C-7 and bad fuel

[dportem]

Just returned from a short weekend trip from the keys and had I think some bad fuel issues. I have 3/4 a tank and a new fuel separator and still stalled at the light. I had a cat tech come by yesterday and tried to hook his cat harness to diagnose the problem but the cable was not fitting. He said they switched the hot on the terminal and would have to get a pigtail that does the switchover to the cat hookup to his computer. Anyways thats this afternoon. He also suggested a raycor maybe 10 microns. I'm inclined to go this route as I've read on this forum it's a gotta have.

Hopefully well be able to clear out the fuel lines today and resolve the fuel issue. Any additional info would be greatly appreciated. Josh

[Jim Stewart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dportem Just returned from a short weekend trip from the keys and had I think some bad fuel issues. I have 3/4 a tank and a new fuel separator and still stalled at the light. I had a cat tech come by yesterday and tried to hook his cat harness to diagnose the problem but the cable was not fitting. He said they switched the hot on the terminal and would have to get a pigtail that does the switchover to the cat hookup to his computer. Anyways thats this afternoon. He also suggested a raycor maybe 10 microns. I'm inclined to go this route as I've read on this forum it's a gotta have. Hopefully well be able to clear out the fuel lines today and resolve the fuel issue. Any additional info would be greatly appreciated. Josh

Josh, you were in the Keys, does this mean it was a close trip and you live near the water? Does your system have two filters or one. If you live in Florida or along the coast where it is hot and humid, your fuel tank can get and grow microbes. They can block or cause problems in the filters.

They make a fuel treatment for diesel that all diesel boat owners use that destroys the little buggers. I put it in my tank and keep it in each time I fuel. I also keep a spare set of filters in case of problems, sometimes they can be used as a diagnostic tool. If you have the buggers in your fuel tank, you will have to change the filters, add the treatment, run it for awhile and then change the filters again.

Hope this helps.

Jim

[dportem]

Thanks for the reply Jim. Yes we live 3 hours up from the keys and it was a great weekend. I only have one filter on the coach, but will be remedying that quickly. Will also be purchasing the diesel killer today. Thanks again. Josh

[dportem]

The cat mech found the freightliner pigtail part number that connects to the cat computer. The part number is 1574829 and cost $54.00. He took the one on the coach apart to confirm that freightliner switched the hots so only they could do a diagnosis. Lovely. Anyways, I'll be off to Miami to pick up that pigtail and parts for the raycor secondary filter.

[Jim Stewart]

Now that I know where you live, I get your name, too funny !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am a little slow some days!

[wagonmaster2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dportem The cat mech found the freightliner pigtail part number that connects to the cat computer. The part number is 1574829 and cost $54.00. He took the one on the coach apart to confirm that freightliner switched the hots so only they could do a diagnosis. Lovely. Anyways, I'll be off to Miami to pick up that pigtail and parts for the raycor secondary filter.

Now I understand why the Cat shop tech had such a hard time spending over an hour doing a reflash on my engine 3 years ago (he finally had to crawl under the coach and attach his computer to some wires under there, and boy was he doing some cussing) but last year the FL dealer took about 10 minutes to hook his computer up to the same place and change the exhaust brake usage.

Do you by any chance remember where you had to buy the pigtail, Cat dealer or Freightliner dealer? Sounds like this is something us Cat owners on FL chassis should have on hand. Seems like every Cat tech would have one in his tool box since surely they work on lots of their engines in FL chassis.

Wagonmaster2
2004 Meridian 36G Cat C-7 330 HP

[dportem]

They have two stores, one in Miami and one in West Palm Beach. The name is PANTROPIC and the freightliner part number again is #1574829. It was also recommended to me to add some bioguard to the fuel. Good luck. Josh

[dportem]

Update:

We attached the pagtail to the et and still no power. The ignition switch is on but still no power to the et thus the CAT computer cannot diagnose. Does anyone know if their is a hidden switch or a breaker somewhere on the coach? Engine still wont turn over either. I dont have the code to retrieve any codes from the trip computer. I purchased this at an auction. Tomorrow I'll call Newmar, maybe they can help. We took off the fuel line and no fuel was being sucked in. We are thinking of a manuel pump and the raycor, since I was going to do that anyway. Anyone has any of the above symptoms? Thanks, Josh

[Jim Stewart]

Josh, when you say "turn over" do you mean nothing no crank at all, or it will just not start.

There are some Cat fault codes that shut off fuel to the engine. I think they tend to be related to bad air or temps in engine and trans. This is a safety feature to prevent you from driving and causeing further damage.

I think you need to call Cat Tech Support first then Newmar.

[Avalondanes]

There should be a diagnostic connector in the engine bay and one near the steering collum. Cannon plug with 6 pins gray connector or 9 pins black connector. You can hook up diagnostic equipment and /or Silverleaf VSM to read codes. All vehicles have a diagnostic port if they are ECM controlled engines, you just have to look for the connector port.

Richard

[dportem]

10-4, that did the job. ET next to the steering colum was nice and hot. All checked out with no issues. Cat mech in Miami stated that we needed to look at the Huey oil pump since the fuel pump takes off from that. Freightliner quoted $1,000 and 4.5 hours for labor. I'll keep you posted. Josh

[Avalondanes]

Is the engine spinning over, but wont "fire up" ? The HUEY pump is oil pressure driven and IS the fuel pump for injectors. If you do not have oil pressure the engine will not start due to lack of fuel.

Richard

[dportem]

Thanks for the reply Richard. We do have oil pressure and the engine does crank over and tries and tries but just wont pop. The way it was explained to me is the Huey pump like you said is for the oil and there is a"take off" pump for the fuel pump. It's a square piece and they say the metal on the square take off for the fuel pump is a weaker metal and thats where they keep failing, on the fuel side. We unhooked the filter and it's clean and fuel is coming into the filter just not enough pressure to get to the engine. I called Freightliner and they ran my VIN and my warranty on the Heuy ran out in January 09! 60 months or 100,000 miles. Too much. The mech told me theses things are failing like there going out of style. I called both Newmar and the Freightliner help line and they are awesome. Thanks, Josh

[Avalondanes]

You need to call Cat with your engine serial number and check history on your engine. They would be the ones to warranty the HUEY pump. Even if it is out of warranty they may help you out if there have been other problems on record. Never hurts to try.

Richard