Okay, here I am 50 miles from San Antonio, two o'clock in the morning,
at a rest area seemingly no town of any importance til Houston about 150
miles ahead, might as well been a thousand. Engine turns good, maybe I
somehow flooded it. Take off cover do the screwdriver in the choke
thing, floor it never to let off , crank, and no fire. Finally I always
think, maybe not enough fuel, ( I am kidding myself, I know I got a
problem) (forgot about the smell at a time like this) pump the heck out
of it til it has plenty, crank, nothing. Really flooded, you know the
only cure is to wait at least an hour or so.
No problem, I will use my time to find that darn smell, by now I am
really sick and have a splitting headache. The smell seems to come from
bathroom under the toilet maybe, but sticking my head in the toilet with
valve open seems okay. This is a side bath on left side just ahead of
where sleep in back, smell seems to maybe be under bed. To shorten this
story up, I will tell you after looking under front couch, taking off
furnace ducts, ripping out rear bed mattress and seats,( smells like gas
in here also after pumping the H out of the carb) I finally looked in
the furnace duct behind the bathroom, just ahead of the bed( three feet
from where I slept) and there was a gooey RAT dripping with maggots.
Thought I was gonna hurl. Well the only thing that saved me was I had
some rubber gloves I brought for some really greasy engine work. Somehow
I got the grate off with vise grips ( those d--- square headed screws)
and managed to get my stowaway in to a plastic bag, picked up the
maggots with fingers brrrrrrrr, and tossed the mess in the garbage.
Crouched down there I thought I was gonna die. Almost forgot my main
problem.
Of course it didn't start. Checked spark, seemed weak and fuzzy red.
Getting daylight, read all manuals owners has given me, suspicioned a
MSD ign advance thing wired to dist., has a blue box with fins on it
under hood, I always suspicion things with fins on them.Looks like thing
is wired in parallel with dist, I could cut it. Called P.O. in
California, asked if he thought I could cut the finned thing out, he
asked what the trouble was, told him , he said he had the same weak
spark thing five years before and had suspicioned the blue finned
wizard, I believe even replaced it, turned out to be simple IGN COIL.
Well hallelujah, I had a glimmer of a thought that was it, myself.
I am getting to the Black List, hold on.
Vending machine man at rest stop gave me a wrecker name back ten miles
in Seguin Tx, called him, not big enough, gave me another, scared me
when I tryed to explain the difficulty lifting, towing etc.
I had tryed to download the Black List the nite before I left, but the
telephone main lines were down from a serious line break. Left without.
Called my wife with cell phone, God, what a device, asked her to check
for a nearby B Lister. Called me back, Bill and Pat Jacobs lived about
40 miles north of me. Called him, Bill got out yellow pages of the area
and gave me the best damn tip I ever had. Back in Seguin ten miles only
is a Motorhome repair place, PROTECH 1-830-379-4100 www.protechrv.com
, looked good in book. (it was good, beautiful A-1) Called, closed on
Saturdays, but wait, an emergency number. A man named James Myers
answered, said he lived near where I was, would go to town get me a
coil, cap and rotor. P.O. had documented part numbers for every make of
coil from GM to Singapore, which helped.
After a hour of hoping I am right, James came with coil and rotor, no
cap and the rotor was slightly wrong. Put in coil, crossed my fingers,
and cranked, it fired a little but could hear a huge spark jumping
somewhere. I asked him if he would take me back to town and I would get
a cap, the right rotor and another new coil. Did that, put them all in
and it ran like a clock. I don't know for sure but believe the first
Singapore coil was bad, when I get time I will find out.
We all lived happily ever after. Spent over twelve hours at that lonely,
hot rest stop, had a Hostess lookalike cupcake for breakfast, found my
rat, met several great people, learned a lot about our new coach.
Strolled on home after that with my charger cranking away under the hood
and my flashlite checking my speed, oil press and eng temp. Life is
great.
Seriously, the tip that Black Lister Bill Jacobs gave me on Protech was
maybe not worth a million dollars, but certainly several hundred and the
threat of tow damage. Larry at Protech, offered to haul my GMC to their
shop and hook me up for the nite or til Monday if the coil did not cure
my problems. If you live near here, give these people some business.
I am home now in N Ft Myers vacuuming the living daylight out of
everything in coach and replacing all furnace ducts. Join up with BLACK
LIST, as you can see the smallest litle bit of info can save your butt.
Thanks to all of you that responded for my first inquiry. I am starting
to like my '78 Royale again. Dick Dobson
at a rest area seemingly no town of any importance til Houston about 150
miles ahead, might as well been a thousand. Engine turns good, maybe I
somehow flooded it. Take off cover do the screwdriver in the choke
thing, floor it never to let off , crank, and no fire. Finally I always
think, maybe not enough fuel, ( I am kidding myself, I know I got a
problem) (forgot about the smell at a time like this) pump the heck out
of it til it has plenty, crank, nothing. Really flooded, you know the
only cure is to wait at least an hour or so.
No problem, I will use my time to find that darn smell, by now I am
really sick and have a splitting headache. The smell seems to come from
bathroom under the toilet maybe, but sticking my head in the toilet with
valve open seems okay. This is a side bath on left side just ahead of
where sleep in back, smell seems to maybe be under bed. To shorten this
story up, I will tell you after looking under front couch, taking off
furnace ducts, ripping out rear bed mattress and seats,( smells like gas
in here also after pumping the H out of the carb) I finally looked in
the furnace duct behind the bathroom, just ahead of the bed( three feet
from where I slept) and there was a gooey RAT dripping with maggots.
Thought I was gonna hurl. Well the only thing that saved me was I had
some rubber gloves I brought for some really greasy engine work. Somehow
I got the grate off with vise grips ( those d--- square headed screws)
and managed to get my stowaway in to a plastic bag, picked up the
maggots with fingers brrrrrrrr, and tossed the mess in the garbage.
Crouched down there I thought I was gonna die. Almost forgot my main
problem.
Of course it didn't start. Checked spark, seemed weak and fuzzy red.
Getting daylight, read all manuals owners has given me, suspicioned a
MSD ign advance thing wired to dist., has a blue box with fins on it
under hood, I always suspicion things with fins on them.Looks like thing
is wired in parallel with dist, I could cut it. Called P.O. in
California, asked if he thought I could cut the finned thing out, he
asked what the trouble was, told him , he said he had the same weak
spark thing five years before and had suspicioned the blue finned
wizard, I believe even replaced it, turned out to be simple IGN COIL.
Well hallelujah, I had a glimmer of a thought that was it, myself.
I am getting to the Black List, hold on.
Vending machine man at rest stop gave me a wrecker name back ten miles
in Seguin Tx, called him, not big enough, gave me another, scared me
when I tryed to explain the difficulty lifting, towing etc.
I had tryed to download the Black List the nite before I left, but the
telephone main lines were down from a serious line break. Left without.
Called my wife with cell phone, God, what a device, asked her to check
for a nearby B Lister. Called me back, Bill and Pat Jacobs lived about
40 miles north of me. Called him, Bill got out yellow pages of the area
and gave me the best damn tip I ever had. Back in Seguin ten miles only
is a Motorhome repair place, PROTECH 1-830-379-4100 www.protechrv.com
, looked good in book. (it was good, beautiful A-1) Called, closed on
Saturdays, but wait, an emergency number. A man named James Myers
answered, said he lived near where I was, would go to town get me a
coil, cap and rotor. P.O. had documented part numbers for every make of
coil from GM to Singapore, which helped.
After a hour of hoping I am right, James came with coil and rotor, no
cap and the rotor was slightly wrong. Put in coil, crossed my fingers,
and cranked, it fired a little but could hear a huge spark jumping
somewhere. I asked him if he would take me back to town and I would get
a cap, the right rotor and another new coil. Did that, put them all in
and it ran like a clock. I don't know for sure but believe the first
Singapore coil was bad, when I get time I will find out.
We all lived happily ever after. Spent over twelve hours at that lonely,
hot rest stop, had a Hostess lookalike cupcake for breakfast, found my
rat, met several great people, learned a lot about our new coach.
Strolled on home after that with my charger cranking away under the hood
and my flashlite checking my speed, oil press and eng temp. Life is
great.
Seriously, the tip that Black Lister Bill Jacobs gave me on Protech was
maybe not worth a million dollars, but certainly several hundred and the
threat of tow damage. Larry at Protech, offered to haul my GMC to their
shop and hook me up for the nite or til Monday if the coil did not cure
my problems. If you live near here, give these people some business.
I am home now in N Ft Myers vacuuming the living daylight out of
everything in coach and replacing all furnace ducts. Join up with BLACK
LIST, as you can see the smallest litle bit of info can save your butt.
Thanks to all of you that responded for my first inquiry. I am starting
to like my '78 Royale again. Dick Dobson
