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MUCV(Multi-Purpose Utility Command Vehicle)...The Dirtybus...

OK, so here's where I'm at...

The lighting system is nuts on this... Everything is tied together threw an emergency type system, kinda like you'd see on an ambulance...

I believe that when I took off the stop sign, it made part of the system not work... I can only get the inside uppers front and back to flash, outside ones wont light off at all... The outside light were red and I think they were tied into the stop sign...

The tail lights work, but they flash with the blinkers...

And none of the marker light come on at all...

When it was decommissioned as a school bus they pulled a bunch of the toggle switches that work the safety stuff... So, there's a ton of loose wires with no rhyme or reason...


This yellow box has the uppers running to it, along with others...

0428111846.jpg



They are coming from this block...

0428111846a.jpg



Some stuff goes to this...

0428111847.jpg



And more to this...

0428111847a.jpg



At the top is the bottom side of the toggle panel...

0428111847b.jpg



Here's the toggle panel... All they left was the wipers and heaters plugged in...

0428111848.jpg




I'm thinking I'll have to take everything apart and trace it all, one wire at a time... And of course, all this has to be done from the outside of the bus... Good thing it's always raining...
 
So, the company(ELS) that makes the yellow box, has been in business since 1995...

My bus is a 1993...

I guessing this system isn't what came with the bus originally... That makes it impossible to find a schematic... That could also explain some loose wires...:doah:
 
Power probe the wires and see what lights up, although with that mess of wires I would be surprised if it was that simple.
 
wow. sorry man. that looks like a headache wrapped in a backache and garnished with a stomach cramp.

a volt meter, or atleast a test light, and a note pad to write down what you find at each circuit. thats where i would start.
 
As soon as we get some decent weather, I'm gonna drive it over to a buddy's house... He's better at wiring than I am...

It was snowing here this morning... The rain through out the day has made it hard to get anything done... Next week looks promising...

I'm gonna get some wire labeling tape with the numbers on it and start marking everything out... I'll write it all down and carry it on the bus so I have a diagram with me everywhere...

I just want to get this thing up to the point that I can tow with it for now... Then I can keep building, based on what I really needed on the last trip, until it's done...

I don't mind camping in a big tube with army cots and coolers for now... As long as I can be in the woods wheeling my Blazer... It'll also be a lot more fun showing off each new upgrade, while drinking by the camp fire after a good day of wheeling...
 
dirtygoat said:
OK, so here's where I'm at...

The lighting system is nuts on this...

... So, there's a ton of loose wires with no rhyme or reason...


0428111847.jpg
Click to expand...

It looks like you are missing a nut in this pic. I'm sure you saw it but just in case you didn't...
do you need to replace the windshield to get it registered? It looked cracked in a pic.
 
The nut is there, the pic is just playing tricks on ya...


Well, on the school bus forum I'm on, there's a guy that's giving me a lot of helpful info...

It'll be nice to start driving this thing around... I'm gonna drive it back and forth to the store and Home Depot for a while... Want to make sure there's not any road worthiness type issues...
 
A buddy of mine brought over his Power Probe so I can figure out the wiring... Never used one before, but damn, very cool tool...


For those that haven't used one before...

Hook it up to the + and - on the battery and start touching wires... It tells you if it's a ground, dead or positive... Then if you're on a positive you hit a button and it powers up whatever that wire goes to... If you touch a negative you hit the toggle down and it kicks the relay or whatever... If you are touching something and you shouldn't be, it has it's own breaker that pops so you don't fry anything on the vehicle...


This should help out a lot... Still gonna drive down the street to another buddies place and get after it... He's much better at wiring than I am...


The biggest obstacle is the rain... Need some decent weather so I'm not standing in the rain for hours... Yeah, I grew up in Washington, but this year has been rediculess... We just had the coldest April on record and people are starting to build Arks and gathering animals two by two...:doah:
 
Drove the bus over to Donnie's yesterday to play with the wiring...



0513112020a.jpg




Looked at it for a little while with Jimbo and Rick, but the beers were causing to much of a distraction... Spent the rest of the night chillin' by the fire gettin' drunk...



0513112254.jpg




Slept in the bus on a cot... Then got after the wiring this morning... Got pretty much all the major stuff figured out... Huge thanks to Donnie...



0514111619.jpg
 
Looka good, but also looks funny with the front overhang longer than the rear overhang, not an optical illusion is it?

dirtygoat said:
Drove the bus over to Donnie's yesterday to play with the wiring...



0513112020a.jpg




Looked at it for a little while with Jimbo and Rick, but the beers were causing to much of a distraction... Spent the rest of the night chillin' by the fire gettin' drunk...



0513112254.jpg




Slept in the bus on a cot... Then got after the wiring this morning... Got pretty much all the major stuff figured out... Huge thanks to Donnie...



0514111619.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Thanks guys...

Yeah the front is longer than the back... Gives it a great approach angle...:haha:

It's weird to drive at first, but I did learn how to drive in a VW Bus...:D
 
Only thing I would have done much different is raise the roof up.

Lookin awesome

Of course if I were ever to get one there is one major mod required before I can be seen publicly in it. Divorce, so probably not going to happen. My wife has no vision :haha::haha:
 
blazinzuk said:
Only thing I would have done much different is raise the roof up.

Lookin awesome

Of course if I were ever to get one there is one major mod required before I can be seen publicly in it. Divorce, so probably not going to happen. My wife has no vision :haha::haha:
Click to expand...


Take her out and show her some diesel pushers and then the price tag...:waytogo:


I showed my wife all kinds of pricey rigs, then showed her some pics of bus conversions... As soon as I found my bus and she saw the price, game awn... She was more than happy to go the bus route...
 
Looks awesome man, Glad you got the wiring all sorted out :waytogo: . Cant wait to see this thing take its Maiden Voyage.
 
looking good Dirty....and nice firepit too!
Wiring looks much better!
 
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