Wrknrvr

Last year I had to do as you are saying. For one of my customers, What I did was measure the length I needed. Bought a piece of 1/4” thick by 4” flat aluminum plate and made it the length I need. I would say I staggered holes every 8” . I cannot remember exactly, but I wanted enough to hold it in place. I made sure the seals were not affected with this in place. I purchased the appropriate screws and installed it. I was in that rv about two weeks ago and it is still working as needed. I would check to see where the water was getting in before you fasten the metal in place. If you use dicor lap sealant just before you set the metal in place, it will rm around the metal and not hold the metal in a crooked shape. Maybe do a dry run with a few screws holding the metal in place. Before you glue it in with the lap sealant. Just my thoughts, Vern

The engine has started, idles good and revs up just like normal. It did it the second day. Ok. Thinking of what needs done leave for Montana. Third morning it starts. Idles for about 5 minutes. We are timing it. Then it started to miss? .?L? I have been talking to a ecm rebuilder and several shop mechanics. Do some more checking. Both fuel filters are somewhat full. No fuel leaks that can be found. Next day I started the truck. It will idle good for 2 minutes, then start missing. Onboard diagnostics now. Now says no communications with engine. Or something to that effect. Call ecm rebuilder. Sent the ecm to be rebuilt. So we are going to Costco today. I will buy popcorn there.

So It looks like the filter base is slightly warped. And has a few scratches across the sealing surface. So I call Cummins and ordered one. So I want to visit that 5 volts on the fuel solenoid wire When the engine is turned off. I had watched a video on YouTube that explains why and how there can be 5 vdc on that wire going to the fuel solenoid, on a Cummins N14. There is a 10 amp ground fuse on the upper right corner on the ecm, as you look at the ecm. If that 10 amp fuse is blown, the ecm will ground threw the fuel solenoid. Mine was blown. So I replaced it. Along with putting a separate ground directly to the ground side of the batteries. As was suggested on the video. But in that video it also stated that that fuse being blown could cause ecm problems. So I installed the new filter housing, filled the filter and installed it. Start the truck and it idles nice. Check vacuum and it is where I think it should be. So there was a question about the ecm? Is it ok? But the truck will take throttle, without smoking. There has been some odd complaints on the computer readout, on the dash. So I asked several people, and most thought the ecm would relearn it’s proper operation. Just test drive it if you feel like it may run. Well now I do have tow insurance. I will cook bacon this am for my evening popcorn, Rick

Where are you at in Montana. There may be a Volvo dealership in Billings. The one in Missoula closed I think. Is it eclectically operation or air. Were you in Kalispell Montana Friday afternoon. Where are you now.

Let’s go back to having 5 volts on the fuel solenoid when the key is turned off. Yes I have 5 volts dc on the fuel solenoid wire. How could that be. That 5 vdc is sitting there just laughing at me. It will cause a big problem, farther along my diagnostics. But now I am trying to get the fuel situation under control. Now I will throw in another possible problem, to complicate the 5 vdc on the fuel solenoid situation. If you remember I had posted a topic about the hood seal not sealing to the cab. Water comes into the mix of things. Thinking about popcorn, so I am.

So after thinking about fuel running out of first filter, there has got to be a air leak from the fuel pump, or near there. As the second filter is higher than the first filter. I already put new seals between the fuel pump housing and fuel filter base that is on the side of the fuel pump. I already removed the compucheck fitting from the filter base. That is where I plumbed the vacuum gauge in. Get my remote camera and look at the filter base that is on the side of the fuel pump. Look at where the filter seals to the base. Not looking good there. Just order a new base from Cummins. Get some fresh popcorn for tonight’s episode, Rick

Well now I went back to the fuel line thoughts. I stop at a local repair shop and purchased what new, original size fuel that they had. I had enough to get from the check valve (which now was holding fuel) at the top of the ecm, to the first filter in front of the steer tire. And enough to get back to the fuel filter on the fuel pump housing. With 16” left over. Bought new ferrels for the connections. The original nuts were longer than what was available locally. Put the new fuel lines on. Filled both filters. Started the truck. Ok watching the vacuum gauge, looking for fuel leaks. Just really checking things out. Hey now it is running and idling good. After a few minutes I rev it up. Darn thing starts to roll smoke again. It’s not as much, but wife looks really disgusted. Shut the engine down. Pull first filter off in front of passenger tire. By darn it is full of fuel. Then fuel runs out over the filter. That’s odd. How could that be. That takes some more thinking. Tighten all fittings that I have taken apart. Second filter that is on the pump housing is low on fuel? Think about that situation. And the vacuum gauge was sorta near where it should be. But that was at idle. I need a break from this thing.

I was hoping someone would have that answer to that voltage question. That is a interesting situation that I will explain later in this story.

Ok ok. Now how does the fuel solenoid have 5 volts on the wire from the ecm when the engine is turned off. This is on a Cummins N14, 1999 vintage. Remember this statement.

Remove the check valve at the top of the ecm. Installed a new o’ring. After talking to numerous people, decided to check pump pressure. It is good. But still wants to have low fuel filters once it runs for say 5 plus minutes. Rev it up and itttt smokes really bad. Check the check valve at the ecm. It now holds fuel. Must have fixed a leak at the tee, or the o’ring was bad. More than one of my friends sorta think I lost it. They got quite. But I keep testing and looking at what could be wrong. Cummins tech said my engine has a odd prime line of the fuel pump. Ordered a new one. Installed it? Hard to say it helps. Few days pass, could it be fuel line fittings. Tried a few things. Bought new rubber fuel line. That shop sold me bad connectors. Wasted time. Look at my original fuel lines. I had replaced the compression rings on the old lines. The outer coating on the original fuel line was flaking off. Just small pieces. But any air could cause problems Then a friend said to put a vacuum gauge on the suction side of the fuel pump. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Not to do that in the beginning. Now I have a gauge to actually see if there is improvement. That to me was like driving cross country, with your fuel gauge not working. Plugged filter should have high vacuum reading. That is if there is no air leaks in the suction side fuel lines. With no leaks there should be , say 2” water column. Plugged filter then gauge should go to to 15” or more water column. Now there is a reference point that should give indication if what I just did, helped or not. Lots of thinking to be done now. But I have a reference point to deal with.

After some thinking, and more thinking, I pulled a fuel filter off. Only 1/3 full of fuel? Filled that filter up again. Pulled the first filter off??? It’s 2/3rds empty. Filled it and put it back on. From the beginning to the end of this episode, I lost about 18 lbs. start looking for where there could be a leak. Tee connector where the fuel tanks comes together. No fuel? That is frustrating. Remove all fittings and put sealer on the connections and put back together. Start truck. Hard to tell if any better.

Well get that popcorn heated up Rick.. So I decided to turn the turn around on Saturday morning. Our son arrived, so I started the truck. It started up as normal. Let it build air, told the son what I was going to do. Just go forward about 200’ and turn the truck around. Just about where I was going to turn the truck to the left, and smoke started to roll out the exhaust. I thought hurry up before it shuts off. So I did. Got the truck back to its parking spot. Now it is sitting down hill a tad bit. No what is going on. After leaving the truck shut off for awhile, I started the truck. It will idle the way it should, but when given throttle it acts like it is spraying for gigantic mosquitoes. Bigger than I ever seen. It was very embarrassing to my wife. Really embarrassing so it was. Maybe time to walk away for a day. What could it be with this truck now. It was running fine. .......? Rick, make sure you have extra popcorn to pop.

Well after doing the treatment and changing the fuel filters, I start the truck. Sitting there is idles fine. Now what should I do. So I rev the engine just a little. Hey it does that fine. Thinking? It takes more fuel and revs up like it should. What about packing to leave for Montana. Shut the truck off. Thinking about what just happened to the truck. Do some family things. Start the truck the next morning. Idles good and revs up with out missing. And not smoking at all. I am feeling much better. So back to thinking about leaving and packing. So this situation is from my recollection of what happened back then. I will share some information that I have acquired from my personal experience, information from several friends that have truck repair experience and Cummins. I will detail these as they happen. Have a good day, Vern

So while treating the fuel for algae, there is time to think. I am thinking about my fishing time on the Wind River i am going to miss. I was supposed to meet two friends from Florida there for a few days. Still no swearing. So what could be happening while I am just waiting for the treatment to take effect. More than I ever thought could happen. There is a substance in diesel fuel that is called asphaltene. Never heard of that word before. Or it is on the backside of my mind. Now asphaltene reminds me of rust in a water pipe. More trouble than one could think of. The fuel treatment decided to remove asphaltenes from any spot that could leak air into the fuel system. Air in the supply line on a diesel fuel causes more headaches. Butter that popcorn Rick

So there is a black blob in our fuel tank. Never seen that before. So research said subject. Pull filter off. Empty the contents into a clear jar. Water, black line and fuel on top. Visit tractor supply, Buy treatment. Manufacturer says to put treatment in and run the engine for a certain amount of time. Then let it set for 8 hours before driving again. The truck will start and engine will run. The next day I drive the truck say 400’. And oh no. Turn it around and get back to the camp site. Did some thinking, but did not swear..... pulled first filter off and cut it apart. Plugged with black stuff. More research was done. Go buy a transfer pump. And filter. Put more treatment in the tanks. Circulate the fuel in the tanks. I did plug three filters while circulating the fuel in both tanks. Pump each tank for probably 10 hours each at 10 gallons per minute. Let truck sit a day or two. Thinking how could that blob affect the computer diagnostics. Blob to several odd diagnostics, that keep changing. Then go inactive.??? Now while it is sitting there things are getting worse, instead of better. But it did not show its ugly head before some more testing. More popcorn is needed, Rick more thinking, local shop says not to bring it to them. They will not work on it.

I thought it would be best if I started a new thread to give a condensed version of what happened. Looking back at my pictures of the engine problem, gives a good timetable for what was happening. So about March 17 th I started the truck to let it warm up and check things out. It was on high idle while running about 15 minutes. Then it started to misfire. Never did this before. To keep this shorter than the actual time line, some time will be shorter than actual time. In about two days I was talking to several different experienced mechanics, parts suppliers and Cummins. The one thing that was confusing was that it would miss at random. But the computer in the truck dash was saying cylinder 3. Then it said cylinder 1. Then it said engine controller? I purchased some electrical parts for the pass through connectors. Did some testing. Did some thinking? Hooked a noid light to cylinder number 3. It had ignition every time it should. I discovered a fault for fuel solenoid. But it had full dc power when the engine was running. There is a hidden problem at the fuel solenoid. I will get back to that later. But was a sign of the second main problem. While testing things and talking to people then sometimes those faults went inactive. On March 25th I somehow had to figure out why it was missing on different cylinders. what Could that be. On March 26th I looked into the passenger side fuel tank. Blank, Blank.

How long did you do the hard reset. I would suggest a 24 hour reset , if you want to. You could use a 10 amp battery charger to maintain the batteries, while you are doing a rest. Or maybe just update your unit. While you are doing the hard reset, I would load test your batteries. Also feel the case of each battery. If any are warm, that is a indication of a problem battery. When I installed my inverter, I let the original converter in place. So if the inverter would quit, I had a simple way to charge the batteries, separately from the inverter. I just unplug the converter when the inverter is charging the batteries. My vintage welder generator I use will not power the inverter to charge the batteries. So I just use the converter to charge the batteries. Several years ago I did rebuild the engine on the welder/ generator. But I have not tried it to power the inverter charging circuit, yet.

I thought I would give a update on my eye situation. We have been back in Montana for two weeks, so it was time to make doctors appointments. On the 25th of August is my next ophthalmologist appointment. We are back at our site in North West Montana. I have a garbage can lid on a concrete wall at 1000 yards. When morning sun it on that concrete wall I can see that lid without glasses. The concrete wall is along a highway. It is one of those normal concrete barriers that is used along highways. I am still taking 1 willow bark capsule a day. I also take PreserVision. I have taken PreserVision since I was first diagnosed with macular degeneration in both eyes. Will report on what the Ophthalmologist finds and what he has to say.

Rick, You May need to get fresh popcorn. We have somewhat settled into our summer time routine. So I need to read what notes I have taken. Look at photos of the dash diagnostics readout, and give good explanation of what we have experienced. I am just now feeling good about being in Montana. I sure missed a lot of things I like to do in Montana. But we will do as much fun things we can the rest of the year. I will also provide some physical situations on a Volvo truck with a Cummins engine, that was frustrating to me. As Volvo would not talk to me. My one good contact at a Volvo dealership is no longer available. The dealership closed up. So be patient, as our last few months were interesting and frustrating.

I am thinking I may try the inverter on the truck idea as a test. It will probably be next week or later till I find time to try it. I have a 750 watt inverter, for the truck. And a 60 amp charger in the fifthwheel. It can be plugged into a separate power cord for the test. Other things to be doing this week. But will get the inverter out of the van today. Will look at the specs on the alternator on the truck also.

The other thing that I had trouble with on the trip back to Montana. Was the generator would run in the morning, when the weather was cool. But it would only run for 15 minutes at most in the hot part of the day. Apparently the gasoline was vaporing from the heat. The welder is a restored Miller Legend model from back in the 1970’s. It is in a protective covering. So with the hot air flowing over the carburetor. I believe it it was not leaving liquid fuel flow through the carb. Yes there is better ways to do the charging. But since I never noticed the subject of 12vdc to 12vdc Charger. It has given more thoughts on how to do what is needed. I had let a inverter back in Montana that would have worked for my situation at the time. Yep, Ssssstupiiddd, Vern

When i first installed the 12vdc welding wire, there was some discussion about the use of 110 vac power as you stated. But I was cautious about ac power. I had the wire, so I went with the 12vdc system. It has worked as intended, until we traveled in the hot weather going from South Carolina to Montana this summer. Now I need to tell that I did something really stupid last fall???? But it worked. Some how. I cleaned the battery terminals on the truck last fall before we left Montana for South Carolina. After we got to our campground, and unloaded the Jeep, I noticed the Jeep needed a starter. Drove the truck to town and picked up a new starter. Now get this! The wife said there is something hanging down under the truck. Bad, bad Vern? I was sorta doing my thing getting ready to travel cross country. Bad, really Baaaddd Vern ? That thing hanging down was the negative wire for the battery charge line. The cable end was ground off from dragging on the road. But the fridge and everything worked as expected. Batteries charged as expected. But that was badly stupid. Or stupidly bad. When I do something really stupid, I tend to leave my mind think about it before I admit it.

Thanks for that technical explanation of a system like I have. It has been on the truck since 2007. I will explain more tomorrow when I can get to measure the cable length.

Since I just noticed these chargers, I need to do some research about them... years ago I was working on a Monaco coach and it needed a alternator on the engine replaced. So I called Wilson alternator rebuilders. I was talking to the tech at there facility. He said what is this on. It has a higher voltage rating than HDT do. I said it is on a motorhome. He stated that since it is going through a battery isolator, the voltage needs to be higher than normal to charge the batteries to where they need to be. As the isolator restricts the voltage some. If I remember correctly the voltage output on that alternator was at15.1 vdc at it’s highest rating. I also think the alternator had a sense wire on the batteries to control the proper output voltage that was needed. Now that has been probably 8 years ago, since I did that job.