[ccjohnson]

Hoosier,
We went through a period where we would get "low coolant / high voltage" alarms on the DDECII. It would simultaneously show CE & SE lights. Engine would shut down in 30 secs if I did not hit the "over-ride" switch on the dash. Coolant level itself was never low. Replaced the sensor, no change. After a few months of sporadic occurrence while driving I finally got the root cause fixed. It turned out that we had both house batteries with 1 or more bad cells. The problem was slow to manifest itself because we never boondock on only house battery power. If not on shore power the genny is almost always running. Xantrex charger is on all the time and battery banks auto merge while driving. When we replaced bad house batteries the problem quit until we had one engine battery develop a bad cell. Replaced both engine batteries and have no more issues with it. My theory is that when alternator & Xantrex tried to compensate for the bad cells, voltage would get instantaneously wonky going to the DDECII on occasion. Hopefully you problem is as easy to fix. I would continuous ly use the vmspc to clear codes but they would show back up at S&S shop when getting coach serviced. They would remain gone after they deleted them.

[HoosierDaddy]

I've checked and cleaned all the wire connections in the low coolant circuit. I am getting good voltage at the power supply to the ECM. I have ordered a new low coolant module and sensor. they should arrive Monday. Can I expect it to reset if the new parts correct the problem or is there a reset procedure once a code has been set?

[Hotrodhornet]

I had that code come up due to a wiring problem. Once the wiring was fixed it ran fine.

[jimg]

On early DDEC you could hold or hit the override switch to check codes. Lets say the check engine light blinks 3 times and then it stops then blinks 2 more times. That indicates inactive code 32. If the stop engine light blinks a code that is an active code which will shut the engine down.

Check engine light blinks is an inactive code.
Stop engine light blinks is an active code.

If you lose count you can start over after it quits blinking.

[HoosierDaddy]

That is interesting jimg... My Newell doesn't have an override switch. When I jumpered the OBD plug the check engine light flashed the code 16 (low coolant). That makes me wonder whether that is the problem or not.., since it didn't flash the stop engine light.

[Fulltiming]

That is interesting that yours doesn't have the override switch. All the early 1990's Newells I have seen with the 8V92 had the override switch.

[HoosierDaddy]

Yes. You guys are right ... I found it .... it’s below the dump switch. I’ve never had to use either of them so couldn’t remember seeing it when I posted last night.
So. The override doesn’t affect the engines inability to go over 1000 rpm. ...

[Richard]

Dean,

Did you get this fixed?

[HoosierDaddy]

Well I think we've found the problem. I planned to do a follow-up when I actually had it running properly. I found an old mechanic who had the computer to hook up to the diagnostic port. He came to my shop and checked all the electronic side of the system. There were a couple inactive codes but nothing current. He then checked the fuel pressure and found it to be low.  At that point he diagnosed bad fuel pump and went back to the shop. I ordered a new pump. When he came back the next week after having time to think about it he tried hooking a short hose from the primary fuel filter inlet into a 5 gallon can of diesel. It ran great. At that point the fuel line was suspect. He looked at my old fuel filters that I had saved when this problem started and found them to be clean. He wanted to get it in his shop if the fuel line needed to be changed. The next week I rigged a garden hose down the side of the Newell from the primary filter inlet to the fuel tank and drove it to his shop.
When they took the fuel lines loose at the front they found black chunks of rubber in the inlet of the check valve. They appeared to be what is cut from inside the hose when the hose fittings were pressed on the hose end. Apparently after 26 years those chunks had broke loose and lodged there limiting the fuel flow. He thought I should get a new check valve so I spent a day running all over Northern Indiana going to bus company's and parts houses who thought they had the right one to no avail. I decided to disassemble and clean the check valve and it worked perfectly in my bench test ( I set it on end and filled it with fuel to assure the ball was sealing in the seat by observing leak down). The mechanic prefers to install a new one and for $70 I am not going to argue. So I'm waiting on a check valve from Newell to arrive next week. The inside of the fuel hose looks fine otherwise so we are not planning to change it at this time.

[ccjohnson]

For what it's worth, I had the same issue kinda on a rig engine several years ago. It ended up being a honey bee that got into the fuel tank. Whenever engine died from fuel starvation the bee would drift away from the intake and things would run fine for awhile. Finally it got sucked far enough into check valve that we were able to find it. Was a major PITA intermittent problem for about a week.