 30', because, unlike other manufacturers, Barth measured the coach by the length of the actual box, not the length over bumpers). The data tag also identifies it as a 30', and I think the few 32' Breakways had 22.5" tires.

However, yours is the only 30' I've seen that has the fiberglass bumpers, similar to the four known '94 28' Breakaways (mine is the prototype). Yours could itself be the 30' prototype. In addition to the use of the 6.5L TD, the '94 28' Breakways sported significantly more basement storage than even the 32' Regencies.

The engine is indeed a GM 6.5L TD. If you've read the original thread, you've seen my comments on that engine, as that was OEM in my 28' also.

I'll reiterate two items:

1. Install an exhaust gas temperature gage immediately. Never run EGT above 1200F
2. Install a transmission temp gage before summer

I also recommend joining The Diesel Page; while this mostly addresses GMC and Chevy trucks, there's a wealth of info on the site on the 6.5L.

As to stability, shocks, Steer-Safe, steering train tightness, tires and tire pressure, and front-end alignment all bear. Much has been said about the 28' Breakaway and its absurdly short wheelbase. I have about 25K miles on mine since I got it, and driven it in crosswinds of up to 40 mph gusts. In the extreme conditions, I have to drive it, but I don't have to fight it.

All that said, identity crisis aside, what you have is a Barth, and the differences among models rarely count for much, because they're all well-made.

Is the EGT gage similar to a pyrometer that used to be on large tractor trailor rigs? Where do I go to find one? I have several things I'm finding I need to attend to but over all I think it is a good coach. I drove it from TX to Clearwater FL for my dad was in the hospital. He died 3 days before Christmas and we stayed there for a few days before going to TN then back to AL where I live. He was 96 and of good mind and spirt to the end.
This Barth has some kind of aftermarket stearing stablizer on it. I plan to use this as a moble office for a while re-doing the dinnet into a computer desk. Thanks for your help.

It is based on a pyrometer. I got mine at a semi-local diesel repair and parts place. The trick is to line up the special wires need for the hookup for an engine in the back. I got a VDO rig with a set of 30' leads.

Best to install on the exhaust manifold (pre-turbo) rather than the turbo exhaust.

Thanks.
You mean the pre-turbo temp should be kept below 1200?
I read that this engin can be set up to put out 300+ hp with very little changes and is heavy enough to do it. Any knowledge of it?

Exactly: 1200F at the exhaust manifold; 1000F post-turbo (at the turbo exhaust). Later versions of the 6.5L TD can be juiced to over 300HP, but those are the ones with the electronics package controlling the turbo wastegate, IP, and other features. New computer chips and other mods are also necessary, and sometimes a charge air cooler (a/k/a, intercooler). While many modders claim that their engines have gone many hundreds of thousands of miles bumped to 300+HP, that's at the dyno. Virtually none is made to produce the amount of continuous power that a motorhome's does.

The Peninsular Diesel marine conversions of the AMG have run at up to 400 HP continuously with no discernible wear nor breakdowns, but the changes made to the engine by AMG put its engines in an entirely different class than its GM ancestor.

Note that 300 HP would put the torque over the limits of the stock 4L80E tranny.

OTOH, the 6.5L TD in your Breakaway most likely has the mechanical IP (DB-2), mechanical (spring-loaded) turbo wastegate, and the 599 block (one of the two or three most desirable series - later blocks had additional oil passages for cooling the bottom of the piston crowns, which weakened them.

A VERY worthwhile mod (which involves about 8 hours' labor) is the Kennedy Diesel cooling kit, which includes the Hi-Cap water pump, the dual thermostats and housing, and an adaptor for the throttle and cruise-control cables. Later 6.5L TDs featured this setup, and the HP was bumped up to 195.

An aftermarket/GM4/GM5 non-wastegated turbo can be installed for more boost (11-14 vs. 5-6 psi), but I don't recommend it unless 18:1 pistons are backfitted (which are what I have in my AMG engine). The installed wastegate actuator can be replaced with an aftermarket one that allows increasing the boost also, but again, more boost shortens longevity without replacing the 21.1:1 pistons.

Thanks again for your help, and Happy New Year.