I just got a new to me 1992 u280 gv 8.3 cummins which runs and drives fine. It was last owned by a tweaker who cut off random wires through the coach and removed the entire dashboard and wiring. I need help figuring out the wiring. I talked to the factory and they sent me a few partial diagrams which should help but not most of it. I still have the gauges, fuse block and relays but that's it. I don't even know what I am missing. Is there anyone who has a owners manual I could look at or buy? Is there anyone near Sacramento CA who has one I could see in person to know what it is supposed to look like. I have heard there are people who redo the dashboards and pull out the old stuff. Does anyone have old parts for sale? I am looking forward to working on this mostly myself to get it running for a family motor home and do not need it to look perfect, just functional.
John
My guru buddy can and does make up custom dash boards. San Clemente, ca
John,
What is in question:
Dash gauges wiring
12 VDC wiring from chassis battery
12 VDC wiring from house battery
Other
The PO must have been crazy. Foretravel did a nice job on the 12V wiring under the dash top. Wires all have the codes, etc so you can match up with the schematic. The schematics for your coach can be found here. The U300 should be just about the same with the exception of the Jake Brake: https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?action=media;sa=album;in=194;nw;start=35 . Info in the archives is way better than the almost useless factory manuals.
We live about an hour into the Sierra from Sacramento. You can look at ours if you like as it is a '93 and much the same as yours. All the schematic for your coach are online here in the archives. Best is to download the images and then take them to Kinko or other print ship and have them blown up to as big as they can. Bill Chaplin showed up at the house with a couple of big ones for which I'm forever grateful. After they are in almost poster size, you roll them and put them in a mailing tube and then store in the small compartments above the dash.
Glad to also take a few photos of the dash closed and open and forward.
Pierce
Congratulations on your new Coach ........and Family Project. The collective knowledge base here is terrific. Ask and you WILL get an answer....or a bunch of them. Take some pictures and post them on the Forum. Pictures are very helpful to get the most accurate answer for your issue. ......besides, we all like pictures.
Thanks for the replies everyone. I was told this was a helpful group. There are random places where both low and high voltage wires were cut and things removed. No sense to any of it. I was told the druggie who lived in it said there was a fire but there is absolutely no evidence of that. Wires are cut very neatly all over and parts were set aside. It makes no sense at all where it was done. I will get an electrician friend of mine to rewire the breaker boxes to outlets but I feel confident tracing the 12 volt stuff. I have the vdo gauges and was able to look up how to wire them but just need to find which wires from the harness go to which gauges. It would be great to see one in person. Someone just listed one for sale . on Craigslist in Foresthill so I was going to see if I could look at it and maybe take some pictures of their manual if possible. I will pm the person here who said they lived nearby also. I will see if I can post some pictures. Am I allowed or do I need a certain number of posts like on other sites? I am mostly interested in getting the guages, lights and signals working so I can legally drive it. It doesn't matter what it looks like at first but once I have it all sorted out I will be able to take my time looking for a dash from a wrecking yard.
John
John,
I
think you can post photos from the git-go, so give it a try. Some new members find photo posting kinda tricky, so ask if you have any trouble.
Finding a good used dash may take a while. Not a lot of early 90's GV coaches in recycling yards. At least the old GV dash boards are a pretty simple flat piece of material with round holes. Not like the later coaches where they got very complex.
Seeing a similar model coach in person is the best thing you can do. Especially if you are totally missing many of the wires under your dash. As mentioned earlier, the factory put ID numbers on most of the original wiring, but if those are gone, it will be harder reproducing the OEM circuits.
If you have any questions about Forum rules, you can check the User Agreement here: FORUM TERMS & CONDITIONS (https://www.foreforums.com/agreement.html)
I think you could get a good start with the Wire List and the schematic referenced above. Both are included in the coach's original documentation and someone here probably has the 92 docs. Here is a partial screenshot of both for my 97.
jor
Also remember that you have the first year of the 102 inch wide coach so will need a dash from a '92 or later. First, make sure of the year and width. They are pretty simple so not that hard to make one from scratch if you have some tools and space.
I will be home this next week so come and take a look.
Pierce
I never got a Wire List with our coach, and it had a pretty good set of OEM manuals. If anyone has the complete Wire List for the last of the GV models (1992-1995?) it would be a VERY NICE item to add the Forum Library! Thanx in advance!
https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?action=media;sa=album;in=194
I am not sure when Foretravel started the practice of printing wire number directly on the wire insulation, but if that is true in your year, you should be able to locate the wire number by tracing a given wire back until you can find the number. I think the numbers are printed every foot or so. Good luck!
Don
If you are going to build a dash, Frank Shaw Lumber frank shaw lumber rio linda ca - Google Search (https://www.google.com/search?q=frank+shaw+lumber+rio+linda+ca&oq=frank+shaw+lumber+&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l2.11729j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) is the place to go. They have sign plywood with lots of plies, waterproof glue, a hard surface both sides for painting. They will take being outside in bad weather. He sells them cheap in several thicknesses from 1/4" to 1 1/2" . Call first. 4x8 feet but possible he may have larger. Probably not very far from you.
Pierce
Thanks for the diagram. It looks like it will show everything i need to get started on tracing. I am headed over there now to get started. Luckily one of my workers is a high end cabinet maker by trade so he said if i can get him an idea of what it looks like he can make a decent replica of it. For now it is just going to be a sheet of plywood and a hole saw to get it working. Pictures to follow.
Here are some pictures of the coach. It used to be called the winged lion and was owned by people in Louisiana and Illinois before me. I got the wires figured out for the headlights, front turn signals, fog lights, front running lights and the speedo, tach, oil pressure, water temp and dash lights. It doesn't have numbered wires but the colors do correspond to some of the diagrams I have. I just realized the dashboard must have been hinged so that should make it easier for me to make one up from plywood and foam and be able to access underneath . Is there a place to order the matching dash material from? I am going to go as far as I can with this before I try to see someone else's so I will know what questions I need to ask and look at. I might just get a random motor home dashboard to be able to hook up whatever I can to it and have it look a little better than raw wood for now.
Try Jo-Ann fabrics for the vinyl for the dash. They should have something close. JOANN Fabric and Craft Stores – Shop online (https://www.joann.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&source=TIS-S&WT.srch=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvdXpBRCoARIsAMJSKqKIFJfHv47uDEQD8W6PWrc6a_kBsWLcCJ_FYYnb5q2AquC6r3qKJrMaAspwEALw_wcB) They will have a store close to you. Foam too. For the dashtop, I like it to be covered in a tight carpet, it keeps reflections down and knocks down the noise too. For vinyl glue, the best is HH-66. Order it from ebay: hh-66 glue | eBay (https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=hh-66+glue&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_osacat=0&_odkw=hh-gjue)
Don't worry about leather as Foretravels never came with leather, just Ultraleather's look alike vinyl. Let me know if you need seat work done as the vinyl on yours has probably seen it's best days.
Pierce
Here is where I get that material from. MDG Wholesale | Quantity & Quality (https://www.marshalldrygoodswholesale.com/) Good folks to work with even if you are not a commercial customer.
Pamela
MOT will tell you (Trina?) what the right match is. They redid my dash and it matched perfectly
This is the dashboard.
Actually, given those pictures, I would get with James Triana at Foretravel to find out what year and model Foretravels had the same under-dash layout. This is an area of a coach that has little resale value, so if you can find one being parted out, it should offer you the most economic way to restore the dash electrical.
Still can't believe anyone would do that amount of damage to a coach!!!!