Hello fellow Barth owners!

We are new Barth owners working on our new project. It's a 1994 Breakaway 28le 6.5l GM diesel. This is our first class A, diesel pusher and Barth! We had a Chevy class c prior to this. We have figured out some issues but have a few to go. Thank you for the wealth of knowledge this site provides. We have a couple issues if anyone could shed some light on. Our brake lights worked when I picked up the coach and now are out. Also our dash heat/ac, defrost fan(sitting on the dash), and fog lights will work intermittently for a moment and then stop. Last question for this post, for anyway who has done the pump mounted driver/fuel solenoid driver upgrade on the chevy diesel where did you mount it on your motorhome. I've noticed a lot of people mount them on the front bumper or behind the grill on their Chevy pick ups to get more air to cool the unit. I wanted to find an optimal place for a rear configuration on a Motorhome. I think that's it for today. I posted one pic, I'll try to post more later. Thanks!

Welcome to the site. You have a nice looking coach there!

The 6.5l diesel is somewhat rare, one of only two we see here. The other is owned by site member Rusty, he will be the most helpful.

I suspect you have a Spartan chassis. I just spent some time with my coach chasing problems with rear lights. It appears that the lighting wires originate at the front controls, are routed via the front electrical panel in the compartment below the driver. From there they go to the rear panel to the relays there. Power from the batteries is routed to that rear panel, switched by the relays, then out to the chassis lights. You will want to check power at the back panel and check the relays for the lights. Do the 4 way flashers work? They use the same relays. Try the flashers, then check if the relays are clicking. There is more info here:

https://www.barthmobile.com/eve...1087061/m/8353921987

The other circuits you describe are powered from the forward panel. There is a master relay that feeds power to the circuits there. Check to make sure the relay is working, also check all the breakers for loose connections. I found several in my panel. Tightened them up and fixed several intermittent problems.

We will be able to be more specific if we have more info on the coach. It would be helpful if you could send us a photo of your Barth data tag, also the Spartan tag might help. These are usually located on the wall above the driver's window.

Good luck with your coach. I too went from a GM chassis gasser to the diesel pusher. Very happy with the diesel.

Thanks Steve VW for the response! The flashers worked when the brake lights were working, have not tried since. Will check on that. Will try to get my data tag and chassis info up. Yes it is a spartan chassis. I had a problem uploading more pics which is why I don't have the info up yet.

Btw, does anyone know who owned the coach in the article in the link below? It looks just like ours. It would be great if anyone could provide some history. Thanks again! Excited about being apart of the Barth community!

http://truckroadservice.com/ba...e_buyers_guide_4.pdf

Roy

Are your electrical drawings in any kind of readable shape? I have found that the front electrical compartment can be really confusing if you don't have the layout drawing. Also, there are a couple of things to remember when poking around in there. There is one buss that is hot all of the time and the other one that is "switchable" which means it is hot only when the key is on. I went through my compartment and labeled all of the relays. Also, remember that these are not fuses--instead they are thermal sensitive breakers that reset when they cool down. They are the small devices connected to the "busses". If they overload they trip the device but reset a little later. If you have a real fault they will trip again. There is a small fuse panel mounted up on the rear wall of the compartment. It takes common automotive fuses and works just like any automotive fuse block.
So get out the drawing, figure which circuit is not working and use your DMM or 12 VDC indicating probe to trace the circuit. Spend lots of time with the drawing.

Roy there is a procedure for uploading pics. It is located at the beginning of the forum sections. They are placed in photobucket and linked to your published posting in the forum. This practice keeps the space on the serve low and still lets us post as many pics as we want. If you get really hung up Kevin can give you a hand doing this.

quote:

If you get really hung up Kevin can give you a hand doing this.

My phone is in a recent Private Message to you.

Welcome to Barthmobile!

I have the prototype 28LE - on a 2/1992 Spartan 2242C chassis, completed in April 1993, and titled as a '94. I've put 108K miles (98K on the new engine) in the 11+ years I've owned it. Despite the short wheelbase, it's road manners are without any major quirks. Yours is the fourth known '94 28.

"Btw, does anyone know who owned the coach in the article in the link below? It looks just like ours. It would be great if anyone could provide some history." Yours is the only one known with that paint scheme in gold.

The 6.5L TD (I'm assuming that's what you have) is rated at 190HP, and is a decent engine, but it's near its limits pushing a 16K lb. coach.

No doubt you're chafing at the bit to shower it with gifts. Among the first are:

Tranny Temp gage
Exhaust Gas Temp (EGT) gage
Boost gage

It's very important to monitor what the drive train is doing. Performance with the stock mill is more than adequate, if kept within its fairly robust limits.

BTW, Spartan has very competitive prices on parts, and they are very friendly and helpful. NAPA is also excellent, using a '92 Chev C3500 pickup as a surrogate (Join AITA free for big discounts).

Speaking of parts, it's wise to keep a number of spares onboard.

Anyway, I've dealt with a number of issues - and had roadside service tow or fix on scene 6 times - 5 of which were for newly-installed parts.

Don't feel shy about running symptoms by me; I've dealt with several. OK, dozens...

Thank you all for the responses and helpful info!

Cantrade I do have some drawings that are somewhat helpful. So far we found a bad solenoid that seemed to power my dash fans and fog lights. Brake light switch was causing the inoperable brake lights. Still chasing the dash/heat and ac, so I will follow your guidance on that. I will attempt the pics, with more patience this time.

Kevin I will take you up on your assistance and respond to your PM. Thanks!

Rusty I do have the 6.5l Turbo diesel, around 84k on it. It has an enginaire pre cleaner, and a tranny temp gauge. It seems to have the GM transmission. Feel free to shoot me your recommendations on a good exhaust gas temp gauge and boost gauge. Motor runs strong and pulls the coach quite well. It pulls to highway speeds without issue. Rusty did you have to do any changes to the pump mounted driver prior to going to the AMG motor? In your experience is issue the necessarily a problem with motorhome configuration or just with Chevy trucks?

Thank you all for your help. Hopefully I will be able to get back to you with some updates soon, as I get to work on it more.

Roy

1994 Breakaway 28'LE 6.5l GM TD

The EGT choice will come down to finding one with a long enough cable. The boost gauge will require running ⅛" tubing and either removing, drilling, and tapping the plenum cover on top of the intake manifold, or finding the special bolt that taps the intake manifold.

Another mod that is VERY useful (your engine may have it) is the high capacity coolant pump and dual thermostat setup.

I'm not sure what a "pump-mounted driver" is...however, I recommend replacing the engine crankshaft damper and the belt drive pulley (also damped). I used the (not-cheap) FluidDampr, which is better and doesn't ever need replacement. I may still have the damper I took off, which still has some life in it.

Most owners of trucks with the OEM engine install the boost, EGT, and tranny gauges. The turbo wastegate is supposed to keep the engine within safe parameters, but can't be totally relied upon. 83K miles is excellent results from the GM 6.5L TD. And you probably have the GM 4L80E transmission, which is quite robust.

BTW, http://thedieselpage.com/ is an invaluable source of info and advice on this engine.

Hello all,

I hate to have abruptly stopped participating on this forum, but we had a storm come through last May 2017 and a tree fell on our house doing major damage. Understandably the Barth project was put on hold. Now that we can see light at the end of the tunnel for rebulding, we are trying to give some attention back to BB as well call her.

I am back to bug you all with more questions. My first is we are having issues with our batteries discharging very quickly even when plugged in. I sometimes wonder if they are discharging faster when plugged in. I would like to know if anyone has pictures of how they have there batteries set up especially StaRV II since we have the same/similar model. My last RV was a class c with only one battery so this is new to me. My Breakaway had 3 batteries when I purchased and I added a fourth thinking that would help how they were discharging. The issues persists and I am second guessing how I set mine up. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!


1994 Barth Breakaway 28LE 6.5l GM Diesel

Do the batteries hold a charge when disconnected from the Barth? My first suspect is an internal battery short.

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By the way your prior posts ask a few questions we may be able to answer for you. The data tag will open up some answers, but still do not have a copy of it.

Kevin,

Thank you for the reply. I do believe the batteries are holding when not connected to the rv. Here is a little more background info. When I purchased the rv it had 3 refurbished interstate batteries which after a couple of no starts I ended up with a couple batteries with dead cells. Of the three batteries two were house and one a starting battery. I purchased brand new interstate batteries, not refurbished and added a new starting battery but I'm having issues with them still draining. As I can't find what may be pulling the batteries down. I am wondering if it could have something to do with how I have them connected, since I added the 4th battery but I believe the issue proceeded the battery replacement.

Regarding the data tag I never found it. It seems to have been removed by a prior owner. I do have the manuals. Can I search in one to find info that may help in lieu of the data tag? Thanks again!

I can sympathize with an unlivable house - I- along with the dogs, have been permanent residents of StaRV II since 9/11/17 - Irma.
I'm assuming the engine battery is behaving.

Anyway, diagnosing electrical issues from afar is hard. Start by unplugging the converter and disconnecting the 12VDC from it. This will remove the converter as the culprit. Reconnect the converter, and check the voltage at the battery terminals; the voltage should be 12.5-13.6VDC,

There is a house 12VDC single switch by the entry door. Turn it off, and see if the batteries still discharge.

These are only the initial steps in locating the issue.

Good luck!