My RVs Primitive Brain

[Big_Blue]

Background: 2008 Winebago Destination. 340 Cummings ISB 6.7L diesel. 27k mileage.

We are in our third season on this chassis/coach and it has been a sturdy chariot to places familiar and new. One nuisance has been the occasional check engine light. Usually associated with cumulative turbulent road conditions. The first one ever was for coolant level. Pulled over, checked, all was well, and trip continued. Other times, the alarm would occur and eventually clear.

I have been very reliable about checking the oil, coolant and dumping out the fuel/water filter, along with purging the compressed air after each trip.

This past trip started with two days of traveling over 750 miles. Then a week on the ground with no coach/chassis movement. First day on the return trip was stable, until the last several miles, several check engine lights that self cleared. The following morning, dumped some more out of the fuel/water filter with the hope that this would resolve the check engine light warning. Then it got worse, on the final day out, while going up a modest hill, the check engine light came on, then the flashing red STOP ENGINE light came on. We immediately pulled off into the breakdown lane, and as we came to a stop, the ENGINE STOPPED.

Rechecked the three of the four causes - oil level, coolant level and the ensured the fuel/water filter was in good condition. This left the final cause ~ the dreaded, unspecified something else. Corrective action, get thyself towed to next Freightliner chassis service facility. This was 25 miles always, in Maine, and did I mention that we were in New Brunswick.

Good Sams Emergency Roadside Service activated. By the way, did I mention it was Sunday morning? GS coordinated a tow truck response with a tow to the next capable campground for the overnight. The next day, we were to call again and coordinate a tow to the next authorized service facility.

Tow truck guy shows up. Checks the several things I already checked. That's okay, experienced second opinions are welcome and in this case conformational. Engine restarted, all readings nominal. Plan was to continue up the road and monitor for Stop Engine recurrence. The Check Engine came on for a breath taking good 15 seconds. Then went off, stayed off, we parted ways and there were no further issues on the rest of the way home.

Next step, get the chassis/coach to the local Freightliner service facility for review. I'm thinking a failing sensor? Wonder if it would be worthy replacing the suspect sensors?

Your thoughts?

[Big_Blue]

Its been awhile, so this will be the final update on this round of irksome. Like GPWayne mentioned, there final diagnosis was a in the engine fan subsystem - specifically, the fan clutch. While they were there, the Coolant Level Sesnor was also replaced. Total financial impact was just over $3k. There was another part that was ordered but not needed, cost - another $1.4K A claim has been submitted to Good Sams.

From there it was off the RV services for the slides, right side rear tire splash guard - hinge busted, and a new exhaust pipe. No trouble found with the slides - gremlins? Temporary fix on the splash guard - will be sourcing or repairing. >any advice is appreciated
Now on a trip downeast - departure was delayed by a day because the chassis batteries failed to start the coach. So they were replaced. No claim pending. Replacing the batteries may ultimately exorcise the slide gremlins.

The coach goes into winter storage in two weeks. Sniff.

I guess the RV Brain isn't the one that was primitive.

[Big_Blue]

Troubleshooting now complete. Failed fan motor/clutch. $4.4k quote signed off for repair. The good news is the failed/safe warning worked to prevent further, more catastrophic failure.

The shop does not work with Good Sams, or any other third party payer. So I pay upon completion of work and then file for reimbursement. I get this business model and am okay with it.

Good Sams processsing takes 30 - 60 days so my upcharge will be the brief escalation in credit card balance interest.

So, is this episode preventable through some regimen of preventive maintenance?

And there is still the right slide nonoperational issue to resolve.

Stay tuned.

[Big_Blue]

Update on the slides. The left side worked, the right side doesn/t. Swapped controller boards. The problem remained on the right side. While troubleshooting, we discovered that by grounding one of the two center pins, the slides will move in or out. This isolates the problem to either a ground or other writing harness trouble.

Overriding the control board also bypasses the control board safety features. Spoke with the service manager and facility owner, through mutual consent, the bypass will be used once to open the coach. The engine problem fixed. Then the slide is closed and safety latched. And then the coach goes to another place to troubleshoot/repair the slide issue.

I'm guessing I'm done for the season. Had one more adventure scheduled. And the coach goes into winter storage by late October.

On the financial side, I do have a never used Good Sams Service Plan. Fingers crossed, credit card reserves are adequate.

Stayiing tuned.

[GPWayne]

Sorry to hear about your fan problem.
We replaced our electric fan clutch in 2013. A lot of labor involved as I remember it ran about $1,700 all told. They had to remove everything behind the fan to get at it. SORRY!

Ours got to the point that it would overheat then the fan would kick in and run all day without a problem. Had it back to the shop two or three times before pinning down the cause. Checked and/or replaced the easy stuff first. (A stuck thermostat will act like that sometimes) One time I left the shop and it started to heat up, turned around and got within a block of the shop and the fan kicked in.(I know now) Left it at the shop over night. In the morning we hooked up the code reader and drove it (Up hills) till it started to heat up and were able to tell, even though the fan was turning it was not moving enough air to cool the engine.
If you start it up cool and walk back and you don't feel a blast of air, the fan clutch is not engaging. (I now know)

The shop I used was Kenworth Northwest a Cummins repair shop.
I use them for oil changes, fuel filters and Lub. They work on a lot of motor-homes and work with MH owners and truckers till it's fixed. (Not in the same world as the Winnebago dealer shop)

SORRY...I feel your pain. Good Luck

[Big_Blue]

Update.

The rig is now at the cummins dealer for troubleshoot/repair. The final 21 miles were behind a tow truck after the second Engine Stop incident.

Preliminary diagnosis. Many Severe Temperature episodes recorded in the ECM. Not supported by observed operating parameters. Coolant level remains stable, engine heat dial running at normal, and transmission temperature level at comfortable.

Now, the right side slide will not open = no engine access through the bedroom. Mobile RV tech will be onsite tomorrow, anticipate easy fix? (Left side works Fine)

Stay Tuned & Tnx for the great experience based advice.

[GPWayne]

We have the same Winne DP as you. Had the coolant level sensor fail while still under warranty. Was told it was common failure. It was a bear to replace. It is in the front side of the tank over the radiator. The mechanic at Freight Liner forgot the O ring the first time. So he got to do it again. When we got back from our trip @#$%^.

Would I replace sensors?......Yes!

[Scottiemom]

We kept getting low coolant warnings on our CatC7. We also were getting some fluid spitting back on our toad. This went on for several months. We would actually go into limp mode before it would clear and all would be good and we could run all day. Started getting worse with the warnings. . . Took it to 2 CAT centers, one independent and the Freightliner Service Center in Gaffney, SC. No one could find the problem. We finally opted to turn off the warning in the computer. We had changed the low coolant sensor and anything else that was thought to cause the problem, so CAT was comfortable with disabling the sensor. That meant we would just manually check our coolant, which was always in the normal range.

After that we were running fine, still the occasional spitting on the toad. Last year on the way to Texas we were about 200 miles from our RGV destination when I noticed on the rear camera there was some fluid all over the lens and running down obscuring the view of my toad. A lot of dirt/debris in it as well. Nothing amiss on the engine, per my gauges and the Silverleaf diagnostic, so we kept rolling. Just as we were pulling into a camp at Edinburg, Texas, we got a check engine light that went out right away. When we stopped for the night we checked the toad. It was literally covered in an oily substance which was also all over the back of the Phaeton. A real mess. We wiped some of it off with a paper towel. It was oily/greasy and smelled like paint thinner and was yellowish. Big mystery. The next morning we drove on to Mission without further incident and parked in our spot. Then we started the search for a CAT mechanic. We have wintered there for about 8 years and knew NO one who could work on it. Turns out, just across the road from where we spent the night in Edinburg was a CAT RV service center. So a few days later, we went in there to see what they said. . . before I even finished telling the mechanic what was happening, he started finishing my sentences. They knew exactly what the problem was. Took it in on Monday after Thanksgiving, got her back on Friday, totally fixed and she has run fine with NO issues since then.

Problem? The seals on two injector cups were shot. They allowed diesel fuel to push up around the injectors and mix with the coolant. When too much got into the overflow, it would exit the overflow tube to the pavement and blow back on the toad. It was diesel fuel mixed with coolant. Apparently we had a considerable amount that one day when it blew a large amount all over the toad and the back of the motorhome. That was a long driving day, and it was hot outside, so all the conditions were ripe for it. One shorter runs, we had barely noticed it.

They tore down the engine, changed ALL the injector cups, new coolant and we asked for an oil change as well, since she was due.

She has run perfect since then with no more coolant problems that had plagued us for 8 momths and no more splashback on the the toad. They had our coach for 5 days, from Monday to Friday. An excellent job. That was Holt CAT/RV center in Edinburg, Texas. You just gotta find the right mechanic. We have the Good Sam extended warranty and that covered about half the cost of the repair which we thought was reasonable.

Dale

[barmcd]

darsben1 wrote:
I am ignorant on DP's does yours have an OBD or CAN port to see any codes like a gasser?

It should have a port, but it's not the same protocol as a car. Most use one of two communication systems, J1708 or J1939. You have to have a reader compatible with either of these to pull codes. My Monaco has both.

[mike_brez]

Careful with Simple Green. If you have a aluminum radiator you want to be using Simple Green Extreme.

[bullydogs1]

going up a modest hill...

sounds like this rear radiator needs to be cleaned..have you ever done that...when I had a rear radiator Holiday Rambler, did it every year with a hose and Simple Green...If you never did this, then I bet despite the good antifreeze..there is dirt in the fins which on the hill caused the engine temp to rise in a short time...some people downshift to get more speed on the radiator fan....Just a guess, but that's the thing I am leaning towards...and a change of fuel filters at the same time too.

[darsben1]

I am ignorant on DP's does yours have an OBD or CAN port to see any codes like a gasser?