Archived won't start - cold weather

[JAlford]

My Dad is camped at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and it is snowing. He tried to crank his 1995 Fleetwood motorhome (has 12V Cummins) today, and it started and then ran rough and quit. He hasn't been able to get it started again. They are at 8K elevation, and had bought #2 diesel on the way across the desert. He is checking the solenoid, and will try to find a place to get a filter, but the filter is fairly recent, changed right before they left GA and so has 5K miles on it.



Any ideas where to start troubleshooting? the engine will turn over, but runs the batteries down fast (they may be weak)



Thanks,

Jeff Alford

 

[Sticks]

1 tank of bad fuel will trash a filter. No guarntees that the filter is OK.

He might have a fuel leak that is letting the system bleed down. Have him crack open the return line on the injection pump and work the primer pump like a madman. Once he get's good fuel, then go through the regular bleeding of the air from the injectors. Hopefully he has enough battery or someone to jump start.

If the engine has the combo fuel heater/primer pump, have him disconnect the wire harness going to the heater [at the heater] If it's wet, that is the source of his fuel leak and will need replaced once he gets home or to a shop.

The rubber return line that runs along the underside of the intake ledge is another common source, but harder to spot unless you can pressurize the fuel tank.

 

[Hoefler]

I just returned from the South Rim and Vegas area 2 weeks ago, I found a load of fuel that was extremely dirty ( lots of rust ). The filters on my transfer system caught it and plugged up, couldn't transfer enough fuel to keep up with the engine.

 

[JAlford]

Thanks for the ideas - I will have him check the fuel lines and flow.

He is going to try to find a filter today, but the nearest town (Page) is 60miles. Temps are suppose to get up to 40 F today, so should help if freezing was the problem.

Jeff

 

[JAlford]

Thank you to all who posted, he was able to get it cranked today and they are on their way to get a new filter. He did not find any leaks, only removed and backflushed the filter, then had to bleed the system. Must have gotten bad fuel, which means that he has almost 90 gallons of it on board.

He will be carrying a spare filter with him from now on. (so will I) I plan to help him install a fuel pressure gauge when he gets back like I have on my trucks so in the future he can see what is going on.

Thanks again, TDR saves the day once more. He was looking at a 300 mile roadside assist callout, so well worth the cost of membership.

Jeff