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Charles003
New Member
7 Posts |
 Posted - 10/30/2012 : 2:40:10 PM
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We bought a batch (40 units) of Blue Bird Visions a couple of years back – some were 2010 and some 2011. All have the 5.9 Cummins motor. I thought I’d list some of the more common problems and see if some of you have had similar experiences.
1 The load light wiring in the attic gets stretched when the door is closed. The cure is to reroute the wiring so the flex occurs along the wire and not at the terminal.
2 The power steering reservoir hose clamps are constantly loose. The problem seems to stabilize after they’ve been tightened 2 or 3 times.
3 EGR valves. We’ve had about 10 or so buses come down with code 146-13. We send them in and they come back with new green egr valves. Sometimes they try to recalibrate the old one, but that never works for long.
4 Body modules. When the windshield wipers start acting weird, its usually the body module. That’s the aluminum box with blue fuses mounted inside the outside fuse panel door.
5 Water pumps. About 6 or so started leaking. The upside here is they are exceptionally easy to replace. The hardest part for me is draining the coolant. The drain valve on the radiator doesn’t seem to work and I’m afraid to get rough with it as it appears to be integral with the plastic radiator tank.
6 Coolant reservoirs. Seven failures so far. All crack right at the big hose connector area. It appears they released a new and improved design with new heavy metal brackets, but we still get the old design bottle.
7 Instrument clusters. Quite a few problems with these. The 2010 models (with the black on amber message area) sometimes lose the odometer reading – just blank where the mileage used to be.
8 The warranty. I can’t get a straight answer from our “dealer” (a Rush Truck place) what exactly is covered and for how long. The egr valves have been covered but everything else they are starting to bill us for. One instrument cluster job came back with an extra 89,000 miles along with the 34K it had before it lost the display. Did somebody say there was a recall on these?
9 Almost forgot. The horn brush wears down almost immediately. It looks like it had grease on it. It certainly does after we replace it.
Sorry about writing a novel.
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Tb4020
Senior Member
United States
82 Posts |
Posted - 10/31/2012 : 03:55:56 AM
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| Yep, been there seen that! We have 16 visions From 05 to 11's 90% rough, did I say rough? gravel roads they have held up well other than C7 problems and little quirks. We replace the coolant tanks with the metal replacement tank it bolts right up. |
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Thomasbus24
Administrator
USA
4545 Posts |
Posted - 10/31/2012 : 04:11:45 AM
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Yeah, don't waste your time or money on another plastic tank for any Blue Bird bus. Just spend the extra, get the metal tank, install it and forget it.
The loading light wiring issue...you have the right idea! I like the old Thomas and IC air door setup a lot better, no moving wiring. Maybe Bird will catch on.
Warranty: here is a good rundown you may want to print off... http://www.brightbill.com/specs/warranty_bluebird.pdf |
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bwest
Administrator
United States
3820 Posts |
Posted - 10/31/2012 : 06:59:29 AM
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Yes on the plastic reservoir, yes on the dash problems & yes on the P/S hose. We replaced the reservoir with the updated version and haven't had any problems. On your warrenty, I have found out since taking part in this forum that the dealer really matters. I have the best people to work with at central states bus. Especially Kent and John, they really know their stuff. As for the rest of your problems, we don't have the cummins so nothing there. The module is news to me, and the load light (I'm assuming this is the lighted sign above front window?), I don't have that so no problems there. My basic theme is KISS (keep it simple stupid). Of course I am talking about myself being stupid. I really screw things up if I don't really watch. So when I order a bus I try not to get all the extra bells and whistles that WILL go wrong later. That's the main reason I like the propane so much.
I have noticed that when my units get about 8 years old I start having trouble with different, small, things. I just chalk it up to the age we live in. Most of the districts around us are leasing and are on a 5 year rotation. So I figure that's the way most of these buses are made, with parts that last somewhere around the 8 to 10 year mark. OK, I'm rattling but you get my point. |
Bryan |
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Tb4020
Senior Member
United States
82 Posts |
Posted - 10/31/2012 : 08:49:21 AM
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He's refering to the step light on the air door set-up. I put an extra piece of wire on the existing harness and made a loop in it.
I've had two of the body modules fail why not keep the weldon boards! |
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Wolf0r
Top Member
USA
2181 Posts |
Posted - 10/31/2012 : 11:29:21 AM
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| I got my 2008s trained all the above mention has been done. They are now out of warranty and let the fun begin! Plus going broke buying more tools. |
“The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.”
Neil deGrasse Tyson |
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partsman_ba
Administrator
United States
377 Posts |
Posted - 11/01/2012 : 4:58:30 PM
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| #7 - STILL having problems with clusters "blowing out" - apparently they get spiked and their power supply gives up, causing them to do the J1939 loss "hunting." Have one that is consistently blowing up when the driver does her DOT brake test. All 2011/2012 models. |
"Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional." |
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Bluebird Visions Two years later
