American Coach: Fuel issues- Need help

[96eagle]

So I 've put over 3,800 mile on my 1996 Eagle in the past month and am having issues with the fuel. It started when one of the heim joint that connect the throttle cable to the motor broke and had to replace, now it seems to be just die when I come up to an intersection. Don't know what the RPM is suppose to be set at, so I set it to 700 but when I put it in gear it drops to 600. I just had both fuel filters changed yesterday hoping it was that no luck there. When I pull up to a stop light and gears shift from 2nd to 1st it just drops so low that it dies unless I feather the gas to get it back up. Idles just fine and runs down the road great. Any one have an issue like this? Or know if their rpm's drop once put in gear? or what the rpm should be set at? It has the old mechanical injection Cummins C8.3 motor

[Dtwallace]

Sounds like your shut down solenoid is not opening or moving the lever to the run position the way on your fuel pump.

This could be an adjustment issue if you've had it disconnected, or it's sticking internally. It will eventually burn out from over heating if it's not moving all the way to the run position internally.

You can verify this by moving the lever it's connected to by hand toward the run position, with the engine off.

If you find the lever is not bottomed out in the run position during normal operation, and it is restricted by the solenoid, you will have to adjust or the linkage, or re-position the solenoid.

To make this easier and safer for you, all these adjustments can be made with the engine not running.

Remember, the solenoid will only go to the open/run position when the starter is energized/ign switch turned to start. So just bumping the starter will put it in position for you if you are working alone.

Once it is in the run position, it will stay there until you turn the ignition switch off.
It's easier to have a helper operate the switch while you observe at the rear

If this all fails to resolve your problem, you may have a pump issue, and that may require replacement.

Good luck
DTW

[GlennLever]

I really cannot say if the fuel shut off solenoid would cause this problem.

I have some thoughts on the subject though so here is my two cents.

If the Fuel Solenoid was stuck partially open to cause the engine to starve for fuel, I would think that under load the problem would be worse because of the higher demand for fuel.

The original design of the fuel shut off solenoid produced by Cummins was flawed and has a superseded part which is an improved design.

The flaw exhibited it self by allowing the engine to continue to run after the key was turned off. The engine could be shut off by manually closing the fuel valve.

The part we are talking about is in the upper left corner of this picture.



The way it works is there are two circuits in the solenoid, a high energy circuit and a low energy circuit. when the key is turned to the start position the high energy circuit (lots of amps) is supplied with power and is used to pull the fuel valve open and over come the spring holding the valve closed.

Once the engine is running and the key is released into the run position the high energy circuit is closed and the low energy circuit is energized and used to hold the valve open.

When the key is turned off the current supplied to the solenoid is shut off and the mechanical spring on the fuel valve pulls the valve closed shutting off the engine.

I had mine replaced when the engine would not shut off. It is an "easy" job to install a new one and is something you can do if you are handy.

This is my post on the Fuel Shut Off Solenoid

I do not have an idea what is causing you low RPM when you go into first gear. 700 RPMs when idling is certainly high enough (if anything it is too high), I do not know what the correct RPM is.

I did find this thread though http://www.irv2.com/forums/f123/94-c...ent-61623.html

[96eagle]

Well looks like my first step is to look at the fuel Solenoid and see how its operating. When this first happened it also had a real long cranking time before it finally started, but seems to be a little better now. Tonight I will look and see how the solenoid operates and go from there. Thanks guy for pointing me in the right direction I just hate to pay a shop unless I have to.

[Gary RVRoamer]

My 370ISL idles at about 850 in neutral and drops to 700 in gear. Maybe another 100 rpms would do the trick for you.

[mchero]

Any dripping fuel lines? Small leaks can suck air resulting in long cranking timesI swapped a head oh a 250hp Cumming 8.3l
After i did the work i really had to crank her to get her started! While idling i spotted a drip under Cummins. Found a loose injector line and tightened it. She then started on THE FIRST CRANK!
From them on she started 1st crank! I miss that Cummins!
Keep us posted!

[96eagle]

The issue was with the Fuel shutoff valve. When I would start it, it would work fine until it warmed up then slowly it would drop once warm. I had to stop on the side of the road and push it up. Then zip tied it up til I got home to replace it. Once it was pulled up the engine power was back and ran great. I also replaced the Air cleaner In diagnosing the fuel issues, they aren't cheap but wow it was dirty now I can hear the turbo at idle must have also been starving for air.

[gacamp]

Thanks for coming back with the resolution, that does not happen enough! I have that same engine so that gives me additional info to file away.

[GlennLever]

It is always nice when someone takes the time to come back a post the solution. So many times a question is asked and the result is never posted unless the solution offered did not solve the problem.

Thanks for the solution reply!