Can you folks enlighten me as to what the "Oil" button is used for?
Thank you in advance.
It will illuminate red if there is no oil pressure. It should go out as soon as you start the motor, if not hit the stop button to shut it down. My start buttons will only work if the ignition key is on.
Jason
Looks like you also need to look at the air filter as the vacuum guage is getting high to me. I would definitly take end cover off carefully and check condition.
John
Thank you Jason and John.
I will look at the air filter.
I'd check out all the responses by spike45 who worked for Fleetguard regarding letting the filter go all the way up to the 22-25" maximum rating and that we change our air filters far too often. I know I've been guilty of it.
Air Filter - Engine (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=10221.msg70251#msg70251)
Pretty much every one of spike45's posts should be a sticky for new and old users alike.
Have talked to a couple of owners lately with air filter related issues. A previous owner of one had the turbo intake hose from the air cleaner come off. Cost $18K for an inframe with new liners. The other new (to him) owner found that the last owner had torn a hole in the air cleaner to "make it breathe better." Both on coaches with the air cleaner intakes just off the ground behind the rear duals.
Ours looked like it had never been changed. Big filter but looked like a vacuum cleaner canister when the vacuum cleaner won't pick up any more dirt. Almost twice as fast with a new filter installed.
Important on front engine vehicles but critical on pushers and especially important on 2-cycle Detroits as they use MUCH more air.
Pierce
Robert, I wonder why Fleetguard et al sell new air filters that are nice and clean if you should let them get up to maximum on injesting dirt?? Maybe they should sell them half plugged up :)) :))
Like Pierce I am careful about ANY filter being the best it can be ( I do know a light coating of dust on them is ok but some I have seen have everything but the kitchen sink in there) and people are suprised when they find out??? These model coach's have a bad design for the intake and DO collect a lot of road crap off the roof. I have prooved it by making and fitting a deflector that keeps air flow good and filter like new-all the time.
FWIW
JohnH
All this discussion reminds me that I have some engine work to do. When I was having the start problem a couple of weeks ago I was going to try the rear start, and then discovered that at least one wire is missing. I'm also going to get a new air filter. I've got at least one of each of the oil and fuel filters, but no air filter.
In our research I looked at a 'Bird that had the air intake above the roof with the opening facing forward. I asked whether that ever presented any problems, and was told that the filter is a great bug collector. The owner told me that he had heard of a bird being ingested, although it didn't make it past the filter.
Well, you need to define whether you are talking about the best filtering ability or the best ability to let air pass through a filter.
As noted by Gary, in the first 25 hours of operation after a new air filter, the filter will let the most air pass through it and it does not provide maximum filtration until those 25 hours are up. You are letting more crap into your engine in the first 25 hours after an air filter change than after it has clogged up a bit, providing the best filtration.
He provides the answer to your question about selling half-clogged filters in the link I posted.
From SAE International, the following would seem to follow the advice in the above post:
It is common, however, for
servicing to occur when the filter appears dirty. Engine air
filters are designed to increase in efficiency by using the
initial layer of dust as an added filter layer. Initial filter
efficiency is about 98% but increases to more than 99% by
the end of the filter service life [9, 10]. Thus, changing an air
filter before the useful service life is achieved can result in
premature engine wear [8, 9, 10, 11].
In engineering terms, the service life of an air filter is
commonly defined as a level of restriction which results in a
pressure drop across the filter of about 2.5 kPa (10 in. water)
more than the pressure drop of the new or clean filter at the
maximum flow rate for the engine
The problems is like John stated. A lot of our rigs have an air filter intake that picks up everything off of the back tires. Since we travel on a lot of back roads that are either dirt or gravel, we pick up enough dirt in 5 minutes to maximize a new filters ability. Later rigs like Kent Speers have a 6" tube across the front of the radiator and then up with the intake point being much higher and away from any dust and dirt thrown up by the rear tires. Sacrificing some cabinet space by running a tube to the roof is also an excellent idea used by several RVs I have seen, both stock and modified for roof intake. Many RVs that see a lot of Baja also run the air cleaner intake to the roof. The dust thrown up on some roads to isolated beaches must be seen to be believed. Going to modify ours to at least the setup Kent has before the end of summer.
Pierce
Notice the SAE comment about maximum flow rate. For the restriction gauge to read correctly you must periodically run your engine at full throttle. Then check the gauge at your next stop.
My comment did say that a light coating of grey(dust etc) was ok, but some people have LOTS of crap in there and that can NOT be good for engine. Mine is now almost 4 yrs old and it still has JUST a light coating of dust on it, because it does not get any of the road dirt most others do.
JohnH
Time to expand this into the Power Tech Genset air filter, normally I change it every 2-300 hours run time, prior to the Tom Sawyer RV Camp trip, I changed the air filter cartridge and 42 hours run time later, the engine failed due to stopped up air filter, very visible due to the hose between filter and engine had collapsed due to filter becoming stopped up.
At no time had I noticed any thing that would add to plugging up the air filter.
Glad the filters are $10.00 each, carry a spare.