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Topic: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender? (Read 2694 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #25 –
Quote from: Don & Tys (AKA acousticart) –
Well, after looking closely at the bottom of the fuel filter and wiping the bottom of it off as a drip would form from nowhere, I am pretty sure there is a pinhole on the bottom of the filter canister! If so, I imagine that the bottom has corroded from the inside and that one pin hole is just the beginning! This filter was put in late 2013 and has about 12K miles since installed. the leaking has also gotten much worse since I first noticed it yesterday, so I am feeling fairly sure that the fuel getting in the connector from the leak played havoc with the old sensor. I am going to test that theory by putting the old one back in to see what happens.
Don
I actually was thinking that from the beginning. Good find.
Chris and Tammy White  CDA Idaho
Previous owners 1997 U295 36' 3126 Cat 300 HP Build # 4998
Former Foretravel tech & RVIA certified tech
Former owner Custom Satellite home/RV satellites 
Former owner Vans LTD  van conversions
Unemployed, panhandler, drag racer NHRA #6348

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #26 –
Not a road test, but with the new filter in place no leaks and with the OEM oil pressure sender back in, it appears normal. The oil pressure dropped as the engine temperature rose as usual but I didn't see the rapid fluctuations I did before. At this point, I will leave the old sensor in there and keep an eye on it. If the problem returns, I will have to stop somewhere safe, revise my causation theory, an put the new ISB sensor in. If that doesn't solve it, then this issue will occupy my attention for far longer than I would like ::)
Don
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Don & Tys
1999 U270 3602 WTFE #5402
Xtreme Stage 1 w/Headlight, Step Conversion, etc.
2009 Honda Fit Sport with Navi
Freedom is NOT "just another word for nothing left to lose"... with apologies to Kris Kristofferson

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #27 –
I hate driving, with all that going through my head.
Safe driving brother
Chris
Chris and Tammy White  CDA Idaho
Previous owners 1997 U295 36' 3126 Cat 300 HP Build # 4998
Former Foretravel tech & RVIA certified tech
Former owner Custom Satellite home/RV satellites 
Former owner Vans LTD  van conversions
Unemployed, panhandler, drag racer NHRA #6348

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #28 –
Quote from: gracerace –
I hate driving, with all that going through my head.
Safe driving brother
Chris
Agree, the more you know about how your coach operates, the more you worry about what can go wrong. Sometime ignorance is bliss.
Jim C.
coachfree, previous 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2003 Foretravels.

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #29 –
Don- glad you are on the road again.
I don't have the part number for the ISB oil pressure sender but it was obtained from NAPA and is pretty common ( so I was told by Bernd) on the Dodge pick up trucks with the 5.9 L engines.  I did not want the idiot sender, I like you wanted the real sender so I could see pressure changes before things got real bad.

Hope your trip goes on without more of these distractions              ^.^d
Ted & Karen
2001 U270 36' - sold after 12 years full timing

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #30 –
Today will be the real test. In my last start up test yesterday, I saw more fluctuation right after start up with numbers between two successive reads being farther apart than I would like. I may just be being hyper sensitive and if I was in a cooler climate, I would have left the old sensor in and rolled the dice (after all this is Vegas ;) ). Having visions of having to find a place to pull over in the desert and crawl under there, I decided to put the new ISB sensor back in. When testing again after the last change out, the readings were definitely much steadier and somewhat higher changing consistently with RPM. I will update this thread (hopefully with good news!) after today's experience.
Don
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Don & Tys
1999 U270 3602 WTFE #5402
Xtreme Stage 1 w/Headlight, Step Conversion, etc.
2009 Honda Fit Sport with Navi
Freedom is NOT "just another word for nothing left to lose"... with apologies to Kris Kristofferson

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #31 –
Don,

I'm pretty sure your problem lies in the oil pressure sending unit. I had a couple of VDO sensors/senders go out in the last few years. One just failed but the other would show normal pressure at startup but as the engine warmed, it would register low and would take high rpm to bring the oil pressure up to the normal reading. Replacing solved the problem.

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #32 –
About nine years ago, I had the check engine light come on. All I could see was what I thought was engine oil.

Turns out it was diesel coming from a plug on the top of the injection pump.

The fuel had ruined an electrical component in a wiring harness. A truck repair shop was able to fix the leak, but I had to drive in limp home mode and then get that part replaced at a real Cummins repair facility.

Perhaps the fuel leak did some damage to your pressure sender.
Tom Lang K6PG (originally  KC6UEC)
and Diane Lang
2003 38 U295 build 6209
2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Ecodiesel
still have tow-ready 2006 Acura MDX 
Temple City, California
Motorcade 16681 California Chapter President
SKP 16663 member of SKP Park of the Sierra, Coarsegold California
FMCA F071251
Retired electrical and electronic engineer

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #33 –
Not sure whether the sensor is damaged, since it seems well sealed. But the wires at the back of it do seem more vulnerable, though I suppose the sensor may have been damaged through a shorting process caused by the fuel saturating the connector. In any case, I a am happy to report that the new ISB sensor worked perfectly. We did 403 miles today and are boondocking at a Sam's Club in the Salt Lake area, the coach performed perfectly. At this point, I am thinking that the check engine light and limp mode was fortuitous as the fuel leak progressed very rapidly from a drip every 30 seconds or so to making a significant puddle in just a few minutes. The fuel leak could have been more than just inconveinient!
Happy to sit down to dinner now after a full days travel...
Don
Quote from: Tom Lang –
.
Perhaps the fuel leak did some damage to your pressure sender.
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Don & Tys
1999 U270 3602 WTFE #5402
Xtreme Stage 1 w/Headlight, Step Conversion, etc.
2009 Honda Fit Sport with Navi
Freedom is NOT "just another word for nothing left to lose"... with apologies to Kris Kristofferson

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #34 –
Glad to hear you guys figured it out and had a good day!  Fixing things like that yourself not only saves time and money, but gives you a good, confident, feeling inside :-).

Have a safe trip!
Kurt & Shanna
2007 42' Phenix
Peoria Arizona

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #35 –
Good job, Don. Glad to hear all is well.
2003 GV320 4010

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #36 –
Computer Engines and trannys are like the dw. One glitch and no go, husbands can limp forever. Glad you got it fixed. Hiding out in my new man cave sorting things out, and enjoying some rock n roll.
Old Phart Phred, EIEIO
89 GV ored 36' #3405 300 hp cat 3208 ATAAC side radiator, mountain tamer exhaust brake

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #37 –
Don,

Maybe I missed it above, but any idea on the age of the old fuel filter?

Mark
Mark Duckworth
2003 U320 4220
Build 6199, Motorcade 17971

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #38 –
Quote from: Mark Duckworth –
Maybe I missed it above, but any idea on the age of the old fuel filter?

From Reply #24:  "This filter was put in late 2013 and has about 12K miles since installed."
1993 U280 SE 40' WTBI, Build: 4359
C8.3 300hp, 6-Speed, Exhaust Brake
960 watts on the roof (6 x 160)
Sorento (or BOLT) on a Kar Kaddy SS
"Nature abhors a vacuum"

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #39 –
Good to have the problem solved and glad you are on the road again. Unlikely the sender and leaking filter are related. The sender is designed to operate in a dirty environment and should not be effected by leaking diesel. Diesel is a non conductor so any amount on the sender or connections should not effect the operation. Diesel can effect wiring looms or rubber. A generator diesel leak can destroy the rubber mounts.

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #40 –
Pierce,
I didn't know that diesel was a non conductor. So it seems that the timing and physical proximity of the leak and the sensor problem are unrelated. The wiring loom does not appear to have been saturated (though a bit coated with dry soot just like everything else in the engine compartment that hasn't been recently cleaned). I wonder if perhaps the biocide additive might have some conductivity... learn something everyday. I read that the H2O sensors in the water separator rely on the conductivity of the water to alert the ECM to the presence of water, so I guess the failure of the sensor was just fortune smiling on us to alert me to the presence of a potentially dangerous fuel leak!
Don
Quote from: Pierce & Gayle Stewart –
Good to have the problem solved and glad you are on the road again. Unlikely the sender and leaking filter are related. The sender is designed to operate in a dirty environment and should not be effected by leaking diesel. Diesel is a non conductor so any amount on the sender or connections should not effect the operation. Diesel can effect wiring looms or rubber. A generator diesel leak can destroy the rubber mounts.

Pierce
The selected media item is not currently available.
Don & Tys
1999 U270 3602 WTFE #5402
Xtreme Stage 1 w/Headlight, Step Conversion, etc.
2009 Honda Fit Sport with Navi
Freedom is NOT "just another word for nothing left to lose"... with apologies to Kris Kristofferson
 

Re: Leaving Las Vegas.... Engine in limp mode, issue with oil pressure sender?

Reply #41 –
Rather than use spell check a couple dozen times and get called on the wife's carpet with my run on sentences, I found a good quote. It relates to a water probe as found in some primary diesel filters.  "Diesel fuel is a hydrocarbon. It is a non-conductor. That probe depends on the fact that water is heavier than diesel, so the diesel floats. The probe measures conduction in the lower layer, which is water."

Here is a good site from the NFPA listing the differences between flammable and combustible liquids and will show why a diesel leak is much less dangerous than a gasoline leak:
http://www.thetankshop.ca/download/NFPA-Classifications%20of%20Flammable%20&%20Combustible%20liquids%20UL-142%20Rectangulare%20Tank.pdf

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)