School Bus Mechanic Archives

Cummins Diesel Engine Codes

The Cummins ISC diesel engine in this case a 1999 model quit suddenly on the main street just outside our shop. The driver was from out of town and we had to hold his bus for repairs. It had to be towed in and found the problem to be two engine codes. They were engine… Continue reading Cummins Diesel Engine Codes

Mercedes Diesel Engine Turbo Code Repair

Turbo Boost Performance Code Mercedes Diesel Engine The “turbo boost performance” code is the fussiest one of all with Mercedes MBE 900 diesel engines. It involves several different checks on the sensors, EGR, intake throttle among other basic checks. When I see an engine with this code I know it’s going to cost us a… Continue reading Mercedes Diesel Engine Turbo Code Repair

Mechanic Talk – Peculiar Problems In The Field

The Bad Ground Syndrome Have you ever experienced a problem with a light on a vehicle that shines very dim and seems to be illuminating another totally unassociated light? For example if you have the signal lights on and there are other lights flashing on and off as well you may have a bad ground.… Continue reading Mechanic Talk – Peculiar Problems In The Field

Thomas School Bus Front Brake Replacement – Problems

This is a brake job that has not gone well. It should have been a simple 2 to 3 hour job but everything has gone south as the saying goes. Every time we make a change with linings or machined brake drums the problem accelerates. We have replaced the linings 2 times and machined both… Continue reading Thomas School Bus Front Brake Replacement – Problems

School Bus Emissions For 2014

The first diesel engine manufacturer I think of for emission changes in 2014 is Navistar who never went to an SCR system likes it’s counterpart at Cummins. The Navistar design just used the EGR to control the recirculated exhaust gases internally and in doing so had to pay for credits to the EPA to keep… Continue reading School Bus Emissions For 2014

Bus Garage Repairs This Week

This Week in The Garage The jobs that go on in our garage change day to day since we really don’t know what ‘s going to fail or what needs to be serviced next. There is always something to do around the shop. Of course I don’t have to tell any of the guys in… Continue reading Bus Garage Repairs This Week

Farm Machine Operator With Disabilities – Inspirational

This video is all about Chris Koch a man from Nanton Alberta who works Spring, Summer and Fall on a farm in Torquay Saskatchewan. It’s indirectly associated with the theme of this blog in that it’s about machinery in the farm industry…… but the big message is how someone with a huge disability can over… Continue reading Farm Machine Operator With Disabilities – Inspirational

2009 Hybrid School Bus Over View

In 2009 we acquired a 2009 hybrid school bus driven by a six liter MaxxForce Diesel Engine. It’s still running around today and I want to go through how it operates and describe some of the components that make this system work. The whole idea behind a hybrid is to assist the launch of the… Continue reading 2009 Hybrid School Bus Over View

Espar Multi Max F1000 Diesel Coolant Heater Controller

Setting The Programmer for the Espar Multi Max F1000 diesel coolant heater controller is basic and just takes some practice getting used to the steps. It comes with an SD card that has the manuals and programmer installed. The first step is to download the SD card information to your computer. Then you can go… Continue reading Espar Multi Max F1000 Diesel Coolant Heater Controller

Mercedes Diesel Engine Wiring Problem Part 2

This is part 2 of a previous video I posted here that showed me wiggling the harness to make the engine quit. It didn’t work but the engine did cut out a couple of times. This video shows you the actual wire that is at fault. It’s a grey14 gauge wire that runs power to… Continue reading Mercedes Diesel Engine Wiring Problem Part 2