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John Farr
Top Member
USA
642 Posts |
 Posted - 03/10/2001 : 10:03:48 AM
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We've noticed that VCRs often shut down in the middle of a run on certain buses. After some investigation we've found that this is usually caused by a voltage drop in the bus electrical system, normally related to starting the engine in a bus with a weak battery or starter motor.
One of our service workers, Robert Jaramillo, has developed a system to protect the VCR from these voltage drops. It consists of a small battery located in the side electrical access box. The battery is placed between the power source and the VCR wire, with a diode on the battery to cause the VCR to receive power only from the battery. The battery is a small cell-type and can only power the VCR for 20 minutes or so. We may go to a larger battery. We are adjusting the Power Tamer system to shut off all accessories in 15 instead of 30 minutes.
Once we've worked out the bugs I may write a more detailed piece for SBF, so all can benefit. By the way, we looked at isolators, but they were too costly.
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VCR Reliability
