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ereadingrv · 03-10-2017, 09:58 PM

Okay, we just got through the drama of a new alternator--which we covered on another thread. But now we have three new issues, and I'm not sure if at least one MAY be related to the alternator and its effect on the electrical system.

NOTE: This is a NEW engine, installed last May.

First Issue:

After the alternator change, the oil pressure gauge was pegged all the way to the right. But...the coach started and ran smoothly, no warning lights, no chugging, no issues. In other words, normal. Our suspicion is that the pegging is due to either a faulty pressure sending unit, improper seating of the sensor, or something similar. We already had the original engine go bad due to neglect by the previous owners, so we know what the signs are. None of them are here...except...

Second Issue:

This evening, while moving the coach from the repair shop to a local parking location, we started getting white smoke from the tailpipe. All gauges read fine; engine temperature was running in the normal range, if not a hair lower, since it's cool here in ABQ, and the engine was running as smoothly as it has all year.

We checked under the coach and immediately saw that a piece connecting from the turbo to the exhaust, and by extension, to the muffler appears to be missing. We didn't notice any particular rise in the engine noise level, but it's definitely missing a piece. We didn't hear it come off and no one flagged us down.

First question: could that missing piece have something to do with the white smoke on acceleration?

So we got to the parking location and turned off the coach. We'll be here until Monday, out of necessity, when we'll be calling Cummins. The engine is fully-warrantied, and based on our prior experience I suspect they will instruct us to bring the coach to them, barring any additional weird engine issues beyond the smoke, such as warning lights, etc. Oil level was a hair down from normal, but Cummins told us a month ago that was to be expected on long trips and just to add a bit more oil as needed, as long as it didn't become a constant issue. The last oil added was approximately 3 weeks and 1,600 miles ago.

I am confident, knowing we've checked the oil daily on the coach since the oil change, that we didn't do anything to harm the engine. And we've never had any issues AT ALL since its replacement. Still, if this is a muffler issue or something, it would still be a load off our minds.

Issue 3:

Electrical (which may include the pegged pressure gauge) is suddenly VERY wonky.

You turn on the headlights...and the right brake light doesn't work. You turn off the lights, it works again.

That one is really confusing. We're wondering if a mistake might have been made when our InvisiBrake was installed (we've read that it happens a bit more often than you'd think), but we're thinking it is somehow related to the batteries.

So, in summary, the issues:

1. Pegged engine oil pressure.
2. White smoke on acceleration; no gray or black that we can see, and it dissipates fairly quickly.
3. Strange electrical reactions to the headlights being used.

I'd say "thanks for the help", but this is starting to feel like 2015 all over again...Fortunately, we're warrantied this time.

saddlesore · 03-10-2017, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ereadingrv

So, in summary, the issues:

1. Pegged engine oil pressure.
2. White smoke on acceleration; no gray or black that we can see, and it dissipates fairly quickly.
3. Strange electrical reactions to the headlights being used.

I'd say "thanks for the help", but this is starting to feel like 2015 all over again...Fortunately, we're warrantied this time.

1) pegged pressure gauge.... sounds like a bad "sender"
2)See Cummins ASAP ! Sounds like something the last shop forgot to re-attach
3) dis connect the toad wiring (including the aux brake system) and see if the problem disappears..if it does you have isolated the source.

happy trails

ereadingrv · 03-10-2017, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saddlesore

1) pegged pressure gauge.... sounds like a bad "sender"
2)See Cummins ASAP ! Sounds like something the last shop forgot to re-attach
3) dis connect the toad wiring (including the aux brake system) and see if the problem disappears..if it does you have isolated the source.

happy trails

Agree on the Sender. As far as we know, that's part of the engine--so it's warrantied. If anyone knows differently, please say so!

We're calling our California advocate at Cummins on Monday, first thing, and I suspect that she will connect us with Cummins ABQ very, very quickly. Cummins in California watches out for us, and we love them for it. Truly. They're great people all around.

We won't be driving the coach until that conversation with Cummins on Monday.

Not quite sure how to disconnect the toad wiring. The Jeep isn't hooked up, and wasn't while we were driving the short distance from the shop to our parking spot.

Would not having the Jeep connected count as "disconnecting" the wiring? Or would we need to do something more invasive to the install? If so, that's beyond our tech knowledge and I'd be hesitant to mess with it.

P.S. If we go for another older coach, a single our dual-slide Foretravel like yours is on our short list, along with a used Entegra (newer, we know), an older Allegro Bus, or a Newmar of some kind.

guardrail53 · 03-11-2017, 01:25 AM

I would Not run the engine till a Cummins mech. looks at what is missing from your turbo to exhaust!

You have a oil line that supply's the turbo oil, and a return line, also the exhaust pipe to your muffler, and wastegate if your MH has one?
The white smoke could just be the cold temp's, how cold is it?
Also is the pegged oil gauge, could be the sensor, ask the mech. to check it out, and i think you will have to cover the cost of it, sensors are not covered by warranty, pretty sure!
As far as the light issue, was this the first time it happened, or has it been a ongoing problem? The reason i ask, if the Alt. shop shorted something out,

it could have fried the oil sensor and be the cause of the light problem? Not likely, but a possibility.
Hope it is all a easy and quick fix! Rail!

l1v3fr33ord1 · 03-11-2017, 05:42 AM

Ed-

I was able to look up in your profile that you have a 1999 Diplomat. It would be easier if you put that info (and anything else useful) in your signature. Here's a post on how to do that.

I'm no expert on the Dips. I have some wiring diagrams for ones newer than yours. Making a wild guess, I'd say the electrical issues 1) and 3) have a common cause of an un-grounded ground. I'd look for loose wires at the chassis batteries and also under the dash, particularly near the steering column.

RamiDav · 03-11-2017, 08:51 AM

When you have done repairs and immediately have things like this happen
a quick check of all things in that area will often show the culprit .

How far away are you from the shop ?
They are probably open on sat at least till noon .
Call them , tell them about the smoke , your exhaust problem and concerns about fire .
They may send someone out to look it over

I think you should have someone give you an ok its safe to drive as in no oil leaking
or hot exhaust pointing at something that might melt or catch fire .

Ray

deSanford · 03-11-2017, 09:14 AM

Could you go into more detail on the cause of the ISB engine failing?

ereadingrv · 03-11-2017, 10:39 AM

[QUOTE=RamiDav;3495903]
How far away are you from the shop ?

* We're fairly close. ABQ isn't all that big. It was only 5 minutes from the shop to our parking location. I wasn't that worried about driving that short distance, as there was literally no "issue" with the engine running temp, no warning lights, nothing--other than the strange, pale white smoke. We're 1/2 convinced so far it is related to the exhaust/muffler issue. But we'll see on Monday. For now, we're in waiting mode.

They are probably open on sat at least till noon .

Unless there are some "rogue" Cummins official facilities, they now no longer support weekend hours. That was our experience in California, and the same holds true here in ABQ.

Call them , tell them about the smoke , your exhaust problem and concerns about fire .
They may send someone out to look it over

* We're planning on doing all this on Monday.

I think you should have someone give you an ok its safe to drive as in no oil leaking
or hot exhaust pointing at something that might melt or catch fire .

* No oil leaking, no oil on engine. The rest? Monday call. We'll see how it goes and update here.

ereadingrv · 03-11-2017, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deSanford

Could you go into more detail on the cause of the ISB engine failing?

Did you comment on our posts back in 2015?

ereadingrv · 03-13-2017, 10:51 AM

[QUOTE=ereadingrv;3496068]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RamiDav

I think you should have someone give you an ok its safe to drive as in no oil leaking
or hot exhaust pointing at something that might melt or catch fire

UPDATE:

After being filled in on the issues, Cummins had us move the coach, which apparently wasn't a big deal. We were only about 3 miles away, which I think also helped.

They're not concerned that the engine is in any danger of being damaged by running it briefly. We're at the facility now and will be in for service later this afternoon. We were relieved to learn that absolutely everything that might be causing these symptoms is likely under the full new engine warranty--including sensors.

ereadingrv · 03-13-2017, 07:07 PM

Okay, the *seeming* cause of the pegged gauge was a faulty oil gauge sender, which another poster suggested it might be. They replaced it, with the bulk of the cost going to a "diagnostic fee" that was nearly $300. The part? About $40.

They claimed they ran a whole-engine diagnostic and found nothing else wrong. They closed for the day, we hooked up and left...and got about a mile down the road before we noticed that the tailpipe was emitting white smoke...more than the other day, in fact.

No warning lights, no "stop engine" warnings, no derating, no loss of turbo power. Normal temperature, normal oil pressure range. Just white smoke at acceleration, and less smoke periodically at running speeds.

The muffler is not properly connected to the exhaust (tail) pipe, we just learned; apparently, there is a piece in the middle of the whole thing that just vanished somewhere between Arkansas and New Mexico.

So we're going to need to fix that pretty shortly. Does anyone feel this could be a contributor to the white smoke issue?

Steve Ownby · 03-13-2017, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ereadingrv

Okay, the *seeming* cause of the pegged gauge was a faulty oil gauge sender, which another poster suggested it might be. They replaced it, with the bulk of the cost going to a "diagnostic fee" that was nearly $300. The part? About $40.

They claimed they ran a whole-engine diagnostic and found nothing else wrong. They closed for the day, we hooked up and left...and got about a mile down the road before we noticed that the tailpipe was emitting white smoke...more than the other day, in fact.

No warning lights, no "stop engine" warnings, no derating, no loss of turbo power. Normal temperature, normal oil pressure range. Just white smoke at acceleration, and less smoke periodically at running speeds.

The muffler is not properly connected to the exhaust (tail) pipe, we just learned; apparently, there is a piece in the middle of the whole thing that just vanished somewhere between Arkansas and New Mexico.

So we're going to need to fix that pretty shortly. Does anyone feel this could be a contributor to the white smoke issue?

The usual cause of white smoke in a diesel is raw, unburned diesel coming through the exhaust or water/coolant getting into the combustion chamber. Since this is a new engine, you should lean on the installing shop to run this down while your warranty is good.

ereadingrv · 03-13-2017, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Ownby

The usual cause of white smoke in a diesel is raw, unburned diesel coming through the exhaust or water/coolant getting into the combustion chamber. Since this is a new engine, you should lean on the installing shop to run this down while your warranty is good.

Additional problem...Cummins turned the coach over to us at 5pm, just as they closed. We got less than a mile away and saw that the smoke was WORSE now, and even puffing out periodically while simply driving along.

In addition, the oil pressure gauge was nearly to the maximum, and dropped to the left side "quarter" mark when not accelerating--then resumed upon acceleration.

Lastly, there is clear de-rating. It reminds us painfully of the first ISB engine failure.

We've made an immediate u-turn and we're back at Cummins awaiting them in the morning.

guardrail53 · 03-13-2017, 10:44 PM

The white smoke can be the two things that Steve mentiond, also diesel's will show a "vapor trail" when they are not fully warmed up, and it is very cold out!
Why I ask how cold is it outside in a earlier post? Albuquerque is not that cold this time of year for that tho?
I would make sure you have no oil in your antifreeze, ( oil will be on the top ) and your oil is not "milky" looking, or foamy! ( antifreeze in the oil )
The Cummins shop should have checked this, but as long as no codes were thrown, they might have not! A leaking head gasket can cause this. Antifreeze leaking into the combustion chamber can cause the white'ish exhaust also as Steve pointed out!
Keep a very close eye on your oil and antifreeze/coolant levels, and get the exhaust fixed, and see how this goes, but the white smoke issue, is telling you something, and if it continues, i would take it back to Cummins, and take the mechanic for a ride, so he can see for himself! White smoke out the exhaust is not normal! Rail!