DANGER....INSPECTION REQUIRED

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Over the last several years I have been aware that the electric box in the rear of our coaches may break away and drop down onto the engine.

Let me repeat that for purposes of emphasis. The big box in the rear over our engines with all the electrical connections can come loose from its fastenings and drop onto the engine. This is a serious hazard that should be considered unsafe until the mounting is reinforced or new fasteners are used.

I have monitored my electric box mounting integrity routinely, as recently as upon arriving in OKC, and when I got home I realized the mounting rivets had failed and the box was sitting on top of the air intake tube.

On my box there are two terminals extending from the bottom and they were both in contact with the metal air intake tube, but as near as I can determine there was no electric short as a result.

The photos below show the attachment brackets. The failure was of the four pop rivets in each brakcket. The brackets remain secured to the rear bulkhead, but the rivets attaching the brakets to the box failed in tension, not shear as I would have expected. The failure was due to galvanic corrosion.

If the box on your coach is secure I recommend leaving it as it is and secure the box to the top of the bulkhead using an angle or to the sides of the box and bracket using flat strips. The electrical mounting panel appears to be a piece of masonite and it is at least 3/4" off of the back of the outer electrical box so any screws you use to secure the box can extend into that area.

[Orren Zook]

Thanks for the heads up on this, Jon

[lonesome george]

THANK YOU JON!! I'll be scheming on a countermeasure this evening. And did I say Thank you?

[truk4u]

I forgot all about that deal, but will be reinforcing mine ASAP. Thank's for the up close and personal reminder Jon.

[phorner]

WOW! That is scary stuff! I'll be checking mine in the morning.

Thanks, Jon for the heads-up.

[dale farley]

I'll be checking mine also. Thanks for the heads-up.

[GDeen]

Thanks Jon - glad to hear there wasn't a serious problem as a result.

Would be handy to have a section on the forum dedicated specifically to these type of issues that need to be checked periodically to prevent a trainwreck. 2 other threads in the last couple of days of similar stuff - the hydraulic hoses and Hector's door problem come to mind. A separate index from all the other discussion to make it easy to keep up with. Just sayin...