Community Forums

Burner · 09-09-2019, 01:35 PM

We were 30 miles from home after our annul pilgrimage to Burning Man when the oil pressure dropped and the engine cut out, leaving us stick on the shoulder of the 303 just outside of Phoenix.

2004 Country Coach Magna with C-15 and Allison 4k transmission

From Vegas to Phoenix

Pulling a 6k lb trailer

We started overheating a bit when we got to the hills:
-Tranny temp hit 234
-Engine temp hit 225

I pulled over twice to cool down a bit.

Did a few google searches and found that these numbers are not, but not out of the ordinary when towing a trailer through the desert hills during the summer.

When we lost oil pressure:
-Tranny temp was at 217
-Engine temp was at 212

I am hoping it is just a bad sensor as the dash gauge was stuck at 180 f. for the tranny while the Silverleaf seemed to be working properly.

Could be a bad pump or ECU.
Hoping that is the worst of it all.

Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing?

.

CountryB · 09-09-2019, 02:00 PM

If the engine oil pressure sensor went bad and reported no oil pressure to the ECM, the engine will shut off to protect itself.

Did the engine shut off because oil pressure was lost - or did the engine shut off first (for some other reason) in which case oil pressure would go to zero when engine stops running?

Run the engine diagnostics and see if there is a code stored for the sensor.

The engine coolant and transmission temperatures are okay. 230 degrees or over on the coolant can be a problem, but you stopped before that so that's good.

Have you pulled the dip stick to see if there is oil?

If you have a mechanical gauge you could use that to double check.

Also, just thinking, the dash gauges usually have there own pressure sensor. Did you notice if the dash gauge was showing no pressure (it would be unlikely that the dash gauge sensor and the engine oil pressure sensor both went bad at the same time).

Jean n Steve · 09-09-2019, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CountryB

Also, just thinking, the dash gauges usually have there own pressure sensor. Did you notice if the dash gauge was showing no pressure (it would be unlikely that the dash gauge sensor and the engine oil pressure sensor both went bad at the same time).

My thought too.

Burner · 09-09-2019, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CountryB

If the engine oil pressure sensor went bad and reported no oil pressure to the ECM, the engine will shut off to protect itself.

Run the engine diagnostics and see if there is a code stored for the sensor.

The engine coolant and transmission temperatures are okay.

Have you pulled the dip stick to see if there is oil?

If you have a mechanical gauge you could use that to double check.

Also, just thinking, the dash gauges usually have there own pressure sensor. Did you notice if the dash gauge was showing no pressure (it would be unlikely that the dash gauge sensor and the engine oil pressure sensor both went bad at the same time).

Oil is about a gallon low, but not bad

Silverleaf shows the last code as UNKNOWN ERR

Oil pressure was showing mid 40's while driving until we lost power.

Burner · 09-09-2019, 03:25 PM

I found a CAT mechanic to come out and he is getting no error codes.
But he is also reading 55 PSI while the coach is off.

He says that the 55 PSI makes him think it is a sensor problem, while the lack of error codes tells him it is a mechanical issue.

He is running out to CAT to pick up a sensor to see if that fixes it.
If not, he says we will have bigger issues.

Still looking for opinions..

Sandy Swede · 09-09-2019, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burner

Oil is about a gallon low, but not bad

Silverleaf shows the last code as UNKNOWN ERR

Oil pressure was showing mid 40's while driving until we lost power.

At first, I thought, holy cow - a gallon low on oil. Then I recalled that a C-15 holds 10 gal. and the low side of the marker on the dip stick is 1.5 gals low. Does your engine have a history of burning that much oil and where was the level when you left on the trip?
Fingers crossed for you on it being the sensor.

Burner · 09-09-2019, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sandy Swede

Does your engine have a history of burning that much oil and where was the level when you left on the trip?

Not sure.
I've only had the coach for a few months.
I honestly didn't check before we left so I have no idea.

winniman · 09-09-2019, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burner

Not sure.
I've only had the coach for a few months.
I honestly didn't check before we left so I have no idea.

Ouch, that is pretty risky. Hope it ends well. My friend lost his pressure, but it was a hole in his oil filter. Lost all his oil. What a mess. Not sure how the pinhole got there, but the oil had only been changed two months earlier.

**Spdracr39** · 09-09-2019, 04:49 PM

Just as a side note my Aladdin/ECM oil pressure sensor either shows 55 psi or zero it is not incremental like the dash gauge sensor. I believe the Silverleaf/ECM is the same way.

Mtn. Lion · 09-09-2019, 04:49 PM

Bummer deal, Burner. Hopefully it is a simple fix being a bad oil sensor the mech comes back with.

As an aside, what was it like for you at Burning Man this year?

winniman · 09-09-2019, 05:07 PM

It could be something stupid like a bared wire to the oil pressure sensor. Perhaps the engine will derate if it looses contact with any information the sensors provide.

Mr_D · 09-09-2019, 05:22 PM

Not sure about the C-15 but some of the cats use the engine oil pressure to pressurize the fuel injection. They usually stop before damage is done if oil pressure is lost.

Burner · 09-09-2019, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spdracr39

Just as a side note my Aladdin/ECM oil pressure sensor either shows 55 psi or zero it is not incremental like the dash gauge sensor. I believe the Silverleaf/ECM is the same way.

Thanks for that info.

What would this mean to my mechanic?
How would it help him narrow things down?

Burner · 09-09-2019, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diginomad

As an aside, what was it like for you at Burning Man this year?

Burning man was spectacular this year.
Every year is different and I've learned not to compare them.
This one had more challenges than any other but it forced me to find solutions to my high level of discomfort.

I worked my butt off.
Gifted tons of food and loads of energy.
It was without a doubt, the highlight of my year, as it always is.

Can't wait to make next year even better