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Tony Lee · 07-10-2018, 11:44 AM

Started up from cold this morning. Had to wait for preheat before and after starting engine.

Select R and engine stalls. Restarted and tried a couple of times with same result. Select D and it is operation normal, at least driving slowly around town.

Into R and the clutch is locked up as the vehicle does start to go in reverse just as the engine stalls. If use very slight throttle the vehicle goes a little further before stalling so I guess a bit more throttle might get it moving.

We are in Tuk in The NW territories so about as far from an Allison service centre as it is possible to get.

Fairly cold here - not down to freezing but maybe 6C.

Transmission oil level was OK when I checked it via the shift pad a week ago but I'll check it via the dipstick just in case.

Transmission certainly not up to temperature just driving around town.

'99 Airstream diesel pusher on a FREIGHLINER chassis. Cat engine and Allison Transmission

So any clues or advice please.

dbarton291 · 07-10-2018, 11:54 AM

Which Allison transmission do you have?
Are there any diagnostic codes in memory?

Tony Lee · 07-10-2018, 12:12 PM

Possibly an MD- 3060 as stated in the Freighliner Chassis manual but I'm still chasing through my files to pin it down.

Codes - just have the pad with D N R up and down arrows and economy and one display digit so was just about to see if that can display codes as well as oil level info

Tony Lee · 07-10-2018, 12:32 PM

No codes showing - d1 to d5 all display "-"

Tony Lee · 07-10-2018, 11:50 PM

OK, you can all stop wracking your brains

My problem was in thinking that the transmission was locked up and that was stalling the engine - but what if the engine was dying as soon as the transmission went into reverse because something was killing the engine as if the key was being turned off.

I did some research on the internet and found exactly one reference to a seemingly idential problem in a Dutch Star. He eventually realised the connection between reverse and the engine dying was the reversing relay which switched on the backup alarm, camera and lights. A short on one of those wires killed the engine because of a stupid way the circuit was arranged. Remove the relay and no more problem. Put it back and intermittent problem.

In my case once I read that I knew what the problem was. Couple of days ago wife noticed a cable hanging down under the radiator. It was the original feed for the trailer and toad connections and that socket had been extended with a plug and cable to the rear. Had come unplugged and dragged on the ground until the plug was gone and all the cables were frayed. I roughly taped each bare end up and tied the cable back up but must have been careless enough to have two wires touching so creating the same sort of problem discovered by the Dutch Star owner. I cut them all off neatly and taped up properly and now I have reverse.

Who would have thought it.

Supposedly Allisson have known about it since 2002 and issued a technical bulletin on fault-finding the issue.