Eagles International Forum

New to to forum here, but just bought a 1983 Eagle 10 and the dash had been re-done, although poorly, and none of the gauges currently work. Hesitant to drive it without being able to monitor engine temps, etc. Any advice on the obvious things to look for? The front electrical panel looks like a bowl of spaghetti. Thanks!

Joshua, welcome to the forum.

Since none of the gauges work, it is likely a ground problem.

Also you need to make sure the master switch is getting power to the gauges.

Eagles are notorious for having different wiring setups for different customers. I sounds like your wiring panel under the driver's window (on the outside) is stock. If that is the case, my manual says that wire 18 feeds the gauges. It looks like the second fuse in from the right is the 18 lead.

We will walk you though this, but you will need a decent voltmeter.

Jim

Thanks Jim! That’s helpful, what’s the best way to get a picture of what the outside panel SHOULD look like? There are a few black wires with grommets on the ends that are just hanging, would those be grounds? Also, currently the starter doesn’t work, would that have any affect on the gauges? Thanks!

Josh

Josh, the fact that the starter does not work is a clue. That would suggest that the master switch is not providing voltage to the start switch and the gauges.

That said, it is possible that the switch in the back is set to start from the rear rather than the front.

I would grab your voltmeter and start by checking the master switch. If someone has modified your dash/wiring you may have a standard start switch rather than a master rotary switch and starter button. In either case, you will be able to check the voltage to the master/starter switch and then see if it is supplying voltage to the gauges and starter solenoid.

Keep giving us info and we will sort it out. If you can take some pictures of the side panel and the main switches we can sort out whether the systems are stock or modified.

Jim

Thanks Jim, I will try to get some pictures of the outside bay. They have the starter disconnected, starting it the old fashioned way, and the red wire I can see dangling off the starter in the back. Not sure if it fell off or someone purposefully took it off. The bus is in the shop currently getting a new alternator but I’ll post some pics, thanks!

Josh

Josh, I did not address your question about grounding. Likely the wires you mentioned are not ground wires Most of the grounding system for accessories rely on grounding to the body/frame system via bolts and screws. Those systems can go bad for a variety of reasons.

If there is any doubt about a grounding issue, I run a new wire from the component to a clean known good ground.

Sounds like you have some wiring challenges ahead of you. Keep asking questions and we will try to help you sort things out.

You mentioned that it is in a shop that is replacing the generator. It might be worth the cost to have them sort out a couple of the issues you mentioned if you are at all uncomfortable with electrical trouble shooting.

As a side note, if you still have the original Eagle wiring in the compartment below the driver's window, it is filled with lots of circuits you will not be using. In addition, the fuse system that Eagle used becomes problematic after many years of service. There is a good article on replacing all the mess with a rather simple system. I would have to work to dig up a copy, but I can look if you are interested.

Jim

This is a bit of a thread drift, but we have touched on rewiring as a solution to solving an existing wiring "rats nest".

I mentioned a simple wiring system "article". As I thought about it, I recalled that it was a book by Dave Galey:

https://www.amazon.com/Bus-Wiring-Nuts- ... B004YTN3KW

I have the earlier version and it is a great book. As you can see Amazon wants a fortune for a paper book, but have a Kindle version. I think Bus Conversions Website also has a PDF version for their members.

Sadly, the newer members to this hobby have missed the "glory days" of the original Bus Conversion conventions. They all had great seminars by leading members of the community. I think I attended every seminar presented by Dave and it was always an amazing fun event. He was a great engineer who could put complex subjects into easily understandable simple concepts. Add in his great Oklahoma sense of humor, and it was an awesome "happening". Those were the days .

Jim

Yes, the nineties were the glory days for bus conversions. I came out for several Bus Conversion Magazine Conventions, and most of the key people in the field were there. I have all of Dave's books and George Myer's Designing Electrical Layouts for Coach Conversions, 1998. The main virtue about getting into Bus Conversions now is that they are much cheaper, especially if you get one that was already converted by someone that paid attention to the guru's of that wonderful time. I think both Dave and George are still with us, but their activities are greatly diminished.

While we wait for more information from Josh, I will continue with more thread drift.

Walter, yes, those first several Bus Conversion Rallies were amazing. They even had big name entertainment. Pat and I attended every Bus Conversion Rally except for Biloxi. We helped Mike Sullivan with the final 2011 rally in Chattanooga. We spent about a week at the Choo Choo shop preparing for, and presenting, part of the pre-rally workshop. It only had a couple of attendees, but the time spent there was awesome. Owner Don Bowen mechanic Joel had more bus repair knowledge in one of their fingers than most of us will ever accumulate in a lifetime.

Sadly, Mike Sullivan really got screwed by Mike Kadletz. Mike Sullivan and his wife both developed serious health problems in the years after that rally and my attempts to communicate with them have failed in recent years.

When we old farts talk about the good old days, some of our experiences were very special.

Jim

Jim, hard to get pictures because the bus is in the shop near KC and I live in ATL. Hope to head out in a week or so and try to limp it home. Might not have mentioned before that the gauges do light up with the dash lights, but no info on any of them. Also, someone told me there should be a ground wire under the dash somewhere and also on the outside panel below the driver’s window. New to this...what exactly am I looking for? Can I run another ground from the gauges to the frame somewhere to see if that’s the problem?

Thanks