The electrical power to my insrtument panel keeps coming and going and coming and going - oh my.

This is possibly a poor ground issue. Does anyone have a recommendation for trouble shooting??

I feel your pain - my instruments twitch when the turn signal's on. Mines got the DD 6.5L TD and GM instrumentation, and I've located 6 chassis grounds (and refurbed them all) to no avail.

It sounds like we both have a harness-tracing party looming...

What are you loosing? What still works? Let's start off with all of the facts on circuit problems...

You have also been playing around with the shutoff/charging circuit. Has this just started after that or has this been going on for awhile now?

On my '95 Gillig chassis, there is a compartment forward of the driver's side front wheel that contains a bunch of fuses, from 3 buss bars. One of the buss bars is fed by a relay that is picked by the ignition switch. That relay takes the 12V from the first buss bar and feeds it to the 2nd one. The instrument panel is one of the items fed from that second buss bar.

I had the instrument panel flash a few times while going down the road and found that the ignition switch connection that picks the relay was loose right on the relay. Just tightened the nut and problem went away. Everything else that was fed from that buss bar were things not noticeable while just driving down the road especially when the failure was momentary.

Of course, I'm old, have been bounced around a lot and just may have a screw loose too.

Bill NY,

Yes I have been fooling with the charging circuit, but it was about a month ago, with a camping trip in between before I started having the problem. Basically most of the dash items are out, no wipers, back-up camera and all guages except the volt meter and the two air guages.

Mike,

I have the same set-up you describe in a compartment on the driver's side up front. I had a problem with the solenoid and replaced it last year. I have checked and the ignition switch does energize the solenoid, but the dash is still out.

I have been away for about a week and have not been able to do any trouble shooting, so this is the most info I have at this point. I'll get to work on it tomorrow (Wednesday 7/4). I'll keep you folks updated.

Bill

Here are the 12 fuses with their circuits that are affected on my coach if that relay drops or is intermittent. I've seen this same setup (not necessarily this listing) on other Gillig-built chassis and don't know exactly how similar yours is. Listed from the inside of the box toward the outside:

Fuse Wire Function
20A 96C, 208 A/C compressor circuit, A/C Fan speed selector switch
7.5A 34 Dash gauges
7.5A 68 Hydraulic jacks switch (if installed)
20A 74 Wipers & washer switches
7.5A 75 Cruise control switches
7.5A 76,77 Air purge relay, Dash Alarm
7.5A 67, 374 Backup monitor, Low hydraulic relay (via Gillig 135E)
7.5A 79 Backup switch (via Gillig #21)
20A 245 Air drier (via Gillig #78)
20A 78, 134 Mirror heat circuit board, Cab heat circulating pump
20A 84 A/C fans relay
20A 83 Dash A/C control

In my case, only the gauges flipped off/on while driving. Nothing else (wipers, etc.) were in use so I didn't notice any of the others. The failure wasn't solid.

Since you were working with that relay, I would be really critical inspecting this area. 4 points on the relay and the corresponding 4 points for the other ends of those wires.

Mike

Mike, Bill NY, and Rusty,

The problem turned out to be the solenoid that Mike spoke of up front in the electrical compartment. It powers the front electrical needs. I had replaced it last summer with an automotive solenoid when the original quit working. The unit worked, but was just not quite up to the task.

After getting together with my friend who runs a truck repair service, he got a Cole Hersee commercial solenoid for me. It is a model # 24059 and looks very much like the original. Here is a link to the part.

http://www.colehersee.com/catalog_top/index.htm

The unit is functioning as it should and I will be able to get away on vacation without needing to be concerned about that problem.

Thanks for all your help, it's always nice to be in touch with the Barth family when assistance is needed.

May all your travels be interesting and without problems.

Bill G

Mine has the GM instrument panel - I've pretty well decided the issue is 12V supply to the panel, as all the gages twitch when the turn signal's on - this wouldn't happen if it were a ground issue. Lights, A/C fans, wipers all work normally.