Tons of problems! Rv complete shutdown while driving?!

[Fla904]

Heading through North Carolina and my rv completely shut off when I stopped at a exit ramp. It was running fine and then all a sudden it completely shut off. It took me a few minutes to crank it back on and now it's running down the road. Two days ago it took a few seconds to start which has never happened before and when Ideling it was kind of shaky. I went and changed the fuel filter, oil, oil filter, and had all fluid levels checked. The battery's are showing all charged and were also checked as fine during the oil change. The ac quit blowing air out today (hot and cold) nothing comes out of the vents on any setting and then shortly after the rv completely turned off when I stopped at the stop sign and took a while to start back up. What's going on?! I can't afford to break down this far away from home!

[mabynack]

RBPerry could have the answer. It could be a weak coil if it's a gas engine. Could be a vacuum leak. Might be electrical. Could be bad fuel. Could be a dirty filter in the tank. Without knowing what engine you have and more information it's just a guessing game.

[mabynack]

Is it gas or diesel? How many miles does it have on it?

[RBPerry]

I'm a retired truck technician, and the OBDII reader is good advice, however it doesn't show everything, it will show faulty coils but not plugs. I would drive with it plugged in, watch your fuel pressure should remain around 40 psi. Now I do have a dumb question, was it raining when these problems happened. Why do I ask, that vintage had a problem with the firewall electrical plug getting wet and causing the exact problem you have described. Another potential would be throttle position sensor, or a bad vacuum leak, and a vacuum leak won't show up on OBDII. Reality is it will most likely take a technician with hands on. Also, buy an extra coil, Fords are known for coil failures.

[Fla904]

myredracer wrote:
Why not try an OBDII reader? I believe they had them in '98. Might just be something simple and inexpensive to fix.

Intermittent electrical issues are often a bad ground or connection somewhere. Older vehicle = more chances of bad connections. Can be time-consuming to track down. If you take it to an auto electric shop, they can find them pretty quick.

When we first got our V10 F250 a few years ago (pre-owned), we had a shop install a new battery. On the way home it went into limp mode and after being home in the driveway, could not even move it a few feet. Totally freaked out expecting thousands in repair. Got a mobile mechanic to come by and after checking for codes with his OBDII reader, found it was simply a connector near the battery that had a crack in it causing a bad connection. He just wrapped tape around it and it's been fine ever since - only charged $60. I bought an OBDII reader after that and keep it in the truck just in case. Have used it on two of our cars too and has been a good investment (under $100 @ HF).

DW got a new car (1 year old lease return) recently. One day a bunch of lights on the dash were flashing like crazy. Use our reader which showed a massive engine air leak somewhere. Lovely. Finally figured out it was because the gas cap was not tightened down. Doh... Had to use the internet to pinpoint the cause as the reader alone is not always enough.

I believe that's what they used to determine the spark plug misfires which I just had fixed, set me back over 800 😞

[myredracer]

Why not try an OBDII reader? I believe they had them in '98. Might just be something simple and inexpensive to fix.

Intermittent electrical issues are often a bad ground or connection somewhere. Older vehicle = more chances of bad connections. Can be time-consuming to track down. If you take it to an auto electric shop, they can find them pretty quick.

When we first got our V10 F250 a few years ago (pre-owned), we had a shop install a new battery. On the way home it went into limp mode and after being home in the driveway, could not even move it a few feet. Totally freaked out expecting thousands in repair. Got a mobile mechanic to come by and after checking for codes with his OBDII reader, found it was simply a connector near the battery that had a crack in it causing a bad connection. He just wrapped tape around it and it's been fine ever since - only charged $60. I bought an OBDII reader after that and keep it in the truck just in case. Have used it on two of our cars too and has been a good investment (under $100 @ HF).

DW got a new car (1 year old lease return) recently. One day a bunch of lights on the dash were flashing like crazy. Use our reader which showed a massive engine air leak somewhere. Lovely. Finally figured out it was because the gas cap was not tightened down. Doh... Had to use the internet to pinpoint the cause as the reader alone is not always enough.

[rollingslow]

Sounds like a bad ground to me. I had one towed in 3 times before before they found the bad ground wire after that no problem

[RVcircus]

Have you checked for any codes? Id start there.

[Grit_dog]

Replace all spark plugs and it's not as bad as some make it out to be here, just ford screwed the pooch on this design.
If it's intermittently misfiring it's likely not the coil itself but the boot or wire connection shorting. If the coils are bad, replace the offending ones.
I'd be asking for mechanic reccomendations wherever you need to get this fixed not repair advice as it's hard to diagnose problems like this over the innerweb.

[Tom_Diane]

Fla904 wrote:
Heading through North Carolina and my rv completely shut off when I stopped at a exit ramp. It was running fine and then all a sudden it completely shut off. It took me a few minutes to crank it back on and now it's running down the road. Two days ago it took a few seconds to start which has never happened before and when Ideling it was kind of shaky. I went and changed the fuel filter, oil, oil filter, and had all fluid levels checked. The battery's are showing all charged and were also checked as fine during the oil change. The ac quit blowing air out today (hot and cold) nothing comes out of the vents on any setting and then shortly after the rv completely turned off when I stopped at the stop sign and took a while to start back up. What's going on?! I can't afford to break down this far away from home!

Gasser? I had a Buick that acted like that. Ran good for a time, then shut down at idle or ran rough! Ended up being a coil pack and a shop found it in a minute. I replaced the pack and problem solved! It was actually arc from a crack on the top of it.
Check for an electrical arc and listen for a electrical snap while the hood is raised. Just a thought, cheap fix if that's what it is!

[shadows4]

ol' yeller wrote:

Fla904 wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
If you are missing on 3-4 cyl, the truck will barely run. Maybe the cause of dieing at an idle.
Idk man but $6-800 for 10 coils and plugs is a good deal, but I'd question needing to replace all the coil packs. Besides which is it? 6 or 8? Any mechanic that can't give you an exact quote after diagnostics is not sure himself.

Well he quoted me on if I did it with plugs or just coils. Figured I would just replace everything to avoid the problem in the future. Also it's not misfiring right now the computer he hooked up said it was misfiring in the past at some point. Am I risking further damage if I don't replace these things? Is a missfire bad for the engine?

Yes a misfire is bad for the engine. Typically it means that the fuel is not delivered when the spark is which means raw gas could be washing down your cylinder walls and diluting your oil.

On your year V10, 1998, I adhere to those who advocate to change plugs around 70-75K miles, not the 100K miles Ford recommends. The coils sit in a metal well that drops straight down in the head about 3 inches. They are protected by a rubber boot. Over time the heat from the engine causes the rubber boots to crack and deteriorate which allows moisture and dirt to go where it does bad things to a coil. Plug replacement allows inspection of the boots and coils. Most coil manufacturers supply new rubber boots with their coils but not all. I would replace your plugs, all the boots and the defective coils. As long as I'm spending your money, I'd also probably buy an extra coil for a spare. Here is a link to a forum where I have gained a ton of knowledge about my old 1999 V10 as well as the new one in my 2008 E450 RV. It is the Ford Truck Enthusiasts website.

X2. Good advice. No need to replace all those coils. Replace plugs, boots and the two coils that miss fired. Less than $150 bucks if you do yourself. Loved my 2000 V10 Excursion.

[ol__yeller]

Fla904 wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
If you are missing on 3-4 cyl, the truck will barely run. Maybe the cause of dieing at an idle.
Idk man but $6-800 for 10 coils and plugs is a good deal, but I'd question needing to replace all the coil packs. Besides which is it? 6 or 8? Any mechanic that can't give you an exact quote after diagnostics is not sure himself.

Well he quoted me on if I did it with plugs or just coils. Figured I would just replace everything to avoid the problem in the future. Also it's not misfiring right now the computer he hooked up said it was misfiring in the past at some point. Am I risking further damage if I don't replace these things? Is a missfire bad for the engine?

Yes a misfire is bad for the engine. Typically it means that the fuel is not delivered when the spark is which means raw gas could be washing down your cylinder walls and diluting your oil.

On your year V10, 1998, I adhere to those who advocate to change plugs around 70-75K miles, not the 100K miles Ford recommends. The coils sit in a metal well that drops straight down in the head about 3 inches. They are protected by a rubber boot. Over time the heat from the engine causes the rubber boots to crack and deteriorate which allows moisture and dirt to go where it does bad things to a coil. Plug replacement allows inspection of the boots and coils. Most coil manufacturers supply new rubber boots with their coils but not all. I would replace your plugs, all the boots and the defective coils. As long as I'm spending your money, I'd also probably buy an extra coil for a spare. Here is a link to a forum where I have gained a ton of knowledge about my old 1999 V10 as well as the new one in my 2008 E450 RV. It is the Ford Truck Enthusiasts website.

[Harvey51]

I have already chosen a mechanic to do my 2004 plug change. He instantly spoke knowledgeably about the 2004 problem when I asked. I've read everything I can find on it. He said wait until the normal change mileage which I think is 100k miles. I don't want to trust anybody less than the best with this difficult job and will be sure to give him plenty of time - will schedule for winter time. He is the busiest mechanic in the area.

Tough for you having to do something on an emergency basis. Call your trusted mechanic at home for advice?

[Fla904]

Grit dog wrote:
If you are missing on 3-4 cyl, the truck will barely run. Maybe the cause of dieing at an idle.
Idk man but $6-800 for 10 coils and plugs is a good deal, but I'd question needing to replace all the coil packs. Besides which is it? 6 or 8? Any mechanic that can't give you an exact quote after diagnostics is not sure himself.

Well he quoted me on if I did it with plugs or just coils. Figured I would just replace everything to avoid the problem in the future. Also it's not misfiring right now the computer he hooked up said it was misfiring in the past at some point. Am I risking further damage if I don't replace these things? Is a missfire bad for the engine?

[Grit_dog]

If you are missing on 3-4 cyl, the truck will barely run. Maybe the cause of dieing at an idle.
Idk man but $6-800 for 10 coils and plugs is a good deal, but I'd question needing to replace all the coil packs. Besides which is it? 6 or 8? Any mechanic that can't give you an exact quote after diagnostics is not sure himself.