1990 Southwind motorhome won't keep running

Argosy24 wrote:

TBI (throttle body injection) doesn't have a carb it has a throttle body. A throttle body doesn't have an accelerator pump which gives the shot of gas when moving the throttle linkage.

That's true, it is a TB not a carb. The earlier Chev TB certainly looks like a carb, and not everybody knows exactly what a TB is, so I used that term for the sake of simplification..:)

My TBI will still squirt fuel with the engine off, must be residual pressure in the lines..

Also check the outside shower to make sure the hot and cold water valves are turned off. Good work on finding the alt and battery problem.

Hot water bypass valve not turned off. Check the fittings near the water heater.

We figured out we had a bad alternator and battery. It starts and runs great now. Now we have another problem to solve: there was a leak in the hot water tank area before we bought it, the previous owner fixed it. The electronic pilot works, burner works, tank doesn't leak, but when we turn on the hot faucets, it runs cold, then lukewarm for about 5 secs, then run cold continuously. Any ideas?

Larry probably has it right. There is a minimum voltage at which the ignition will quit working. Battery could be bad, but the alternator should provide voltage to keep it running. Most TBIs will give a small spray of fuel, when the key is first turned on, to help starting. We need to wait for the OP to get back with what they have found out, before we do any more guessing.

Some how I missed the post about the battery/alternator. Thanks restating it.

april10 wrote:
Battery appeared to be dead and charger would not charge it. Then I jumped it with my pickup truck, and engine started and continued to run with jumper cables connected. Checked voltage at 13.90 volts, then disconnected jumper cables and voltage started dropping withing about 2 mins down to 8 volts, and engine died. Battery slowly recovered to 11 1/2 volts. Then I put battery back on charger and it read 13 volts, set at 2A charge. Started engine, voltage dropped to approx 8 volts and engine started to die, switched charger to 8 amps, and engine recovered and continued to run. Any ideas on what to do from here?

If you tried starter fluid and that did not help, then the problem is not fuel related.

Look towards your charging system. Based on your observations, you do not have enough voltage to keep the engine running. Alternator would be my guess. Sad thing is, when the alternator goes bad, it drains the battery and more often than not, the battery is bad too.

Take the alternator off and have it tested ay most any auto parts
store.

Best of luck, and please do check back and let us know the outcome. It benefits all of us.

PS a fuel injected engine does not have an accelerator pump to shoot fuel with the engine off and the throttle is moved. Sorry

If the coach runs with the jumpers on and trys to die when they are removed the answer is obvious. You are not supplying the coach with at least 10 volts to run on. What is causing that? More likely the alternator than the battery since it should run on the alternator after the engine starts. However the battery could be damaged due to the defective alternator. There is a simple test to check to see if there is anything draining the battery when all switches are off. Remove the positive cable and touch it to the positive battery post and see if there is a spark(it might be hard to see in bright light). There should be nothing that draws enough current as to make a spark. If there is one you may be able to locate the draw by removing fuses one at a time. I hope this helps you with your problem. Good luck.

Bad ground wire from the chassis frame to the engine? Try taking a jumper cable from the engine to the frame. It's a cheap try. It fixed my PU truck when it wouldn't run