I started the week by fixing to the underside of the floor the last few U-clamps over the battery cables. These are now fully secured and connected to the control box. Connecting the lighting circuits to the control box continued with the indicators, the final connections being the the dynamo and starter motor connections, which is another small milestone. Some thought was then given to locating the junction of the various indicator cables above the cab door. A box for this was ordered. I next gave the new wing a coat of red oxide as part of preparation for final fitting after the electrics have all been tested. I also fitted the conduit cover over the cable entry into the control box, under the cab floow. This was tricky but went on after some adjustment of the cables and increasing the size of the opening for the cable entry. Testing is next. All the testable circuits worked, except for the starter motor which refuses to turn although the solenoid operates. The voltage at the SM+ cable is low compared with B+ which is showing 25v offload with both (admittedly old) batteries in circuit, whereas SM+, which should be the same, is showing about 19v.
Tag Archives: control box
13/7/2025
A slow start to the week, tidying and fastening wiring behind the O/S front wheelarch and drilling the holes to mount the cover for these. I also checked all the electrical connections to the multicore and locked the screws with yellow paint. The pace picked up a bit then, first by fixing the the cross link battery cable to the floor on the O/S, then completing the positive battery cable with a short length from the hidden isolator switch to the cab, securing it and the negative cable to the front bulkhead. Next, I installed the control box, feeding all the low-current cables up the back of the control box and through the slot into their intended positions, then trimming and soldering tags for connections, alternately with working under the bus , where I secured the negative battery cable on the O/S and as close to the N/S as possible, both the propshaft and exhaust system obstructing access to the floor, but the cables are now safely out of their way and mostly secured along their lengths. Continued soldering tags on the control box connections, the very hot weather makng it impossible to do much else.
6/7/2025
A very hot and slow start to the week, continuing to work on the electrics. I mounted the isolator switch on its bracket and bolted it to the bottom rail, although I am a bit unhappy with it there as it is stressing the rail slightly under the tension from the cable, but once the cable was clamped to the floor above, it seemed ok. The cable needs further fastening nearer the battery box, but working under the bus was making me dizzy so I checked out the regulator and found one of the contacts furred up and high resistance, so I cleaned it with P600 and a touch of WD40. I’ve ordered some contact cleaner to finish the job, when it arrives, but all three contact sets have been cleaned with P320 and P600 and are working now. Frequent use will probably help. Next job was to prepare the wiring for and install the voltmeter, which was awkward as the body of the voltmeter was not insulated from internal bulb power, which I achieved by wrapping the bulb holder in heatshrink. The whole installation took far longer than I felt it should have, including having to make an alternative fixing bracket for the meter itself, due to lack of room for the one that it came with. Some rearrangement of the battery cables became apparent when I tried to clip the battery crossover cable to the floor, so some time was spent under the bus, my vertigo making this difficult, so I completed assembly of the control box whilst I recovered from that. The battery cables still need some work though. Final job of the week was to temporarily fit the cable cover behind the O/S front wheelarch, so I could drill the fixing holes in it and the bulkhead. The latter are marked but not yet drilled, first job for next week.