FLU419 SEE HMMH HME Owners group

[The FLU farm]

K I can keep my sanity working on it for maybe 2 or 3 hours. I then needed a break and usually research the next circuit for a day or so before hitting it again.

Sounds like you have much more sanity to work with than I do these days.

 

[General Hood]

Sounds like you have much more sanity to work with than I do these days.

Same here. I messed with the wiring a couple hours today (mostly getting everything exposed per the Peakbagger method). My patience wore thin so called it a day. I may get the girl next door to come over and chant "serenity now" when I delve back into the process tomorrow

 

[peakbagger]

I split wood by hand, I think that wiring harness was good for about 2 cords of stress relief

 

[The FLU farm]

I split wood by hand, I think that wiring harness was good for about 2 cords of stress relief

I can believe that. Although, if I had to split wood, I'd use an axe.

On a different subject, when you replaced your fans, what make and model (and diameter) did you end up with?

 

[peakbagger]

I have no idea where I put the data sheet.

I did find the Ebay listing
LOT OF 2 SPAL 10" PUSHER FANS - SURPLUS - VERY NICE - 24 VOLT DC

They are slightly smaller diameter but I expect they move more air. I made up an adaptor plate out of aluminum sheet that bolted on the back of the radiator. I hard to unbolt the radiator to get the old fans out.

 

[The FLU farm]

Thanks! I looked around a bit today and after seeing the prices for "regular" ones I, too, decided to check on eBay.
There's one listing with what looks like a good replacement. Surplus, no less, but those might be too thick.
Guess it'll cost $55 to find out if one of those will fit or not. And thankfully it's the rear one I need to replace, which is relatively easy to get to.
Either way, if yours are Spal, they should be as good as it gets.

 

[peakbagger]

Its strange, there were quite a few Spals listed when I bought them. I never actually checked if the other fan was bad I suppose I should, I dissected the other one and it was rusted to bits on the inside.

 

[73m819]

Well I got behind the dash today after pulling the front loader (nice to have a crane as soldier #2), I found a GIANT rat house, took me forever to dig the crap out just to free up the wires, then more cleaning and disassembly then more cleaning, this was a BIG rat, turds 3/4 in. long and 1/4 in.+ thick, found about 15 wires that were diner, more then likely will find more tomorrow, what a miss, NOW does anybody have a wiring schematic for the pos SEE, a complete one not the bit and piece ones shown in the -20, so I can follow the circuits to put this thing back together.

 

[The FLU farm]

Its strange, there were quite a few Spals listed when I bought them. I never actually checked if the other fan was bad I suppose I should, I dissected the other one and it was rusted to bits on the inside.

Searched again, this time for "24 volt Spal fan", but the closest that came up was a photo-less 12-incher...at close to $90.
Since I've already ordered the thick, surplus one, maybe it's a good thing nothing better came up.
My guess is that you now have a functional spare fan...which may not fit your shroud.

Ron, are you sure it was a rat living in there? Sounds like it might've been a small homeless person.

Today's lack-of-progress report on my part is getting one of the rear axle locating links off, to start trying to undo the forklift induced bends.
At least that work is free - yesterday was expensive, buying five buckets of AW 32 to replace the 10 weight oil in the front and rear hydraulics. At least it was only five since I already had two.
Also have engine oil and filter on the shelf, which helps a bit. Until the next one needs an oil change.

 

[General Hood]

Well I got behind the dash today after pulling the front loader (nice to have a crane as soldier #2), I found a GIANT rat house, took me forever to dig the crap out just to free up the wires, then more cleaning and disassembly then more cleaning, this was a BIG rat, turds 3/4 in. long and 1/4 in.+ thick, found about 15 wires that were diner, more then likely will find more tomorrow, what a miss, NOW does anybody have a wiring schematic for the pos SEE, a complete one not the bit and piece ones shown in the -20, so I can follow the circuits to put this thing back together.

Yes, the schematic would be beneficial to several of us SEE owners who acquired our MVs from Texarkana. My time is limited diagnosing and repairing gnawed bundles of wiring (I work long hours to support my MV addiction) but I am recording every traced out and repaired wire, so I have a reference for future use.
No exaggeration, I filled my shop vac with rat nests and rat debris from the drivers side compartment under the hood. I've complained a lot, but truthfully, I do find it rewarding to bring a neglected piece of military history back to life. Keep us updated on your progress

 

[Go Go Gadget FLU 419]

NOW does anybody have a wiring schematic for the pos SEE, a complete one not the bit and piece ones shown in the -20, so I can follow the circuits to put this thing back together.

Someone, somewhere, maybe. But not me. I've called about everywhere I could think of, and felt the dead end was reached when I talked to the Stateside Daimler Unimog expert, and he told me he wished he had a dollar for every time someone called him asking for the electrical diagram P/N GOV-041 (NSN 7610-01-475-7996). It'll take determination and luck to find one of those apparently.

Ahh, that's what they are, forklift bends. Mine are equally bent, so I suppose they will be ok?

It truly is rewarding to bring a piece of (however recent) history back to life. Especially when it's so cool!

I've got my SEE pretty well brought back to life. Probably mount this new air hose reel I've got for it. And another tool box. Somewhere... And upgrade to the 24V LED headlights I got at the pawn shop. Flush the radiator.

Hey, anyone else have a stuck on full fuel gauge? What's the scoop on that? I couldn't get my tank off without tearing up the straps that hold it on, so I figured I'd ask before I cut it off.

 

[peakbagger]

It looks like all the bugs that I have run into with my SEE (which was bought at auction by a prior owner about 3 years ago) are not just one off. RE the fuel gauge issue, While diagnosing a loss of prime on the fuel system, another apparent bug that I expect folks will start asking questions about, I pulled the fuel sending unit from the tank. One wire goes into the tank to a variable resistor mounted on the float arm, the other end of the resistor goes to ground. The wire was broken off the variable resistor. I dried things off and managed to re-solder it. It is very weak connection. Once I put the fuel system back together, the gauge starting working. I would suggest finding the wire that goes to the tank and measuring resistance to ground. If there is no resistance, odds are the wire is broken. When I took the tank off I was impatient and did twist the straps. I would suggest trying paint remover on the threads and then a couple of days of hitting it with Kroil or your favorite penetrant. By the way I think EI had a float unit.

Regarding the wire harness diagram, the only thing I haven't heard tried is to call the Owner of C&C equipment that has been reselling SEEs for a couple of years. Scott from EI is fairly active on the Benz World forum and he has never responded to any of my wiring posts. Might be worth giving him a call just to close that loop. Somewhere in the last two years I did see a post that someone had seen one of the laminated wiring harness diagrams sold at government auction so at least one may exist. I just don't think many were issued and expect most of the military bases just threw them away once they got rid of the SEEs. Realistically I really don't know how much easier it would be to repair the harness with it compared to the electrical diagnosis manual. It all comes down to tracing one wire at a time between the main fuse block and the dash.

 

[Another Ahab]

Somewhere in the last two years I did see a post that someone had seen one of the laminated wiring harness diagrams sold at government auction so at least one may exist. I just don't think many were issued and expect most of the military bases just threw them away once they got rid of the SEEs. Realistically I really don't know how much easier it would be to repair the harness with it compared to the electrical diagnosis manual. It all comes down to tracing one wire at a time between the main fuse block and the dash.

These kinds of posts are what make me glad I'm only an armchair observer of all the SEE work going on (or NOT going on as the case may be).

 

[The FLU farm]

I would suggest trying paint remover on the threads and then a couple of days of hitting it with Kroil or your favorite penetrant.

Funny you should mention that. Well, not really, but not even trying to get rid of the paint on the visible part of bolts before removing them is why I only got one of the axle locating links off yesterday.
It's also most likely why the captive nuts on the hydraulic oil cooler became un-captive, and why three of the four bolts holding the cooling fan broke off.
So while I was thinking "It'd be a good idea to take a wire wheel on the cordless drill to these bolts before starting to remove them.", once again I was too lazy to crawl out from underneath the SEE to get said tools. And once again the result was predictable failure.
Note to self (and the rest of you): Even though good penetrating oil helps a bit, it is worth it to remove the paint mechanically, or with paint remover, before even trying to remove a fastener.

 

[peakbagger]

That darn paint they applied is tenacious in spots. They applied so much it gunked up the breather vent on my fuel tank and was a factor in breaking fittings on my air system.
Given how lumpy the top coat is I would envision that the body would need to be stripped to get a good paint finish if someone wanted a "pretty" SEE. I just don't want it to rot out so its a non issue for me.

 

[Another Ahab]

So while I was thinking "It'd be a good idea to take a wire wheel on the cordless drill to these bolts before starting to remove them.", once again I was too lazy to crawl out from underneath the SEE to get said tools. And once again the result was predictable failure.
Note to self (and the rest of you): Even though good penetrating oil helps a bit, it is worth it to remove the paint mechanically, or with paint remover, before even trying to remove a fastener.

i get it though, you know: you just always wish it were easier.

Nobody minds working. You just don't ever want to work THAT hard.

 

[73m819]

[QUOTE=peakbagger; " It all comes down to tracing one wire at a time between the main fuse block and the dash."


This would be almost impossible, the ONLY way would be to start at the on/off switch, get it power then track each out going hot lead to what it powers, track it though switches, relays, and fuses, I have come up with 60 + (I say 60 because that is when I stopped counting) chewed ends, this does not count the "almost" chewer though. More then likely do a partial rewire, starting at the on/off switch, to the control then to the function then wire in the fuse, I also have been thinking of replacing the German fuses with a modern standard fuse bank so you can go down to your local Advance auto parts store if you need a fuse.

 

[Bikers33]

There is a harness up for grabs, starts with E ends in Y. A bit spendy though.

 

[The FLU farm]

That darn paint they applied is tenacious in spots. They applied so much it gunked up the breather vent on my fuel tank and was a factor in breaking fittings on my air system.

It'd be nice if the paint flaked off the fasteners, instead of in all the places where I would rather have it stay put.

 

[peakbagger]

Feel free to do it anyway you want. I have described the successful method I used and that's what I did. Perhaps the description of fuse block is confusing, the fuse block is actually part of much larger assembly that has numerous electrical connectors plugged into its backside, they are almost impossible to access without unbolting the fuse panel from the cowl and carefully pulling the fuse panel and harness out towards the wheel well. I rarely if ever actually touched the fuse panel, everyone of the wires going into those plugs on the back are numbered. That's what I mean by tracing the wires one by one. If I find a number 23 on a dash board component and is gnawed off I then go searching for #23 generally either on one of these plugs or on occasion the four relays on the wheelwell. Then I hook my multimeter on #23 at the plug and figure out what gnawed wire makes the multimeter beep. I make sure to check that there are zero ohms and then I splice in new wire between the two points. I admit its not fast and easy and if I had to charge someone it would be up in the 50 to 100 hour range. Now that I have notes, that I posted previously I could probably cut my hours substantially especially if I remove the loader as working on the harness with it in the way is a bear.

I looked into installing a different fuse panel, I sure wouldn't want to do it unless I had a spare harness as it is integral to the main block where all the connectors are attached. I would guess that there is some interesting wiring or bus bars between the back of the fuse panel and the row of seven plugs. Not only does the power feed come through these blocks the main wiring between the cab also runs through it.

My feeling is if someone goes the way of custom building a harness from scratch unless they are very persistent I expect they will end up with parts SEE but feel free to prove me wrong

Looks like there may be a secondary market to get a good deal on a SEE bought on impulse with rat damage.