H340 Wanted - "Update"

EUREKA - I have found it! As an update to my prior post, I purchased a 91' Liberty H340 this weekend. Thanks for all your leads. I found it on Craig's List (go figure). Now, coming from a diesel pusher motorhome background, I'm over overwhelmed at how many different systems are present in this bus. As I purchased from someone who inherited the bus, I was unable to get great quantities of info on operating sys. But, I did get pretty good service records. Minor? things needed (speedometer is out of whack - shows 20mph while stopped). Is this an easy fix? One side of ceiling tivoli lights out?

But my immediate questions are this: (1) how do I start the generator manually? I see swithes (dash, bedroom, & power center), but nothing happens when I flip them. (2) how do I turn on the air-compressor (for toilet, pocket door, etc.) when dry camping (so I don't get locked in bathroom)?. (3) Can the air-pocket door be disabled? Thanks again.

p.s. haven't figured out yet how to post my name & bus info in POG signature line. My name is Jody Briggs. I live in the Arlington (Dallas/Ft.Worth) area.

Jody,

Right now you don't know what you don't know. It seems overwhelming, but begin looking at the bus as nothing more than a collection of devices and systems that are located in one place. Try not to look at issues as a great big complex problem but individual matters to be dealt with one at a time.

Generally to start the Liberty generator you have to hold the button down until the two lights show the start cycle has been initiated. Do you have the "watchdog" for generator start? It is located in the electric bay over the generator start controls. If not check for fuses that may be blown, disconnected wires, bad relays, etc. Do not hesitate to contact Liberty. They offer superb product support and they can talk you through almost any problem as long as the coach hasn't been boogered up or modified.

The aux compressor should have its own circuit breaker in the 120 volt electric panel. That is the switch for it. If it does not work you need to trouble shoot the compressor, checking for power at the compressor pressure switch in the lower front steer compartment and then at the compressor.

The speedometer originally installed was not reliable. Prevost has a replacement and it is a 20 minute fix. It involves removing the dash panel screws, lifting the dash out and accessing the back of the speedometer for removal. Easy fix, and the most time consuming part is calibrating it. There are excellent instructions provided.

Check the fuses for the tivoli lights. If not that see if any of the terminals have come loose on the rear of the switches.

The air pocket doors will have an emergency procedure to open them. This is a good time for you to spend a day opening all panels, looking behind drawers, and generally snooping around to find out what is hidden out of sight. This will help you locate shut off valves, find the location of various devices you never knew you had, and to get to know the dark side of your coach.

The best and fastest way to learn your coach is to find other owners of your vintage coach and ask questions. As an alternative you should consider going to Liberty and POG rallies with the same objective in mind.

Attn Texan: I have a buddy in Arlington, he wears a big hat, but no bus.

Check your breaker box for a circuit labeled air compressor, it will power you pocket doors. As Jon mentioned' if no breaker then go to the steering compartment and verify you have power to the pressure switch.

The generator in most Libertys has multiple points at which you can start the generator. It generally requires a cycle to heat the glow plugs before starting. Give it a couple of minutes after hitting the button. If nothing happens - check your generator battery. It the bus has been sitting it is posssible that the battery has died.

good luck and keep the questions coming, Jon will make up answers he doesnt know the question too. That is not a typo

Thanks for the advice. I'll try it tonight when I get home (I'm one of those unfortunate people still encumbered by a job).

That's your problem. Get rid of the job. Those of us without a job can dedicate the 16 to 20 hours a day it takes to keep the bus running.

Hi Jody. Under your sinks, there are usually removable panels and a lever to turn to turn off air to the pocket doors. There may be a hall cabinet with a removable panel as well. If the Air compressor worked when you initially boght the coach, there will be a circuit breaker labeled 'compressor' in your circuit breaker panel located inside the coach. If that is on and you have shore power and inverter power, and the compressor still does not turn on, either the air is full or your pressure switch outside under your drivers seat area is turned off or the pressure switch may need adjustment.
The tivoli lights are fused. If you have a owners booklet, it will list the wire number for the tivoli lights which will correspond with a fuse.
Because of the age of your Coach, I do not know if you have a 'watch dog' controller for your generator. Normally, a button or switch is held until a light turns on to indicate the start sequence has begun.

For the Gen., There is a white switch just below keys that say aut. start.
We flick on and in a few minutes it cranks over the gen. set. There is a red
push button fuse in the bay next to gen. that kicks out if cranks to long with out starting. You have to reset manually. Our gen. had not run for a long time when we bought, and would not start. So my husband had me hold electric fuel shut off on and he started withscrew driver on gen. set. Oh the white switch shows green or else gen. bat. to low.There are 3 places to started gen. set. We keep them off and use front 1 mostly. We had problems figuring out lights to,but after you get it is pretty easy. 2 master switchs at
front door and then you can control from pretty well in any place on coach.
We went through what you are going through and where going to sell,but aftergot things figured out. Love the coach and it is perfect for us. You will be able to hear if compressor running. it has breaker in main panel. If no air can slide pocket door open by hand. You have safe under bed and that switch is under bathroom sink.
Jb

As far as the air-compressor: it's actually working, I just wanted to know if it's possible to disable the pocket door (we think it would be easier for some who travel w/us if it were manually latched)? However, the door is sticking at the bottom and is difficult to close now.

Generator: I tried your suggestions w/o success. The amber light on the white "auto" gen switch does not light-up? What about the black knob in the main control panel area, should it be on generator or inverter or off? I have 3 gen switches inside (plus the auto gen switch), do all 3 have to be flipped to the on position?

Also, when you say check circuit breakers, which location? There appear to be several locations (port side) that have breakers/relays, etc.

p.s. Wife wants to know about the kitchen cabinet door latches "from hell" that are difficult to close.

Thanks again - Jody

Jody, I can't help you with the pocket door issue but someone else will.

Let's have a go at the generator. Forget the black selection switch until you get the get set running. The position of that switch makes no difference as far as getting it started. Nor does the amber auto start switch. The generator should start when any of the three start switches is flipped. Makes no difference what position the other switches are in, if you flip any of them to the reverse position from where they are, the get set should start within a short time. If is does not start, look in the bay that houses the generator radiator and see if the generator control box is in that bay. That box has a main breaker for the generator that may be turned off. Check the voltage of the gen. start battery. That battery will be by itself in the same bay as the control box. Your coach being an H may be slightly different from my XL so if the above doesn't get you up and running, call Liberty and have your coach number in hand when you call.
Somebody help with the latches, mine must have been replaced because they work fine.

The black knob is a manual version of an automatic transfer switch. That knob should have four positions, "off", "shore", "generator", and "inverter".

Unless your bus has been modified that knob is used to select the power you have available for the 120 volt panel in your coach. For example, if you are plugged into a power outlet in a campground, select "shore".

As to the generator, assuming your bay configuration on the H3 is like the XL of the same vintage your second bay, driver's side should be the electric compartment. In that compartment will be a gray box on the RH side wall. Make sure the fuse on the side of the box has not tripped. You may also try to start the generator from that box. There should be a momentary toggle switch on the side of the box. Hold it until the two lights light. Ted's advice is also correct except I think the breakers are for the 120V output of the generator and for the remotely mounted radiator fan.

His advice to check that start battery is correct unless your generator uses the house batteries for starting.

If you cannot get it started the person to talk to is Bill Daugherty in Chicago at Liberty. He knows that vintage coach intimately.

Good info - I'll try all of it and let you know.

On cabinet latches,We got lucky, there was a bunch of new ones in a draw.
They fit the amana fridge two,my husband looked everywhere for 1 for bottom of fridge door, with know luck and found these in drawer. I will look at name on package for you if you want. The light on our gen has to be green or the gen does not turn over. We have to charge gen. battery quite often.
If light above gen. does not show green, I would hook up booster battery.
we had quite a problem getting started first time and also had to change
fuel filter and rad. got hot and there is a safety on and would only run for 10 min. and rad. was low. That toggle switch above red reset, we leave in off.
But if you put good battery and pull electric shut off and use screw driver on starter,it don't matter what position switch is in. There is dryer on compressor
and the bottom plug was broke and air was blowing out and compressor did not shut off. Here is part #H315 and rvdweb.com. Designer collection for cabinet latch. I will watch your posts and ask husband, what we did to overcome as we were green and had plenty of problems. Now I wanted to upgrade and he said over his dead body. He loves the size and when we go to campgrounds herein Can. people ask if they can have look in side.
JB

Thanks Judi. I have a feeling we might be talking often as our set ups sound pretty similar. Jody

A word of caution with the generator, please stay back from any moving parts when working around the generator as it may start without any warning. Loose clothing , scarves, ties etc. should not be worn around the generator.
You have only one 120 volt circuit breaker panel. It should be inside your coach and each breaker is labeled as to its purpose.

Generator: I checked the battery w/my charger and its Full. To verify power, I was able to jump-across the starter solenoid and got the gen to turn-over (I didn't let it start because I wasn't sure if I could turn if off or not?). Tried toggle switch in gen elec bay, no reaction. There is a fuse (?) or reset button? with 25 (amp) on the same box, but pushing it did not work either. Main gen switch in same bay is on and I pushed the red re-set button next to it. Any ideas of what to try next? Also, I discovered I have the "watchdog" box as well (not sure what it is though). Thanks as always - Jody

Sounds like you have followed everyone's suggestions without yet finding the problem. Time to start tracking the power from the battery from one connection to the next. Might start by first checking the battery connections and be sure you have a good ground connection. The red button is the cranking breaker that will pop if the starter runs for longer than 20 or 30 seconds without the gen set starting. If it is pushed in (set) that is the correct position. I would still check it for power on each side which will involve removing the cover from that box. While your in there, check the power on each side of the main generator breaker. You've got a gremlin somewhere that you will just have to search out and repair.
If you do decide to let the generator start and run for awhile, the only way to stop it will be to stop the flow of diesel some way. Pinching the fuel line will work but it could also cause a leak if the line is old.
If Jon gets up before noon today, he may have additional (smarter) suggestions. I'd bet it's something simple so don't panic and do something like go to Stewart & Stevenson and spend a grand for no reason.
Start at the battery and go one connection to the next. Pop the interior switches and check them for power also. You can fix this, just go slow and think it through.

Well, here it is past noon and I have all my work done for today. it sure pays to get up early. At least earlier than some of the worms found here.

If you have the watchdog, there is a reset button on the bottom. If you press it the status light should show green. Try that. If that light on the watchdog shows it is ready then hold the generator start button inside the coach until the two lights light and then release it. The generator will take about 30 seconds to start cranking.

If that does the work the watchdog may have puked. You will then have to talk to Liberty.

There is a way to bypass the watchdog on the 97 Liberty.

I need to go down to the bus barn and refresh my memory on how to make this work and at least you'll remove this part of the puzzle.

Mike

If you pull the flat cord out of the bottom of the watchdog box and then turn the switch from watchdog tomanual, you can try starting the generator from the switch on the generator.

GENERATOR SUCCESS! There was a large plug in the L.H. side of the box (w/toggle switch) that was loose. Plugged it in & ran it for 2 hrs. Although it has a tightening ring, the ring does not screw on tightly. Any ideas on how to better secure w/stripped out ring? I really appreciate all of your help! You saved me $$$

My "watch dog" has a green "on" light and a start light, but no re-set buttons (just a fuse). It appears to be ok. What does this unit do?

NEXT - What is the Webasco switch (@ driver area) for and when would I use this feature? I successfully turned on the 3 Cruise Air units, do these provide heat as well?

NEXT - Pocket Door: It was stuck shut. I took it off, cleaned & lubed track and replaced. Although it works minimally better, still needs hand-assist to open & close all the way. Ques.: can the air-pressure to this unit be increased? (would that help?) or has someone come up w/an alternative solution to an air-pocket door? I would consider eliminating the air function for a roller-track type, but I can't get into the pocket for installation.

Thanks again - Jody

The watch dog is the monitor that provides a number of functions. It will start your generator if on "auto-start" to keep the batteries charged, it will start if you command it to start with shore power disconnect, and it will shut down the generator if it overheats or loses oil pressure.

It can be disconnected, but you lose the automatic shutdown in case of mechanical problem on your generator.

Jody,

The webasto is a diesel fired burner which heats your water, and provides for heating as well.

As a difference to the cruise airs, which might also provide heat, the webasto system can work on 12V, while the cruise airs require that you either be plugged into shore power, or running the generator.

The webasto's generally work very well, and are easy to repair/maintain. There are several threads here in the forum regarding various repairs.

I don't believe cruise air heat functions below about 40 degrees F. IN that case only your webasto is going to keep you warm.

Ray

Good going on the generator, Jody. For a quick repair on the plug, just wrap the stripped threads with five or six layers of teflon tape and see if that won't hold the connection.
The Webasco is your diesel fired heater system. Your coach will have two separate thermostats for that system. Not the same ones as the CruiseAirs. If the Webasco is working properly, you will love it. Keeps the entre coach nice and warm with moist heat. The CruiseAirs will also provide heat, so you just decide which system you prefer. If the Webasco is not working properly, there is a ton of info on POG to help you get it up and running. We love our Webasco.
The air pressure for the door can be bumped up. Look in the first compartment drivers side. You will see a number of 1/4" air lines and the pressure is controlled by a valve close by in that compartment. Lift it up, screw it in a turn and push it back down. Liberty labels all the air lines and each line has it's own small needle valve. Be sure the valve for the pocket door is opened all the way. That may be all you need to do to fix the door problem. I wouldn't modify the system. Once you get it working properly you will like it.

Just for my clarification, is Webasco for when parked, can/should it be used when on the road? I do have OTR which I assume produces heat also?

You can use it going down the road for cabin heat when it is nessessary during extreem conditions.

Just a note here. You see many people spelling this product name with a C, when it's a T. The product is a Webasto heater. To the very best of my knowledge, there is no Webasco. Luckily however, if you are looking for parts, and Google Webasco, it comes back with Webasto!


Ray

Ray, you could get sheep over remarks like that. :D:D

Quote:

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Ray, you could get sheep over remarks like that.

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Yeah, maybe. Although I hope that my intent was obvious. Not to burn anyone, just to educate.

ray

Hey Ray,
If any of the California Cartel needs WEBASTO parts (Vehicle Systems, Inc), you will be passing them on I-76 as you come to our house, or we can run up there after you get here. Its only 32 miles. I need to run up there for a new nozzle for our coach.:D.

Thanks Jim,

We actually have a pretty decent supplier I found down in the Fontana area when I had to replace the fuel pump in my unit. I believe Ken also used them. But, before I come through Denver, I'll check and see if anyone needs anything.

Ray

Ray, are you coming across on I-80? Remember we are at exit 312. Let me know. If you don't want to see us, then don't reply. :)

Dale,

Current route had us going I70 from Ohio towards Denver, but I'm certainly not locked to that, and could just as easily take I80.

We would be coming through your way, probably on either October 28 or 28th (Wednesday or Thursday). If you got the room, we'd be happy to pull over there for an evening on a trek home.

Ray

Ray,

My guess is you are going to head south as soon as you realize your chosen route will be snowbound that time of year.

Snow bound in October? Well, I guess there will always be a plan B. I had talked to several folks who suggested no problem in October. But, obviously the weather doesn't have to cooperate.

Ray

Look at the dates again. Any time that late in October snow can fly.

Ray if you go I80, check with Gary D on his secret bypass of Salt Lake City. That was our only hang up on I80 to Spearfish. Once you hit I15 south of Ogden you have smooth sailing to Las Vegas area and home. A visit with Dale & Jan J is well worth going a little bit out of the way travel. Denver west on I 70 is no piece of cake in a new bus.

Geez, what a bunch of weanies!:p

Colorado and Wyoming have already had snow. But you'd have to get up over 12K feet to step in it.
!-70, west from Denver is just a slow pull. Once you get up Mt Vernon Canyon area west of Golden, you need to be is in 3rd gear.
Once up top you have several miles where 5th is fine.
Then up Floyd Hill and down to Idaho Springs, you use 3rd gear and the jake on high.
then you have a gradual pull , and some level driving until you get to Georgetown Hill. That will be 3rd or even 2nd depending on who makes you loose your momemtum.
After Silver Plume, your bus can pull it 5th gear and do 65.
At the approach of the Eisenhour Tunnel, the tunnel speed is 45.
Upon exiting the tunnel, its 3rd gear/jake, NO Sweat for 11 miles to Silverthorn.
Then up a small hill to Frisco and you have good driving until you come to Copper Mtn Ski area, and Vail Pass.
Your Series 60 will pull it in 4 or 5th gear.
Once ontop, there is a slight grade down, levels off for a mile and then down the hill you go,....,,,,,,,,3rd gear and jake.

After West Vail, its smooth sailing downstream to Glenwood Springs. After that, its downstream to Grand jct and a piece of cake into Utah.
We have done it good weather, and bad. If is bad, now a days, we just adjust when we leave. .

The grade south out of Flagstaff in I-17 is more brutal than Colorado's I-70.
I-70 is in better shape pavement-wise and less traffic than Donner Pass.,
Done them all in sunshine and snow, prefer sun.:D

Current plan is to stop and see Denny and family off of I80 in OH. Then head towards Dale and Jan's still on I80. From there I think I76 heads right into the Denver area where we are stopping to see Jim and Chris.

Originally from there I was headed back to Southern CA, but my destination now is Lake Havasu AZ, where I'll store (and use) the bus for 2-3 months (tax reasons).

Dale has mentioned I25 out of Denver, as a possibility too. I haven't really worked out that possibility, but do want to get to Havasu as quickly as possible, as I've got to be back working on the following Monday.

But, this is shaping up to be a great trip, stopping to see 4-5 of our POG friends. We are really excited about it.

Ray

PS: Just a quick google maps check show that I25 is about 30 minutes longer in time, but about 70 miles longer. Must be a faster road?

Ray,
Dale is correct. I-25 to Santa Fe and Albuquerque would make a fast trip to Lake Havasu.
Santa Fe Skies in Santa Fe ( POG 2 Rally site) is 364miles from house and take 7 1/2 hrs.
then to Albuquerque and I-40 to Flagstaff and beyond. Good drive, just lots of trucks on I-40

Thanks Jim. I'll keep both options open. I've been down I-40 many times, but have never taken I-70. Then again, once you get to Vegas you're on a road that we've seen dozens of times too!

ray