The stangest thing happened on the way home ------.I'm on the Interstate cruzin along at 65 mph when all of sudden the dash gauges, lights and rear camera monitor started flickering off and on and the engine started sputtering. Finally, everything quit! The engine stopped and we coasted off the highway. Luckily, it started back up and we continued on with no more problems. We stopped at the next rest stop and checked fuses, wiring panels and battery terminals but found no problems. The engine temp gage never came back though --- stuck on cold.

What could cause a complete shutdown??? Especially on an old diesel with no electric controls. My Barth has the Cummins 8.3L with Allison 6 spd.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Frank,


A similar thing happened to us on hwy 95 from Carson City to Las Vegas only our bus did not start up again. Ours is a 5.9L Cummins with a P7100 Bosch Mechanical Fuel Injector Pump.

In our case it was the fuel injector pump which had a stuck barrel & plunger, a perforated diaphragm and three scored barrels & plungers.

During the trouble-shooting process I learned quite a bit about the fuel system and how susceptible it is to damage from, water, air & debris in the system.

(1) Check your fuel water separator filter. Drain it if there is any visible water or debris in the sight glass. You can also look inside the filter itself to see if it is dirty.
(2) If it has been a while (over 5000 miles) since it was last changed replace it. [We have a Racor Model 245 with a 30 micron filter mounted just inside the right access door. I love it.]
(3)Crack the bleeder valve on the top of the fuel water separator housing and pump the primer (also on top of the housing). Look for air bubbles. If any bubbles appear, keep pumping the primer until the bubbles disappear. Close the bleeder midstream after any bubbles have disappeared.

Try this first; if it is OK then there are other things that we can try.

If you want please call me and I will go ver the whole trouble-shooting process.

Carl Feren

Just a guess mind you...

Your engine shutdown solenoid, as well as the rest of the engine controls, is now using your Water Temp gauge/wires as a new ground loop.

It sounds like a ground issue to me... But, I could be wrong. Will you be at the Florida GTG?

As you noted some of the the issues during the initial engine loosing power were fluctuating electrical issues, I would also agree with Bill_NY about loss of electrical power to the engine run solenoid. Besides looking for a ground problem, i would look at the main relay in the electrical compartment (I think the panel is similar in the Spartan MM to the Breakaway), this is a known problem area, when that relay fails, it will shut down all electrical power that is provided while the key is in the run position.

It is a big round silver high power relay.



The "from key" show what I am referring to and the part number in on the box, I carry a spare!

HTH

curious what the "light?" is under the wire tie left side electrical compartent?

quote:

Originally posted by beeoh:
curious what the "light?" is under the wire tie left side electrical compartent?

That is the "dummy" load for the brake light circuit, after I replaced the tail/stop lights with LED lights, there is not enough resistance to ground when the brakes are off (brake lights off) to allow the cruise control to operate. I have been meaning to add and additional circuit that would take the place of the light but haven't gotten around to it yet.

I was sure you were the victim of a low-level flyover by a cloaked Zygorthian Death-Star Recon vessel, but these guys make a good case for an alternative explanation.

Most likely a bad ground. Our 94 Volvo semi tractor used to have its moments, all the gauges would go crazy, the speed would get stuck even when we slowed down, the rpms pegged out, the digital odometer would add miles sitting parked and the jake brake would not come on. The dash lights would quit. Recommending an exorsism

Thanks for your reply's. They all sound like good possibilities especially the engine run solenoid. However I think that cloaked Draconian/Zgorthian death star ship has been following me around for the last three years. It certainly explains a lot of my problems.
I'll keep you posted on my troubleshooting progress.

Thanks again!

This is a progress report. I have replaced the engine run solenoid and it seems to have fixed most of the problems. The old one got so bad that sometimes I could turn on the ignition (before starting)and nothing would happen, that is nothing would turn on. The new solenoid fixed all.

The engine temp gauge turned out to be a loose connector on the back of the gauge.

In the process of trying to reach the gauge, I discovered the access panel for the dash and have attached some pictures for your info. This panel was a lot easier to use than trying to remove the whole dash (as I have done in the past). Notice the neat sticker with all the paint codes on the underside of the panel.




Thanks again for all your help and the neat pictures.

Had this same problem on my maiden voyage with the Barth. Replaced the solenoid and I've never had the problem again.