Community Forums

slemnah · 08-23-2015, 02:13 PM

Steve, on my other motorhome it used to overheat pulling a grade. I bought a 2 gal gas can and installed a washer pump motor in the bottom of it and ran a hose with a piece of PEX line with small holes which aimed at the radiator. When it started to overheat I hit the switch and misted the radiator which seemed to cool it down. Certainly not a final fix but it seemed to work for me.
Steve

Steve and Jill
2005 Panther
23' Trailer

Steve n Jan · 08-24-2015, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slemnah

Steve, can you post a picture of the shroud? I want to compare it to a friend of mine's.
Steve

Steve and Jill
2005 Panther
23' Trailer

Steve,

Here's a pic

phays · 08-24-2015, 07:26 PM

Have you tried http://forum.dieselrvclub.org/index.php?action=forum
The Diesel RV forum. Some real expertise on that site.

slemnah · 08-31-2015, 07:55 PM

Steve, how's it going? Did they fix it yet?
Steve

Steve n Jan · 09-02-2015, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slemnah

Steve, how's it going? Did they fix it yet?
Steve

They said it's fixed, said the problem was the slow leaking radiator and the incorrectly installed shroud..According to CC, the slow leak allows air into the radiator causing at times a vapor block that stops the cooling and thus the intermittent overheating.....

I don't believe it...We hit the road this morning, drove up to Albany, Or to Silverleaf, got up to 220 degrees once, after that drove to Bend, fan ran all the time and temp never got about 194 even climbing the grades.. I still say the fan controller is the problem...

bigdog · 09-02-2015, 06:00 PM

I kind of have the same problem on my 3126B, but after reading this, I have run the engine and checked for coolant leaks and none. I have cleaned the radiator several times in the last couple of months from both sides with Blue Dawn two different times and ZEP 505 the last time. My shroud seems to be going the right direction, but i do have a small,1X2" chip out of the end of one fan blade, but have a new one to replace it with. Tried to do it myself and gave up. Only four bolts, but rather difficult to access them. I also suspect my fan controller and have gone back to check it once when it overheated and I was pulled over to let it cool down. Had the DW tell me when the temp dropped below 198 and there was no difference in the volumne of sound. I guess the next thing is to disconnect the power to the PWM and see if the fan kicks in.
Mine will overheat when pulling a major hill or even a long steady gentle upgrade. I did run the heat a couple of times, but to no avail. It also does it whether or not I'm pulling my toad.

slemnah · 09-03-2015, 08:22 AM

Steve, you might want to have the cooling system checked for combustion gases. It is an easy test and it might show an internal problem that is leading to your overheating problem. You must be so frustrated at this point.
Steve

Steve and Jill
2005 Panther
23' Trailer

DMTTRANSPORT · 09-03-2015, 08:34 AM

Intake air flow to Engine restricted causing it to run rich on fuel causing high EGT when your right foot is in it???? just a thought, it happens

Steve n Jan · 09-18-2015, 10:01 PM

Probelm finally solved. Took the coach to a palce called Source Engineering in Eugene, Or. They installed a wax valve and eliminated the fan controller. Have driven it from Eugene to Bakersfield, CA. almost 800 miles and it hasn't gotten above 195 degrees.. Finally.. FIXED!!!

slemnah · 09-19-2015, 01:02 AM

Yippee! How long will you be in Bakersfield?

Steve and Jill
2005 Panther
23' Trailer

CoCoDave · 09-19-2015, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve n Jan

Probelm finally solved. Took the coach to a palce called Source Engineering in Eugene, Or. They installed a wax valve and eliminated the fan controller. Have driven it from Eugene to Bakersfield, CA. almost 800 miles and it hasn't gotten above 195 degrees.. Finally.. FIXED!!!

Great to hear another good report on Source Engineering. They have a good rep, particularly among Roadmaster chassis owners. But they have products and services for multiple brands of suspensions. Ride enhancement kits, custom shocks, air bag valving, radiators, CAC's, coolant recovery kits, etc. They're not far from Junction City.

Cummins Northwest is across the street, a great Peterson CAT shop down the road south end of Eugene, Northwest RV supply, and Kaiser Brake and Alignment in Eugene. The list goes on.

Anything one might need done to a coach can be done and done well within 15 miles of Coburg (Eugene) Oregon.

FWIW

distaff · 09-19-2015, 08:06 AM

Very happy for you. Much cheaper than trading in for a new coach.

Can you provide a more complete explanation of what it means to remove the controller and install the wax valve, and what was the actual cause?

Steve n Jan · 09-19-2015, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slemnah

Yippee! How long will you be in Bakersfield?

Steve and Jill
2005 Panther
23' Trailer

Steve,

We'll be here through tomorrow, then will head over to the Palm Springs area, stop by if you're in the area.

Steve n Jan · 09-19-2015, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by distaff

Very happy for you. Much cheaper than trading in for a new coach.

Can you provide a more complete explanation of what it means to remove the controller and install the wax valve, and what was the actual cause?

The problem was the electronic fan controller. I don't know exactly how the wax valve works, it's inserted inside one of the radiator hoses and works off of temperature, the fan speeds up at 194 degrees and cools to 185. It's a mechanical device, (old school) as opposed to an electronic controller. I've been told the new electronic controllers have programming issues..The guy at Source Engineering said this is old technology, but it works very well. I told him I didn't care if Henry Ford invented it, just so it works...