| [GMCnet] Trip report [message #180379] |
Wed, 15 August 2012 13:52  |
Steve Jess
Messages: 169
Registered: April 2012
Karma:
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Senior Member |
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Hello all,
I am living full-time in my GMC until I discover my next employment (or run out of money). Left Boise about a week ago and I currently chillin' on the Oregon coast. Literally chillin'. It's about twenty degrees cooler than Idaho and feels sooo good.
One BIG disadvantage to travelling in your GMC: it leaves a lot less time to keep up with all the posts on GMCNet. ;)
I have one incident to report: I got stuck for a couple days in Hood River, Oregon. (I know, life is tough :) ) I was tooling along westbound on a really smooth, newly paved patch of I-84 when the new pavement ended with a sharp dropoff. It felt like about a two-inch drop. When the new pavement ended, so did all my electrical power. I'm talking no engine, steering, or brakes. Even that nice new vacuum pump is useless without electricity.
I called AAA, which dispatched a tow truck. Naturally I broke down at 5:30 on a Friday afternoon, when shops are closing for the weekend. He offered to tow me to a safe place where I could work on the coach myself. He suggested the lot in back of the local Les Schwab tire store.
It took about a day and a half, but amazingly I found the short circuit. The short had taken out a fusibile link under the hood, and I was able to repeat the problem after buying a couple more of the links at the local NAPA. Using schematics I tracked the short to somewhere in the "accessory" circuit. The "accessory" circuit connects to the ignition switch through two brown wires that plug in to a connector on the steering column. Well, those two brown wires somehow ended up wedged between another fat bundle of wires and the bracket that holds the cruise control disconnect switch. I could see just a small abrasion to the insulation. When I went over that bump, the wires shorted against the frame of the cruise disconnect switch, the fusible link blew, and it was lights out.
I came away with several conclusions:
1. Be careful when running wires. Always look for places where wires might rub against metal. Electrical tape, heat-shrink insulation and split-loom tubing are your friends. Use them.
2. Short circuits, even major ones, don't always leave charred wires or melted insulation. This was barely a scratch in the wire.
3. Although the tow people are supposed to take you to a repair shop, it never hurts to ask if they can take you to a safe off-road location instead. The Les Schwab people were completely okay with me parking in their back lot for a couple of nights. I think Les Schwab people are pretty cool all the way around.
4. Don't let your gas get below a third of a tank. I was down to about 1/4 of a tank when the short happened. That meant not only could I not start my engine, I couldn't fire up the generator either. I had to use battery power while I was stranded. My house battery was gasping by the time I was able to get going again.
While it could have been a disaster, the whole incident only cost me about $10 in parts. My tow was covered by AAA and, of course, I overnighted for free.
And...I'm getting about 8.5 mpg. Lousy mileage for a car, but pretty decent for a house TOWING a car ;)
Reporting from Lincoln City, Oregon,
Steve Jess - Boise, ID
1977 GMC Palm Beach "The DreamLiner"The 10,000 pound antique Home Theater with plumbing
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