Stuck in Van Horn, TX

[erniecarpet@...]

Julie- do you guys have Coach-net ERS? From what I understand they know
about our big rigs.

Ernie Ekberg
83PT40
Weatherford, tx



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Julia Bonser]

We have been having problems with our Bluebird since Iowa. The turbo
boost won't. The problem has been intermittent if we waited awhile
then she would drive fine. We stopped in Oklahoma City and had them
change the oil and filters and they said that was the problem. We
stopped in Duncan to have Ralph to some work on our coach and then
were going to Irving, TX to have a shop there check the axle seals
and install new front shocks.

We lost the turbo boost just as we were getting on the interstate at
Gainesville so I pulled off immediately as the check transmission
light came on. I pushed the check transmission button and got code
21. After some time we started up again and it ran fine. It acted up
again just before we got off the freeway for the shop and it limped
into the parking lot. They checked it out and said it was faulty
ground and cleaned all the corrosion off the chassis batteries and
all of the ground connections and the other connections all the way
to the front of the coach where the translator device is located.
Test drove it and said the problem is fixed.

We left Saturday morning and made it to Pecos on Sunday. We stayed
there until Tuesday and 30 miles south of Pecos we again lost power.
Dick phoned the shop in Irvine and he walked us through clearing the
code and we started up again and just past Van Horn we had the same
problem. We wound up on the roadside half on an exit ramp from the
scenic overlook. We phoned our ERS and the person they contacted kept
stalling about coming out to assess the problem. Finally as we were
yet again on the phone to the ERS a tow driver stopped because the
sheriff asked him to see if he could help. We started up the engine
and it ran again so we went down hill into Van Horn and are parked
in the lot of the tow truck driver. He says our problem is the
transmission filters. Dick checked with the Allison shop in Irving
and they said that didn't sound right to them.

So we are going to find a campground and phone the Detroit Diesel/
Allison people in El Paso who have mobile service to find out if they
can come check our rig out.

I hope we can get someone to figure out what the problem is instead
of paying everyone down the highway money to figure it out.



Julie Bonser
1992 WLWB PT 40'

[g_man1146]

Hi Julie,

When you say; "The turbo boost won't." I assume that you are loosing
power. Detroit Diesel Electronic Controls (DDEC) will automatically
cut engine power for many reasons including overheating, etc. If you
are getting a repeating engine or transmission warning light, the
cause of that may also be causing the DDEC to cut engine power. A
Detroit/ Allison shop should be able to read the code and determine
the cause. Perhaps those more knowledgeable will jump in here to add
to this.

Rich D. '99LXi43' CT


--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Julia Bonser
wrote:
>
>
> We have been having problems with our Bluebird since Iowa. The
turbo
> boost won't. The problem has been intermittent if we waited
awhile
> then she would drive fine. We stopped in Oklahoma City and had
them
> change the oil and filters and they said that was the problem. We
> stopped in Duncan to have Ralph to some work on our coach and
then
> were going to Irving, TX to have a shop there check the axle
seals
> and install new front shocks.
>
> We lost the turbo boost just as we were getting on the interstate
at
> Gainesville so I pulled off immediately as the check transmission
> light came on. I pushed the check transmission button and got
code
> 21. After some time we started up again and it ran fine. It acted
up
> again just before we got off the freeway for the shop and it
limped
> into the parking lot. They checked it out and said it was faulty
> ground and cleaned all the corrosion off the chassis batteries
and
> all of the ground connections and the other connections all the
way
> to the front of the coach where the translator device is located.
> Test drove it and said the problem is fixed.
>
> We left Saturday morning and made it to Pecos on Sunday. We
stayed
> there until Tuesday and 30 miles south of Pecos we again lost
power.
> Dick phoned the shop in Irvine and he walked us through clearing
the
> code and we started up again and just past Van Horn we had the
same
> problem. We wound up on the roadside half on an exit ramp from
the
> scenic overlook. We phoned our ERS and the person they contacted
kept
> stalling about coming out to assess the problem. Finally as we
were
> yet again on the phone to the ERS a tow driver stopped because
the
> sheriff asked him to see if he could help. We started up the
engine
> and it ran again so we went down hill into Van Horn and are
parked
> in the lot of the tow truck driver. He says our problem is the
> transmission filters. Dick checked with the Allison shop in
Irving
> and they said that didn't sound right to them.
>
> So we are going to find a campground and phone the Detroit Diesel/
> Allison people in El Paso who have mobile service to find out if
they
> can come check our rig out.
>
> I hope we can get someone to figure out what the problem is
instead
> of paying everyone down the highway money to figure it out.
>
>
>
> Julie Bonser
> 1992 WLWB PT 40'
>

[erniecarpet@...]

Julie- am glad that you have some competent folks coming to your assistance.


Ernie Ekberg
83PT40
Weatherford, tx



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Julia Bonser]

We have Camping World ERS which does know about big rigs except they
claimed there were qualified people in Van Horn to evaluate the
problem. So Camping World did not want to pay the tow to El Paso. We
phoned our insurer Foremost because we have emergency coverage with
them. They did not quibble and a big tow rig is on its way to us now.
Stuart and Stevenson in El Paso said they would want to test drive it
with their laptop hooked up to the DDEC. They are both a Detroit
Diesel and an Allison shop so I hope they will be able to find the
problem.


Julie Bonser
1992 WLWB PT 40'



On Dec 6, 2006, at 12:14 PM, erniecarpet@... wrote:

> Julie- do you guys have Coach-net ERS? From what I understand they
> know
> about our big rigs.
>
> Ernie Ekberg
> 83PT40
> Weatherford, tx

[Pete Masterson]

If you can find the DD booklet in your blue box, it gives
instructions on how to read the engine codes and has a table with the
code meanings. Likewise, the Allison book should have instructions on
retrieving the transmission codes along with their meanings. It's a
start on understanding what's going on.

Hint: Have a notepad handy so you can note down the codes as they're
signaled (you count light flashes). You will need to be able to give
full attention to the flashing lights, so set yourself up to write
without needing to look at the paper. Don't write all over the dash
board (as I did when the note pad slipped).

Pete Masterson
aeonix1@...
'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42'
El Sobrante, CA




On Dec 6, 2006, at 10:12 AM, g_man1146 wrote:

> Hi Julie,
>
> When you say; "The turbo boost won't." I assume that you are loosing
> power. Detroit Diesel Electronic Controls (DDEC) will automatically
> cut engine power for many reasons including overheating, etc. If you
> are getting a repeating engine or transmission warning light, the
> cause of that may also be causing the DDEC to cut engine power. A
> Detroit/ Allison shop should be able to read the code and determine
> the cause. Perhaps those more knowledgeable will jump in here to add
> to this.
>
> Rich D. '99LXi43' CT



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Leroy Eckert]

I hope they know to remove the drive shaft before towing.

Leroy Eckert
1990 WB-40 "Smoke N Mirrors"
Niceville, FL





----- Original Message -----
From: erniecarpet@...
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2006 7:34 PM
Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] Stuck in Van Horn, TX


Julie- am glad that you have some competent folks coming to your assistance.


Ernie Ekberg
83PT40
Weatherford, tx

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Julia Bonser]

Thanks for the hint. My navigator wrote down the code from the test
transmission. We were not getting any codes from the engine. All
systems looked normal. What is frustrating is we had an Allison
dealer troubleshoot this issue and we still wind up on the side of
the road.

Julie Bonser
1992 WLWB PT 40'
parking lot of Stewart & Stevenson El Paso, TX


On Dec 6, 2006, at 7:34 PM, Pete Masterson wrote:

> If you can find the DD booklet in your blue box, it gives
> instructions on how to read the engine codes and has a table with the
> code meanings. Likewise, the Allison book should have instructions on
> retrieving the transmission codes along with their meanings. It's a
> start on understanding what's going on.
>
> Hint: Have a notepad handy so you can note down the codes as they're
> signaled (you count light flashes). You will need to be able to give
> full attention to the flashing lights, so set yourself up to write
> without needing to look at the paper. Don't write all over the dash
> board (as I did when the note pad slipped).

[Julia Bonser]

Yes he knew and we knew also. He did a fine job. Two hour tow from
Van Horn to El Paso. Now it is the wait for service. At least we are
not in the back of the beyond any more.

Julie Bonser
1992 WLWB PT 40'



On Dec 6, 2006, at 9:19 PM, Leroy Eckert wrote:

> I hope they know to remove the drive shaft before towing.
>
> Leroy Eckert
> 1990 WB-40 "Smoke N Mirrors"
> Niceville, FL
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: erniecarpet@...
> To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2006 7:34 PM
> Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] Stuck in Van Horn, TX
>
>
> Julie- am glad that you have some competent folks coming to your
> assistance.
>
>
> Ernie Ekberg
> 83PT40
> Weatherford, tx
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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