Lightning strike, no start, guages sweeping...

[mqbus767]

Hello all,

I was at the bus today after a thunderstorm rolled through our area. I was told that a tree very near our bus was struck with lightning and sure enough when I went out there it was split top to bottom. I was concerned about the electrical systems. I checked the house systems (inverter, charger, ligts, fridge, etc.) and saw that nothing was amiss except that the circuity breaker for the 50amp I'm plugged into had tripped. Resetting the breaker made everything come back to life.

However, when I went to start the bus, the dash and guages come alive, but the guages all sweep back and forth every 3/4 of a second or so. The bus also refuses to start using both the front and rear start buttons. The segment display on the speedometer that will show various shutdown/no-start conditions such as "low water" shows nothing but the mileage. I've checked the battery voltage and it's a little low, but not horrible at 24.7 volts. Since the 50amp tripped, the trickle charger was not running for a 2-3 days.

I'm in the early stages of troubleshooting this, but I thought I'd put out the message and see if anyone has any suggestions to narrow my search. I'm not, so far, finding anything in my manuals that describe this condition.

Thanks!

[luvrbus]

Lighting strikes will usually break a ground on the chassis allowing for the skin effect only ,lighting can destroy a electrical system, that is the reason most insurance companies will total a vehicle struck by lighting.Check your insurance policy if you are covered let them deal with  the multiplex  and CAN wiring, it is not  for the faint of heart     

[freds]

Was the previous behavior for the gauges to sweep just once on power up?

If so it might be the gauge controller that listens to the CAN bus or the engine controller if gauges do what you are describing when they can't talk to engine controller. Might be worth your while to see if you can find a mobile diesel mechanic to come diagnose the system.

[mqbus767]

The guages do normally sweep once on startup. They still do this, but then they settle into the rhythmic back and forth. I'll try to get more information soon. Been busy with family and house chores lately.

[mqbus767]

I dropped by the bus briefly today to do some more diagnostic work. I hooked up a scanner to the CAN bus and was able to see all the computers on the bus *except* for the ECU on the DD60. My next step is to crawl under the engine, remove the ECU and check out it's condition.