Community Forums

gywong · 06-29-2013, 08:57 PM

Hi I'm new to this forum so I hope I am in the right area.

I purchased a used 35' Safari Serengeti 95 with a Cummins/Allison in it. After getting it home, I decide to look the unit over and see what makes this thing tick and checked it over to make sure everything work. Well after 3 weeks of getting dirty it was in good shape with a few minor problems

Well? I decide to restart the engine and what would you know, the engine would not start. It started fine before so I must of have done something wrong somewhere.

What happens when I turn the key to ignition is, the Pac brake light and the High Temp light and buzzer come on. The shifter lights do not light up. Batteries are good

Any suggestion to steer me in the right direction? Thanks

HarveyP · 06-30-2013, 12:09 AM

At your chassis battery there is a wire with a a fuse that feeds the "brain" of your transmission. This wire sometimes has a splice forward of the battery that can go bad. Your shifter will not light up and the engine will not crank if the splice is bad. Mine was about two feet away from the battery and caused a 100 mile tow to the Allison dealer. Should have been a 25 cent fix. Best of luck, Harvey

Skip426 · 06-30-2013, 12:13 AM

This forum ; Motorhome discussions & problems ;is as good as any when you have a problem. First thing, double check the batteries, unless you have been charging them they may be down and recheck the cable connections, then look for a fuse for the Allison trans controller, sometimes an inline fuse between the battery and the controller, ( with the control pad not lighting up )and if you were poking around under the trans , maybe go back and check to make sure the multiple connector for the trans wiring is tight together.
Not really familiar with Safari, did they build there own chassis or are you running Freightliner or Spartan.
And I see Harvey and I think alike and he types faster.

Doggy Daddy · 06-30-2013, 02:18 AM

Did you bleed the water from the fuel or change the fuel filter? If so, you may have air to bleed out.

Murf2u · 06-30-2013, 06:19 AM

You say it doesn't start, that's not much info really.

Does it turn over or not? If it does, is it cranking slowly or normal speed? If it's cranking are you getting any smoke at the tailpipe? If so is it white, grey or black?

gywong · 07-01-2013, 12:48 AM

Thanks for the reply guys, after about 2 weeks into sorting out the problem, I'm a little wiser but still have the problem.

The exact problem is this:

Upon switching the ignition key to the run position I get no lights on my shifter key pad when this happens this prevents the starter from turning over. Since my first explanation of the problem I have a better understanding of the problem. This problem seems to come and go where the shifter key pad lights up sometimes. When this happens the starter is allowed to cranks and the engine starts and then another day the same problem of no lights on the shifter key pad. I checked the fuses and relays in the VIM (Vehicle Interface Module) and they appeared OK. I even pulled the relays out to see if I could duplicate the problems when the shifter lights were on. Removing the relays did not turn the shifter indicating lights off. I have come to a possible conclusion that the WTEC II ecu is the problem. I have constant power to a couple of the wires leading into the ecu and have switched power when I turn the ignition to the run position, to others wires. This tell me that I am getting power to the ecu. At one point when the key pad was dead I disconnected the umbilical cord from the key pad to the ecu and reconnected it and I got lights again and the engine was restarted. I went and did the same thing disconnect and reconnect and the key pad went dead. So the problem appears intermittent, not a good way to travel. There is alot of wires to the ecu and without a wiring diagram it is almost impossible to trace out each one. I checked for bad grounds and have found none yet.

At this point the shifter key pad appears dead, but at least I'm stranded at home and not somewhere in Timbuktu. Still any suggestion will be well received. Thanks again

Skip426 · 07-01-2013, 01:17 AM

Did you ever figure out if your Chassis was Freightliner or some other brand , I have F/L diagrams and schematics , if you think they might do you any good even though there the wrong year , send me a personal message with your e mail address and I'll send you the pdf files.
Just double checked they're for WETC III so probably no help.
But if your chassis turns out to be F/L their toll free help line could get you the info you need. great guys , 1-800-FLT-HELP have your serial number handy.

Fkrel · 07-01-2013, 06:46 AM

Check the battery disconnect panel you might of bumped one of the disconnect switches. Happened to me when one of the grand kids pushed the button baffled me for a bit.

Skip426 · 07-01-2013, 08:59 AM

Something kept me awake last night and now I know .Should be

1-800-FTL-HELP not FLT

1-800-385-4357

Note to self " trust nothing to memory "

Airstreamer6 · 07-01-2013, 02:43 PM

I would try to contact the previous owner and ask if he had a similar problem. Maybe he's seen the problem before and knows what it is.

CaptBill · 07-02-2013, 08:04 AM

gywong wrote: "At one point when the key pad was dead I disconnected the umbilical cord from the key pad to the ecu and reconnected it and I got lights again and the engine was restarted. I went and did the same thing disconnect and reconnect and the key pad went dead."

This is telling me that there may be one of the pins in that ecu connector that has pulled slightly out of the connector body, or is otherwise not making a good connction. I would closely examine each wire, making sure they are pushed in and fully seated, and look at the pins themselves, to see that they are clean and shiny. Also look at the pins on the ecu, for bent, broken or dirty pins.

It could be the ecu itself, with an internal problem. The ecu that is used on some Freightliner chassis (including mine), have had issues with cold solder joints on the circuit board inside the module. There was thread on here somewhere, which described how one member repaired his module by re-soldering the the circuit board connections.

Also, the ecu may get it's groung connection via the mounting screws, so check that. If one of the screws is also an electrical ground, it needs to be clean and tight.

gywong · 07-04-2013, 04:48 AM

Thanks again for the replies,

The unit I have is a 95 Safari Serengeti with a cummins 8.3 and a Allison Md 3060 transmission. The chassis is a Magnum

I may have over looked a few but again I centering on the WTEC 2/ECU unit at this point. I have ordered the WTEC 2/ECU trouble shooting manual but it has not arrived as of now.

I will be sending the ECU away to have it checked out and I will report back if it was the culprit or not

Thanks

LTZ470 · 07-04-2013, 05:35 AM

Ignition Switch problem more than likely. Will have to replace the keyed ignition switch..does it have a tilt wheel? Sometimes that can also be the problem as the wires get older and worn...

LTZ470 · 07-05-2013, 01:35 AM

Forgot to mention it could be a grounding problem as well for the ECU, I have seen that cause problems...cleaning the grounds to the ECU sorted the issue....