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matts4290
Advanced Member
224 Posts |
 Posted - 11/16/2015 : 5:38:30 PM
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I just bought a 2004 Thomas Saftliner HDX ER from a church. Some nice specs, tall roof, A/C, coach style seats, seat belts, tinted windows, 41 pass, A2000 Allison, 3126- and its my first Thomas after owning 8 blue bird
I bought it with Transmission issues. The church said they didn't want to mess with it and just sold it. Currently, only have 3rd gear, neutral, and reverse. Will not upshift through the gears. Speedo is inop, odometer not counting, ABS light on, and the trans inhibit light on the shifter is not on.
It sounds to me like the trans isn't getting power. The terminals on the batteries look good, but I'm not sure where the trans gets its power from. I'm not a mechanic but I work at a tire shop and we have mechanics that work on stuff like this. My first course of action is to bring it to the shop and have them plug in to it with Allison software and go from there. I'm hoping someone could point me in the right direction, or have any ideas.
Also, I noticed a drip on the front of the engine, and its dripping on the harmonic balancer. It is fuel, but I can't see where its coming from. Any ideas on that too? |
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aaronwilmoth80911
Top Member
538 Posts |
Posted - 11/16/2015 : 7:03:54 PM
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| Can't help you on the transmission issue, but are you 100% sure that it is fuel dripping from the front? I can see it being a front crank seal if it is coming from around the balancer. I've done 3 over the past couple months. Not really a terrible fix, at least on a conventional style bus. If you are absolutely positive that it is fuel, check all your lines on the top of the engine. Maybe dripping fuel down and hitting the balancer. |
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tigger2
Advanced Member
USA
470 Posts |
Posted - 11/17/2015 : 04:26:23 AM
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| This unit has a transmission Vehicle Interface Module located by the front spring under the unit. And may have a large cover and a wad of foam coming out of any holes in it. inside is a busman electrical box with fuses and relays inside that powers the transmission module and has relays for neutral signal and other communications to the unit, the trans module can also be in the same box depending on the year. There was a recall on these # 09V-11 or FL544 and the parts for the recall are still in stock the new VIM # is 25-FL544-000. You may want to call your local Thomas dealer for help or answers. |
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matts4290
Advanced Member
224 Posts |
Posted - 11/17/2015 : 7:53:28 PM
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Thanks for your replies. I've tried to find the module. I've located the trans computer above the front spring. I found in the dash several fuse boxes, and the one in particular has neutral start, TCU, Auto fast idle and such. While I was prodding around under there, I was trying to take pictures and I found a piece of conduit that looked like the tape wasn't factory and that its been messed with. I pulled it apart and found where someone had spliced some wires together and taped over, along with one wire completely corroded and separated, and one with a big cut with all the copper corroded in that spot. I'm gonna attempt to repair this by cutting out all the corroded and splicing in new.
On the fuel leak, it is indeed fuel. It looks like its coming from the left front side of the engine, but its difficult to locate the source. The air compressor, the bracket for the A/C pumps, and one of the intake pipes just about block all views of it. Looks like if I remove the intake pipe, it will open up some visibility. I'll keep y'all posted.
More background info: the church sent this to a GM/Isuzu dealership to identify the problem. They said they spent $1000.00 for the shop to tell them they thought it wasn't the transmission, and that it was electrical, and would need more money to diagnose. The church decided it wasn't worth spending more to fix it. I removed the bolts to gain access to the trans computer and it doesn't look like its been remotely touched. |
We can't all be conventional!
http://www.youtube.com/user/matts4290 |
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2004 Thomas HDX A2000 Trans limp mode
