The resurrection of V988ETN

V988ETN or 4898 entered our fleet in August 2019 and attended her first outing within one week of arriving at the Northern National Restoration Group. She was due to attend another event in late August but was beset with mechanical issues. At this time, we were operating from our first home Saltersgate near Tow Law. That brought its special issues in maintaining a low floor bus, namely you could not get under it easy. She also suffered a lot of damage to the paintwork as she was stored sharing her new home with livestock outside.

We did rectify the problem and 4898 was made available for the end of the season. By this time, we had started to move things down to Philadelphia. September 2019 4898 was part of the convoy, with 4710 and 4855, all left Saltersgate for the last time. Once at Philly and everything offloaded 4898 had a significant amount of work done to her over the winter in preparation for her MOT at the start of 2020. 

Due to the onset of the Covid 19 Pandemic everything stopped and 4898's MOT test ran out mid 2020 due to the 6 months extension on her test. Work continued and in March 2021 she passed her test. However, on her way to the Metrocentre Bus and coach Show an unknown fault in one of the power steering pipes meant that she had to be turned back from the show. She stayed for 18 months in the same condition at Philadelphia due to lack of workshop space and lack of time. 

Moving forward to late 2023 and the investment in new lifts we managed to get 4898 into a position to lift her up to assess what was needed to repair the power steering system. 

Quite simply the steel pipes had rubbed through in an inaccessible point just behind the rear axle. The decisions were then taken to replace both the feed and return pipes with specially manufactured flexible hoses to a adapt into the system and then fit new steel pipes forward to a mid-point in the chassis. This work was completed over three weekends with major components having to be removed to gain access. Once completed and the system was filled with oil the engine was attempted to be started for the first time in nine months. Start button pressed, nothing happened. Over time the two batteries had consumed themselves. A week later and a new set of batteries were fitted. This time the engine turned without problems, but it refused to fire into life. After we looked at all the known faults and assessed each none start possibility one by one without out success the day was ended. 

A consultation period with the wiring diagrams gave our team a diagnostic repair path and with a clear repair action plan located the fault in the Electronic Diesel Control (EDC) system. With a careful and methodical approach, the cab was stripped out to reveal access to the main wiring harness, the fuse board and control board cubical was also stripped out and wiring inspected, on the engine the fuel pump was tested, and results showed no power to the fuel pump. 

The VolvoB10BLE has an early form of electronic engine control called Electronic Diesel Control (EDC). In layman's terms the engine and fuel pump in controlled by electronics. There is no physical link between the throttle pedal and the fuel pump. It's all controlled by an electronic control unit that monitors the system. This in turn is fed power from a solid-state relay box. It was found that the relay that controls this relay box was not getting power.  Our team temporarily by-passed the relay and was then able to get power to the relay box and the engine started up for the first time in a long while.

While this was a step in the right direction, we soon noted that the engine was idling far too high. We then stopped the engine and repaired a wiring fault to the relay, which enabled the system to work correctly, and the engine started again. Due to the EDC system working as it should the engine revs climbed up but did not go as high as they did. This is to aid worm up of the engine. Once at 30 degrees the engine would go back to normal idle speed, and it did just that.      

It was at this point that we noted oil dripping onto the floor and 4898 was switched off and raised on the lifts. The feed pipe to the steering box had started to leak further down the bus necessitating the removal of the main service air tank to gain access to the pipe unions. This job isn't the easiest due to the very tight confines of the area around the tank and the design of the air connectors. Once the tank had been removed, we had just enough steel pipe left to complete the job. The system was filled again and this time everything was ok. 

On inspection it was found that the offside brake was not adjusting as it should and required attention before we could send 4898 for MOT. Work was also needed on the inside and on the front of the chassis as there was slight corrosion in one of the outriggers. This work was steadily done over the next three weekends and we got to the point in late April that we could think about testing 4898 for the first time in three years.

That day duly came on April 29th as she traveled to the test station with fellow B10BLE R855PRG. Both passed their test without any minor items. For us this was a fantastic moment and a great team effort. The realization was that we now had three low floor buses on the road. The MOT pass is just the start for 4898 as there is still some cosmetic work to be done on the body.

We are looking forward to attending events this year with our two B10BLE's along with our Scania L94 5217 and for some local events, our National 2 4710.

4898 returned to the rally scene in May 2024 where she turned up to the Metro-Center bus show.