Foot Switch stories

[whistles_n_bells]

I am enjoying the stories of the foot switch "surprises." I probably
mentioned in earlier posts that I started driving OTR buses in the
mid-fifties (Continental Trailways). All the GM and Flxible (yes, there
is no 'e' in Flxible) coaches had air horns mounted under the drivers
seat area, just behind the bumper. Of course those were the days of
manual transmissions - and clutches. The air horn button was located
near where your left heel would be resting (no, not on the handbrake
lever), so you would use your heel to activate the air. Placed in that
location, it was difficult to set it off accidentally. I assume the air
switch or button on the various BB models is where the clutch would have
normally been.

On the buses I presently drive, the air horn is activated by a
push-button on the end of the turn signal lever.

Enjoying the forum, enjoying the on-going education on BB coaches.
Thanks

Joe (Pappy) Hagan
St. George, UT
Wannabe





--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Don Bradner"
wrote:
>
> On 3/13/2007 at 7:34 PM Leroy Eckert wrote:
>
> >That foot air horn switch! Me to and it always happens at 7am
>
> How many here have foot switch stories? Here's mine...
>
> When we picked up Blue Thunder in Phoenix in January we spent awhile
cruising around without our toad to get a feel for steering, brakes,
turning radius, and so on.
>
> Returned to the consigning dealer and hooked up the toad to depart.
Got to the first stop sign, where there was quite a bit of cross-traffic
so I took that moment to adjust the steering wheel. The air horn started
to blare and wouldn't quit. Great! A short in the steering column. Then
it stopped. I made a left turn, then into a left turn lane where I
stopped behind traffic and the horn started again. People getting rather
nervous, and I'm watching my air drop. Then it stopped.
>
> We pulled around the block and back into the dealer's. A mechanic
came out and we tried very hard to get it to sound, no such luck. He
called Blue Bird and came back and said they told him several possible
places for panels to look for the relay (to disconnect it) but it
sounded like a major job to track down. So he said "There should be a
dash switch for the horn." A dash switch for the horn? Sure, he says
"There's a dash switch for everything on a Blue Bird."
>
> Sure enough, there was the switch, "Electric/Air" (I think that's
right, I'm not in the coach at the moment) and we turned it to Electric.
Beep Beep. We can live with that.
>
> We leave and proceed without incident to the Flying J where we took
$400 in fuel (it was half-full and the prices hadn't risen yet), then
pulled out into congested traffic on the side street. There goes the
horn again, and it's air, not electric! The woman in front of me was
almost frantic, and my wife says in a lot of cities I probably would
have gotten shot. People I've told this to since then say Phoenix would
be a good bet. Air pressure getting dangerously low, and no place at all
to pull off the street.
>
> Then it stopped, and didn't happen again on the trip to Quartzsite.
>
> You can imagine my relief when I was reading the manual that night and
got to the part about the foot switch...
>
>
> Don Bradner
> 90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"
> Eureka, CA
>