Triton V-10 pulsing

[mfire1339]

I don't understand your RV not having an external fuel filter. They actually build them that way?


Mike

[Chuckge]

My money is on it being a fuel filter or fuel injector issue.

[Minnesota51]

We had that problem on our 2015 Itasca Sunstar with the V10 Triton.

Turned out it was a problem in the sensor that lets the engine computer know how hard you're pressing on the throttle. I believe it was the throttle body that needed to be replaced because the sensor comes with it and it's not sold separately. It fixed the problem. Had not happened again since and that was several thousands of miles ago.

It was a few hundred dollar repair. It didn't take very long. They did it at an RV place while we sat in the RV and they removed the dog house between the front seats.

[Bonron]

Originally Posted by twinboat

Take a sample of the gas off the fuel pressure fitting and pour it in a glass bottle.

Look for water or any other contaminants in it.

Before you start throwing parts at it, two things come to mind. 1, check the air intake for a blockage or even collapsing under high rpm climb,, try taking out the air filter and drive it under load. 2, the muffler could be failing and blocking the exhaust flow. Also, the fuel pump. Could be going bad and that could be checked with a pressure gauge attached to the fuel rail. Assuming your mechanic has the right tools he should be able to take the coach for a test run and see the telemetry and maybe catch the failure you are describing.

[SergioP]

Originally Posted by mfire1339

I don't understand your RV not having an external fuel filter. They actually build them that way?


Mike

Since around 2005 the auto manufactures quit putting in line fuel filters on cars and trucks. There’s a plastic screen mesh type filter on the fuel pump. Diesels are the exception.

[GUSRENTIT]

Originally Posted by waggintails

I have had two diagnostic tests run. One with a Cheepie tool and the next with a very expensive tool (Maxi Pro). the Cheepie didn't show any faults. The expensive one showed the fault above. The check engine light has never even flickered. Thanks for the response. This morning I pulled the batteries and cleaned all the connections including the main grounding bar, battery cables, etc. It felt better on the 20-mile test run but still has little power going on an uphill grade. I did notice that the pulsing seemed less? There is no external fuel filter so I am leaning toward a fuel pump problem or perhaps a coil issue. I am anxious to see the results of the fuel pump and exhaust analysis. However, based on the cost and accessibility of the coils and plugs I may go ahead and change them out. I can't keep my hands out of it waiting on my mechanic. I am just a little over 48k miles so!

WAGGIN, try this, you will need a flashlight, and very long and thin fingers, on the upper right hand side(passenger side) of the engine, kind of hidden by the fuel rails, on the side of the intake air horn, there is a vacuum line, it's about 1/2" dia. and maybe 5" long with a bend in it, they tend to leak(they actually get a hole on their front side on the outside of the bend), so when coasting, steady throttle, the engine pulls more vacuum, so it's less noticeable, on heavy throttle, like pulling a hill, vacuum goes very low, due to throttle plate being wide open, and it becomes more noticeable due less HP. Just get in there and pull it out and replace it, it's like $10.
Good luck! Gus

[code2e]

I am a retired professional mechanic with Ford experience. Having read all the posts, I am suspicious of a fuel supply issue being your trouble. I checked a few online parts catalogs I trust and they do in fact list a fuel filter for a 2015 F-53 chassis with the V-10. Search for a Wix #33243 and you will find an image to show what it looks like. I suspect you really do have a filter and it is just hard to find with all the wiring and other plumbing installed after the chassis was built by Ford. Get a good bright light and follow the fuel lines frow the tank forward along the left frame rail. If you locate it, you will need a release tool, available at most auto parts stores. The metal tools are much better than the nylon variety. I would carry the tool and a spare fuel filter in the motorhome in your travels. The fuel pressure tap is a schrader valve on one side of the fuel rails. The rails run front to back on each side of the intake manifold, each feeding 5 injectors. Schrader valve looks just like a metal tire valve stem with a cap on it. Many parts stores will loan you a pressure gauge on deposit, if you want to check fuel pressure under load. Good luck.

[Mekanic]

Originally Posted by tiffy2000

Sounds like a fuel issue to me. Need to run a fuel pump pressure test at the injector rails, if possible while it is acting up. If you don;t have fuel filter on the left frame rail then it could be the filter in the tank which would be ugly, perhaps repeating a good fuel cleaner ( Chevron Techron gets good reviews or Royal Purple(expensive)) a few times will clean it off if that is the case?

I agree it’s a fuel problem. All 10 coils going out at once?? I think not. You stated it was like you letoffpedal not ignition cutout all at once

[tedwhe]

Originally Posted by waggintails

Update. Today I put 16oz of Lucas Fuel additive; 3 bottles of HEAT alcohol water disperser into my gas tank which had approximately 60 gal. of 87 octane regular gas. I then went on a 60-mile (round trip) test run. Starting off the coach ran fine and absolutely no surging at a cruising speed of 60 mph. Going up the first grade I left it in cruise control for most of the way up then shifted down to 3rd and disengaged the cruise. It was obvious that i didn't have full power and there was some slight surging. Over the top and all was good. The next grade was about the same and all leveled out over the top. About 25 miles going up a slight grade with cruse engaged the engine was down shifting and RPM was over 4200 and I got a flicker from my CEL. It did not stay lit. On the way back home, I got another flicker going up a grade but no constant light. The last grade with the cruise engaged and running over 4K all at once my temp gage pegged, I got a constant CEL. My message said, "Engine over temp Power reduced". I immediately pulled over and shut things down. On opening my hood, I noted that my coolant level was fine, and the engine did not indicate it was over temp. When I got back inside and fired it up, the temp gauge read normal, and the message was gone.
Thanks
Chuck

The temp gauge pegging with loss of power sounded just like an incident I had with mine. I read somewhere that it would be ok to change out the thermostat for one rated a few degrees warmer (for more cabin heat). After putting in a non-oem stat, the exact same incident happened when going up a steep grade. Guage suddenly pegged and we were reduced to a jerky crawl. Coolant was fine. Restarted and ran fine until next grade, repeat. I eventuallly suspected the tstat. Replaced it with a new Ford tstat rated at original temp and it never happened again. That was 30 or 40 thousand miles ago. It may be a long shot but coolant thermostats are cheap and easy to replace. Hope this may help!

[waggintails]

Originally Posted by code2e

I am a retired professional mechanic with Ford experience. Having read all the posts, I am suspicious of a fuel supply issue being your trouble. I checked a few online parts catalogs I trust and they do in fact list a fuel filter for a 2015 F-53 chassis with the V-10. Search for a Wix #33243 and you will find an image to show what it looks like. I suspect you really do have a filter and it is just hard to find with all the wiring and other plumbing installed after the chassis was built by Ford. Get a good bright light and follow the fuel lines frow the tank forward along the left frame rail. If you locate it, you will need a release tool, available at most auto parts stores. The metal tools are much better than the nylon variety. I would carry the tool and a spare fuel filter in the motorhome in your travels. The fuel pressure tap is a schrader valve on one side of the fuel rails. The rails run front to back on each side of the intake manifold, each feeding 5 injectors. Schrader valve looks just like a metal tire valve stem with a cap on it. Many parts stores will loan you a pressure gauge on deposit, if you want to check fuel pressure under load. Good luck.

Thanks for the info. I have traced the lines from the tank to the throttle body. No fuel filter. I have heard they do have an external filter on some of the f-53 chassis but apparently not this one. I have been forewarned that most of them don't. Chuck

[waggintails]

Originally Posted by tedwhe

The temp gauge pegging with loss of power sounded just like an incident I had with mine. I read somewhere that it would be ok to change out the thermostat for one rated a few degrees warmer (for more cabin heat). After putting in a non-oem stat, the exact same incident happened when going up a steep grade. Guage suddenly pegged and we were reduced to a jerky crawl. Coolant was fine. Restarted and ran fine until next grade, repeat. I eventuallly suspected the tstat. Replaced it with a new Ford tstat rated at original temp and it never happened again. That was 30 or 40 thousand miles ago. It may be a long shot but coolant thermostats are cheap and easy to replace. Hope this may help!

The temp gauge pegging really did not indicate an over temp situation. I still don't know what caused it but the engine went into reduced power mode, so it sure looked like it was over temp. I had shut the engine down and checked the coolant reservoir and all was good. When I re-started the engine, the gauge had returned to normal temp, the engine reduced mode message was gone and the only indication was the CEL was lit. The engine ran fine, and I proceeded the 10 miles home without further problems. Thanks, Chuck

[waggintails]

Originally Posted by GUSRENTIT

WAGGIN, try this, you will need a flashlight, and very long and thin fingers, on the upper right hand side(passenger side) of the engine, kind of hidden by the fuel rails, on the side of the intake air horn, there is a vacuum line, it's about 1/2" dia. and maybe 5" long with a bend in it, they tend to leak(they actually get a hole on their front side on the outside of the bend), so when coasting, steady throttle, the engine pulls more vacuum, so it's less noticeable, on heavy throttle, like pulling a hill, vacuum goes very low, due to throttle plate being wide open, and it becomes more noticeable due less HP. Just get in there and pull it out and replace it, it's like $10.
Good luck! Gus

Thanks. I was going to replace all of the vacuum hoses, this one included. However, since I have an appointment next Monday with a mechanic who comes from the ford world, I am choosing to let him see if he can find the problem. He is very good at what he does. Keep your fingers crossed and thanks for the feedback. I will post the results, good or bad. Chuck

[Greg Dohm]

Very likely a bad fuel pump. It overheats under big loads and the fuel pump motor expands internally and doesn’t spin as fast as it needs to to properly supply enough fuel to your engine under heavy loads.
I went through this with my 2004 Winnebago Workhorse Chassis.
Tried new plug wires, new fuel filter, replaced 2 bad O2 Sensors.
Problem persisted under heavy loads, towing a Honda CRV, on long grades, especially in high heat.
Found a good mechanic at a repair shop for big rigs and working trucks.
He said i am quite sure it’s the fuel pump.
He was spot on. Since they dropped my tank and put in a new $565.00 fuel pump and a filter while we were at it, it’s never had same issue. A parts guy at Chevy dealer said there was a period where the fuel pumps would start acting up after some mileage.
Mine would feel like it was running out of gas
I had to pull over, wait 2 or 3 minutes, then the engine would start right up and run okay for a little bit till the pump overheated again.
When I got to level ground or downhill it would be okay.
Since my experience I have read some blogs and it appears this has happened to other trucks and motorhomes, even with the Ford V-10.
Mine first started acting up when pulling a big grade in the Western Mountains and had a quarter tank of gas. The pump is in the gas tank on purpose, to cool the pump.
In the later stages, this made no difference.
I had this problem for probably 15,000 miles total….started out slow then got progressively worse.
Hope this helps with your diagnosis.
Good luck!

[code2e]

I see no luck with fuel filter. Have to ask about checking fuel lines to "throttle body"? Maybe just choice of words, but there are no fuel lines to the throttle body. They go to the fuel rails on top and both sides of intake manifold. The rails will contain the schrader valve pressure tap and the fuel pressure regulator. Your mechanic should know how to test fuel pressure along with regulator function. Those would be my next steps in light of the pump being in the tank. There is a very remote chance that the coach builder may have provided an access hatch to the fuel pump. If you are so lucky, it would be under the bed, centered with the frame rails and the length of the tank. Worth a look in case it saves from dropping out tank. Good luck.