Electrical Short found but it wasn't easy

[thomas r whitton]

I'm re-posting this because for some reason it didn't appear after I first=
tried to post it a few days ago.=C2=A0 Please thank Yahoo if you see qu=
estion marks=C2=A0in strange places... A sincere thanks for everyone's su=
ggestions in helping to resolve this problem. I finally found the short i=
n the right tail light, brake and emergency flashers.=C2=A0 Call me "Speedy=
."=C2=A0 It only took a=C2=A0few hours most days for over two=C2=A0weeks=
=C2=A0to trace the short without success.=C2=A0 In the end, it turned out t=
o be caused by a hidden crushed wire running between the body and frame.=
=C2=A0 It was a bad wiring job done by a local RV store soon after I bought=
the GMC in 2001.=C2=A0 Their work was both expensive=C2=A0and bad.=C2=
=A0 Anyway, I learned a long time ago not to use them but, unfortunately,=
=C2=A0their bad work has lived on.=C2=A0 The crushed wire ran between a 10-=
wire connector in the generator compartment to the trailer connection under=
the coach.=C2=A0 The good news is I learned how to trace shorts but I'm no=
t going to come out of retirement and go into Electrical Short Tracing.=
=C2=A0 I took umpteen resistant readings from front to back=C2=A0and bought=
a cable tracer from Harbor Freight.=C2=A0 I also put together a light to p=
lug into the fuse socket that lit when a short was present and did not lite=
when there was no short in the circuit.=C2=A0 These tools helped determine=
that the short was somewhere between the 10-point connector in the left re=
ar and the right tail light.=C2=A0 Getting to the approximate vicinity was =
essential.=C2=A0 Checking wires and connections in the rear, I finally foun=
d the short by pulling wires.=C2=A0 I pulled fairly hard on one of the gree=
n wires.=C2=A0 It broke where it was hidden between the frame and the body.=
=C2=A0 The insulation was gone, the copper wires were crushed.=C2=A0 It was=
obviously shorting against the frame.=C2=A0 Case closed.=C2=A0 My proje=
ct for the next couple of days will be redoing all the wiring the local RV =
store installed.=C2=A0 You live and learn. Thanks again for everyone's he=
lp. All the best,Tom Whitton26 foot updated GMCPaducah, KY

 

[a.]

> ...I pulled fairly hard on one of the green wires.  It broke where it was hidden between the frame and the body.  The insulation was gone, the
> copper wires were crushed. ...
If the gap between the body and frame are so tight they crush a wire, you desperately need new body pads.
--
73 23' Sequoia 4 Sale
73 23' CanyonLands Parts Unit 4 Sale
Upper Alabama
"When I grow up I am going to be a curmudgeon."

 

[roy keen]

A good reason some of us old mechanics don't trust other folks to work on their stuff. A short story 2 months ago my brother brought his Motorhome to
a tire shop as he lost a tire on the road. He wouldn't let the shop use their impact on the wheel so he torqued it himself then he checked the air
pressure with his own gage. There was only 20 lbs air in the tire? He surely would have lost both duals if he continued on his trip in his SOB coach.
--
Roy Keen
Minden,NV
76 X Glenbrook

 

[Ken H.]

Then there's the tire shop that I frequent: One day I noticed the
mechanic, whom I've seen there for the past 13 years, putting a LOT of air
in one of my tires. I asked him how much, "40 psi, just like it says on
the side of the tire -- That's what I ALWAYS do."

Need less to say a had a conversation with the owner.

Ken H.

> A good reason some of us old mechanics don't trust other folks to work on
> their stuff. A short story 2 months ago my brother brought his Motorhome to
> a tire shop as he lost a tire on the road. He wouldn't let the shop use
> their impact on the wheel so he torqued it himself then he checked the air
> pressure with his own gage. There was only 20 lbs air in the tire? He
> surely would have lost both duals if he continued on his trip in his SOB
> coach.
> --
> Roy Keen
> Minden,NV
> 76 X Glenbrook
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
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>

 

[dave king]

Ken, did you really mean what you typed??
I don't understand ?????
--
DAVE KING
lurker, wannabe
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

 

[steve jess]

I think he meant that the mechanic was filling his car tire to the MAXIMUM pressure listed on the side of the tire, instead of the recommended pressure.

Steve Jess - Tucson, AZ
Mid-day/PM newscaster
Arizona Public Media

________________________________
From: Gmclist on behalf of Dave King
Sent: Friday, March 24, 2017 2:55 PM
To: gmclist
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Electrical Short found but it wasn't easy

Ken, did you really mean what you typed??
I don't understand ?????
--
DAVE KING
lurker, wannabe
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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[ken & dennis 2013]

Steve's correct -- he always filled tires to the sidewall maximum.

Ken H.

I think he meant that the mechanic was filling his car tire to the MAXIMUM
pressure listed on the side of the tire, instead of the recommended
pressure.

Steve Jess - Tucson, AZ
Mid-day/PM newscaster
Arizona Public Media

________________________________
From: Gmclist on behalf of Dave King <
kingd>
Sent: Friday, March 24, 2017 2:55 PM
To: gmclist
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Electrical Short found but it wasn't easy

Ken, did you really mean what you typed??
I don't understand ?????
--
DAVE KING
lurker, wannabe
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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[Daniel]

> Steve's correct -- he always filled tires to the sidewall maximum.
>
> Ken H.

Doing that brought me a while ago in trouble, the mechanic filled the front tires at 83 PSI ... driving around corners became a vibrating, ratteling
adventure!
Going straight went to searching where do we go to now ....

But before I discovered that .... it took a while. Back to the requierd pressure, all was normal again, smooth driving.
To low pressure is dangerous, but to much can also be.

Daniel

--
Daniel Jacobs, No GMC, but an admirer of them .... We'll see what the future brings ....

Always remember, the world is full of nice people!
So, if you can't find one, be one!

 

[a.]

> > Steve's correct -- he always filled tires to the sidewall maximum.
> >
> > Ken H.
>
> Doing that brought me a while ago in trouble, the mechanic filled the front tires at 83 PSI ... driving around corners became a vibrating,
> ratteling adventure!
> Going straight went to searching where do we go to now ....
>
> But before I discovered that .... it took a while. Back to the requierd pressure, all was normal again, smooth driving.
> To low pressure is dangerous, but to much can also be.
>
> Daniel
Keeping the thread drift going, overinflating also shrinks the amount of tire area in contact with the pavement, and that increases stopping distance.
Not to mention causing more wear in the center of the tread, which means that part will get bald sooner, and you have to replace tires more often.
Underinflating results in sidewall degradation, which can mean a blowout, plus more wear on the tread sides, which causes you to buy tires more
often.

Keep your tires in the sweet spot for the load on them: http://bdub.net/gmcmotorhome.info/tires.html
--
73 23' Sequoia 4 Sale
73 23' CanyonLands Parts Unit 4 Sale
Upper Alabama
"When I grow up I am going to be a curmudgeon."