Chassis battery and stalling issues
Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2018 3:04 pm
Hey guys. I'm new to the whole eagle thing. My wife bought a previously converted Model 5 about 5 years ago and I flew out to Tulsa to pick her up and drive her back to PA. I had never driven a 4-speed manual bus (or any bus) at that point. Didn't know about double clutching or anything else I've learned since.
The clutch had to be rebuilt in Springfield, MO on the way back to PA. Since in PA we had the brakes done and a few other minor fixes/adjustments. I have little to nothing in the way of service history, can't find the vin, and only recently started living in it full-time with my family (wife, 2 teen boys, a 6-year-old, and 2 dogs). We simply dumped our house 3 months ago and jumped in the eagle.
It was a miracle that the A/C worked without a problem. I put a new element in the water heater and we have hot water for days. I replaced the old sparky fuse panel for the DC systems, hooked up a new deep cycle rv battery to the inverter, added water lines (both hot and cold) for a bosch washer/dryer set (that sits in the front luggage bay) and a 240v 30a circuit for the same. I've made minor repairs here and there. Fixed leaks. Replaced the floor in the toilet. I've done basically whatever needed to be done to make this a home.
She's old. THere's still a lot to do but she's livable. I have one constant problem, however, that never fails to scare the crap out of me: 1. Not enough battery power to start the engine. 2. Stalling out in 1st gear.
Now, we had the giant industrial bus batteries at one point but the bus sat in the shop for years, which made the batteries useless. They are like $300 a pop! My wife did some research and we have tried running 2 deep cycle batteries but that gives us like 2 cold starts at most. Then the batteries take forever to recharge. I have stories about stalls and frantic jumps for days. I didn't realize you could jump a bus with a Fiat! In a busy intersection at that! When there's enough charge in the primary and secondary batteries (it does seem to need to use both of them to crank over), she starts with no problem. But like I said, I only get 1 or two starts. Most of the time if I stall it, I won't get it to restart without a jump (first charge up the alternate battery and then charge and jump from the primary). What would you guys suggest I do here? We've heard people say that they just fill up their battery bay with as many batteries as it can hold and then just connect them all in parallel. WHat do you guys say?
The second, and probably bigger problem, is with 1st gear up hills. I've noticed 2 things with 1st gear in this beast:
1. If you rev too high before popping the clutch, it will slip right out of gear.
2. If you don't rev high enough before popping the clutch, it will stall.
Now, I know #2 is usually SOP for any manual vehicle but in my eagle window between 1 and 2 above is very very slim. She doesn't pop out of any other gear and I've learned to double clutch, blip the gas on downshift, etc... so I don't think it's my technique. The other problem, and the only terrifying thing about this machine really, is when I go up a hill that's too steep (so far I've encountered two such tiny hills of maybe 100 to 500 meters in RV parks we stay at) I lose power very very quickly and she simply cuts out at the end. Now, I encountered the same thing in reverse gear but reverse won't slip out no matter how high you rev the engine so i'm usually able to back up off a steep slope if I need to. What could be causing this issue? Both the stalling and the slipping? Shouldn't a DD 8v71N engine be able to pull a monster like this up literally any hill without stalling out for lack of power?
Here's a couple clues about maintenance that may help you understand the condition of my bus.
1. No idea when the oil was last changed. Not even sure how to go about getting this done since this bus is our only residence.
2. No idea when the fuel filters were last changed. Is this an easy procedure?
3. The engine has some kind of makeshift fuel pump on it whose job (as the consignment dealer we bought it from told me) is to fill the fuel filter before a cold start. It has a little red aligator clip wire that I connect to a hot bolt in the engine compartment until the fuel filter is filled. This makes little sense to me but maybe you guys understand it.
By trade I'm a software developer. I was a carpenter in college. I'm good with my hands and learn quickly. I'm not afraid of trial and error and I may be characterized as not quite right in the head. I love my eagle. It's like driving a building. I get such a rush every time I drive it. I just want to keep it and my family safe. Thanks in advance for any advice!
The clutch had to be rebuilt in Springfield, MO on the way back to PA. Since in PA we had the brakes done and a few other minor fixes/adjustments. I have little to nothing in the way of service history, can't find the vin, and only recently started living in it full-time with my family (wife, 2 teen boys, a 6-year-old, and 2 dogs). We simply dumped our house 3 months ago and jumped in the eagle.
It was a miracle that the A/C worked without a problem. I put a new element in the water heater and we have hot water for days. I replaced the old sparky fuse panel for the DC systems, hooked up a new deep cycle rv battery to the inverter, added water lines (both hot and cold) for a bosch washer/dryer set (that sits in the front luggage bay) and a 240v 30a circuit for the same. I've made minor repairs here and there. Fixed leaks. Replaced the floor in the toilet. I've done basically whatever needed to be done to make this a home.
She's old. THere's still a lot to do but she's livable. I have one constant problem, however, that never fails to scare the crap out of me: 1. Not enough battery power to start the engine. 2. Stalling out in 1st gear.
Now, we had the giant industrial bus batteries at one point but the bus sat in the shop for years, which made the batteries useless. They are like $300 a pop! My wife did some research and we have tried running 2 deep cycle batteries but that gives us like 2 cold starts at most. Then the batteries take forever to recharge. I have stories about stalls and frantic jumps for days. I didn't realize you could jump a bus with a Fiat! In a busy intersection at that! When there's enough charge in the primary and secondary batteries (it does seem to need to use both of them to crank over), she starts with no problem. But like I said, I only get 1 or two starts. Most of the time if I stall it, I won't get it to restart without a jump (first charge up the alternate battery and then charge and jump from the primary). What would you guys suggest I do here? We've heard people say that they just fill up their battery bay with as many batteries as it can hold and then just connect them all in parallel. WHat do you guys say?
The second, and probably bigger problem, is with 1st gear up hills. I've noticed 2 things with 1st gear in this beast:
1. If you rev too high before popping the clutch, it will slip right out of gear.
2. If you don't rev high enough before popping the clutch, it will stall.
Now, I know #2 is usually SOP for any manual vehicle but in my eagle window between 1 and 2 above is very very slim. She doesn't pop out of any other gear and I've learned to double clutch, blip the gas on downshift, etc... so I don't think it's my technique. The other problem, and the only terrifying thing about this machine really, is when I go up a hill that's too steep (so far I've encountered two such tiny hills of maybe 100 to 500 meters in RV parks we stay at) I lose power very very quickly and she simply cuts out at the end. Now, I encountered the same thing in reverse gear but reverse won't slip out no matter how high you rev the engine so i'm usually able to back up off a steep slope if I need to. What could be causing this issue? Both the stalling and the slipping? Shouldn't a DD 8v71N engine be able to pull a monster like this up literally any hill without stalling out for lack of power?
Here's a couple clues about maintenance that may help you understand the condition of my bus.
1. No idea when the oil was last changed. Not even sure how to go about getting this done since this bus is our only residence.
2. No idea when the fuel filters were last changed. Is this an easy procedure?
3. The engine has some kind of makeshift fuel pump on it whose job (as the consignment dealer we bought it from told me) is to fill the fuel filter before a cold start. It has a little red aligator clip wire that I connect to a hot bolt in the engine compartment until the fuel filter is filled. This makes little sense to me but maybe you guys understand it.
By trade I'm a software developer. I was a carpenter in college. I'm good with my hands and learn quickly. I'm not afraid of trial and error and I may be characterized as not quite right in the head. I love my eagle. It's like driving a building. I get such a rush every time I drive it. I just want to keep it and my family safe. Thanks in advance for any advice!