bus wont turn over after long drives

[Tristan79]

ok so we had a trip planed to cali to surprise my sister in disney land and our flight flew out of portland oregon, my mom and sisters car was going to get detailed when we where gone so we used my bus, we use my bus as a every day driver, the drive from bend to woodburn is about 150 miles(i needed new shoes before we went so we went there) after we got out of the store we tried to start the bus bus it didn't turn over, it just made a faint humming sound. we found some people to help us pop the clutch and off we went to silverton. from woodburn to silverton its a 13 mile drive. after being in cali for 4 days we came back and had t leave we got in the bus and it started with no problem, when we got home we let it idle to cool down, after we shut it off an hour later we tried to start it and it just hummed. what could this be, we have just had the alternator and the regulator. thanks Tristan

[BUSBOSS]

Read about hot start relays. You may have one in your bus and IMHO it's a hack. If so, remove it. Its best to cure the problem and not mask it. The starter solenoid gets dirty and the grease inside gets solid. You need to clean and lubricate it. If that doesn't work, it needs replacement.
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[Tristan79]

Ok, if i do have a hot start relay where do you think i could be located?

[telford dorr]

[busdaddy]

I suspect the humming was the fuel pump (activates when key is in start position), I'm betting on sticky solenoid.
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[aeromech]

In a situation where your battery is in good shape but the starter won't spin the engine you can always slide underneath and use a screwdriver to jump the contacts on the starter. Usually this works because you bypass the whole circuit which runs all the way up front and you get full battery voltage right to the starter solenoid. You can leave the ignition switch in the ON position, neutral gear, be safe, and give it a try. I can't tell you how many times I've done that over the years.
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[Tristan79]

where do i put the screw driver, and do you guys suggest getting a hot start relay?

[orangebug60guy]

here is what the wiring should look like:

here is what you don't want but might have.

here is what people are suggesting:

if jumping it across the terminals works I would suggest cleaning the nuts and bots. If not try whacking the starter with a hammer. If it starts after hitting it look at checking the ground strap and starter bushing. there are plenty of threads on here that explain how to do that. Try the search button.

[aeromech]

The hot start relay is really just a band aid for a deeper problem. In 26 years of owning my bus I never had to install one. Lots of times it's actually the ignition switch that causes the problem. The contacts burn and then your voltage is reduced. Adding a hot start relay will just delay the inevitable change of the ignition switch.
_________________
Lead Mechanic: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic
Licensed Pilot (Single engine Land)
Boeing 727,737-200-300-400,757,767
Airbus A319,320,321
DC9/MD80
BAe146
Fokker F28/F100
VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
VW Jetta
VW Passat
Capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound

[SGKent]

lots of reasons it might not work. Normally it is a combination of things. Best solution is to make a list and fix as many as you can. Adding a relay to a non-working system is like just sanding and painting over rust. It may look "pretty" but the rust is not gone and it will be back.

From what I can tell, a VW solenoid at engagement peaks at about 20 amps and holds at about 10 amps. Two headlights of 55 watts each is 110 watts / 12V = 9.1 amps. Add 2 to 3 amps for the stereo being on and you are putting as much through the ignition switch as the solenoid draws when engaged. If that concerns you, you had better run a relay for the headlights too.