Foretravel Owners' Forum

Foretravel Motorhome Forums => Foretravel Tech Talk => Topic started by: Johnstons on November 25, 2014, 06:47:32 pm

Title: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: Johnstons on November 25, 2014, 06:47:32 pm
We are heading up I44 to Illinois for Thanksgiving.

This is our first trip with the Silverleaf so I have been interested in all the new information. The engine temp has stayed in the 170's unless the turbo is working when it would come up some.  Going up a small incline I saw the coolant temp (and intake temp) climbing. The coolant temp continued to 220 and the stop engine light came on.

I pulled over but didn't kill the engine because the shoulder was very narrow. Sitting there the temp came back down and the engine didn't shut itself down.

We came on to the Missouri welcome center just a few miles away and the temp never got out of the 170's.

We are going to stay here for the night.

The coolant is full and no leaks. The diagnostics said high coolant temp 220.

Never had anything like this before even in very hot weather.

Thermostat sticking? 

Makes me nervous for the rest of the trip.
Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and got a Stop Engine message.
Post by: wolfe10 on November 25, 2014, 06:49:02 pm
Yup, I would throw in a new thermostat.  Inexpensive and it IS a wear item.

Sure, it could be other (read more expensive) things, but start with the inexpensive and easy.
Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: Johnstons on November 27, 2014, 09:31:53 am
Brett, the Cummins folks agreed with you but couldn't get to it before Monday in either Joplin or Springfield. I bought a thermostat and some coolant figuring in a worse case scenario I could change it by the side of the road.

As we continued it did it again.  This time thanks to the Silverleaf I realized the intake temp began climbing before the coolant temp began climbing making me think we had a fan problem.  I stopped again and realized the fans weren't turning as fast as they should be with the temp where it was.

A call to James T confirmed the diagnosis and he reminded me that I could unplug the fan controller and they would default to high speed.

We came another 350 miles with no incident. If it weren't for the Silverleaf I wouldn't have known the intake temperature and would have replaced a thermostat by the side of the road somewhere for naught. 

Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: Dave M (RIP) on November 27, 2014, 09:38:23 am
Yes, the VMSpc with understanding is priceless,glad you were able to continue.
Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: Old Hippie on November 27, 2014, 09:42:54 am
What was the intake temp you are monitoring?
Also, where do you dissconnect the fan speed controller?
And, yes the Silverleaf is a great tool.
Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: toyman on November 27, 2014, 09:49:42 am
Gotta get my Silverleaf hooked up !
Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: Johnstons on November 27, 2014, 09:50:45 am
On the 330 that is one of the default displays, intake air temp.

The fan controller is the small box on the passenger side down low in the engine bay. Has a wire pigtail and a couple of hydraulic hoses going to it. Easy to find. I will edit this and post a photo after it warms up a little today.
Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: Johnstons on November 27, 2014, 10:06:19 am
Toyman, I got my new Voyager camera and monitor hooked up before this trip, as well as the Silverleaf.  I display them on a split screen on the new Voyager monitor.  Pressing the button changes between the split screen and full size image on either display. We are on our fourth Foretravel and this is the first time we've had a good camera. I like it so well I may add side cameras.
Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: Old Hippie on November 27, 2014, 10:07:47 am
Just because I am a little slow this morning ( we had a pre-Thanksgiving food preparation party last night) how did you come to your faulty thermostat conclusion? And how could the intake air temp get higher than the coolant temp.?
Am I missing something?
Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: Johnstons on November 27, 2014, 10:22:41 am
I can't remember the actual intake temp numbers. They were normally well below the coolant temp in this 30 degree weather. When the fan quit intake climbed rapidly, the came the coolant temp right behind it.
Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: Dave and Nancy Abel on November 27, 2014, 10:40:44 am
Toyman, I got my new Voyager camera and monitor hooked up before this trip, as well as the Silverleaf.  I display them on a split screen on the new Voyager monitor.  Pressing the button changes between the split screen and full size image on either display. We are on our fourth Foretravel and this is the first time we've had a good camera. I like it so well I may add side cameras.
Howdy Rick,  I'm wondering about your Voyager camera?  Is this the Wireless model?  http://www.rvcams.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RBCARVS&Product_Code=WVOS713&Category_Code=1 (http://www.rvcams.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RBCARVS&Product_Code=WVOS713&Category_Code=1)
Thanks for your help, Good Luck with your overheating problem,  Dave A
Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: Johnstons on November 27, 2014, 11:11:41 am
I didn't go wireless.  Didn't trust it. Was a bear feeding the new cable. Next time would take half as long. Hope there isn't a next time unless I'm helping a friend.
Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: Jim McNeece on November 27, 2014, 11:14:24 am
I recently had a similar high temp incident on my 2003.  Driving along flat I5 in southern Ca. I noticed the inlet air temp starting to increase.  I pulled over and found the fans weren't running at all.  Unplugged the controller and the fans came on and I continued on.

Problem turned out to be a corroded connector where the fan speed computer plugs into the control solenoid.  Replaced it and things are fine.

See pics.
Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: Johnstons on November 27, 2014, 12:08:34 pm
Jim, I couldn't get that plug to come loose so I disconnected another connector above it. Corrosion there may well me my trouble. 
Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: Jim McNeece on November 27, 2014, 01:37:51 pm
That connector is held on with a screw.  It is a bit hidden as it is in a hole.  Kind of have to search for it.

I still have concern there may be corrosion inside the solenoid coil that will bite me in the future.  I tried to buy a new coil but they wanted over $200 for a new one.  You can buy the whole controller on ebay for about $150.  Maybe someday I will buy one.

At least I know I can always unplug the controller and all will work fine.
Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: Johnstons on November 27, 2014, 01:57:39 pm
I didn't try very hard.  It was snowing and I had to unhook the trailer we were taking to the kids to get the engine door open.  I will diagnose more when we get home. Thanks for the update.
Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: Michelle on November 27, 2014, 02:48:07 pm
Putting "check fan connector for corrosion" on our 2015 coach get-travel-ready list....  Thank you, guys, for posting about it.
Title: Re: First trip with Silverleaf and it saved the day
Post by: RRadio on November 27, 2014, 05:47:24 pm
Have any of you ever removed the thermostats and relied entirely on the fan for temperature control? How did that work out? I realize the engine takes longer to warm up in cold weather without the thermostats. I seldom drive short distances with my coach. My pneumatic fan clutch is set to maintain 190 degrees and my thermostats are set to maintain 180 degrees, so they're always wide open after the engine warms up. Some engines supposedly need a properly sized restrictor plate inserted in place of the thermostats to control the velocity of the coolant but I haven't researched that part yet. I was discussing the possibility of removing my thermostats with a diesel mechanic this summer. The 6V92TA has two thermostats, one in each cylinder head, and I thought it might be good to remove two points of possible failure from the system if I don't need them... but first I wanna talk to someone who has actually done this.