Stalled C7 ... Restarted

[skigramp]

I had a strange thing happen today.

EVENT:

We were travelling across Utah on highway 12 ... we stopped at one of the overlooks to enjoy the scenery ... (I had shut off the engine while we stopped) ... the engine started normally ... I put it in drive and we moved ahead ... when I started to accelerate the engine just shut down right in the lane of traffic .... I shifted to Neutral and pulled the brake ... I waited about 10 seconds and turned the key ... the engine started ... I shifted into drive ... it ran normally for the remainder of the afternoon

When I got to the RV Park I shut it off while I registered ... it started and ran normally while I parked

BACKGROUND:

1)I filled with fuel in Las Vegas and topped off the tanks in St. George, UT probably about 250 miles ago

2)I have a 2004 Winnebago Journey with a CAT C7 engine

3) I changed the fuel filter about 8000 miles ago

QUESTIONS:

1) What do you think happened?

2) What should I do to prevent the same thing from occurring again?

Thanks for your help guys and gals

[skigramp]

I had a strange thing happen today.

EVENT:

We were travelling across Utah on highway 12 ... we stopped at one of the overlooks to enjoy the scenery ... (I had shut off the engine while we stopped) ... the engine started normally ... I put it in drive and we moved ahead ... when I started to accelerate the engine just shut down right in the lane of traffic .... I shifted to Neutral and pulled the brake ... I waited about 10 seconds and turned the key ... the engine started ... I shifted into drive ... it ran normally for the remainder of the afternoon

When I got to the RV Park I shut it off while I registered ... it started and ran normally while I parked

BACKGROUND:

1)I filled with fuel in Las Vegas and topped off the tanks in St. George, UT probably about 250 miles ago

2)I have a 2004 Winnebago Journey with a CAT C7 engine

3) I changed the fuel filter about 8000 miles ago

QUESTIONS:

1) What do you think happened?

2) What should I do to prevent the same thing from occurring again?

Thanks for your help guys and gals

[Eric Hennen]

I also have the CAT 350, 2005 Meridian. I had been traveling about 100 miles on the interstate, when we stopped at a toll booth. We started to accelerate from the booth, and the engine lost power. I presume it went into limp mode. I pulled to the side, shut the engine off. A couple minutes later, I started the engine, and it was fine. It has never happened again.

[KE0M]

Hi SkiGramp - I've read several of your previous posts and know you are an experienced RVer. I also have an 04 Journey. My best guess is engine temperature. You already know that your engine temperature rises dramatically as soon as you turn it off. Many of us let the engine idle for a couple of minutes before shutdown and let the cooling system work without any load so as to avoid re-starting problems when it is hot. Just a thought.
Best regards,
Larry

[gunny]

Stop by a Cat dealer and have him (them) plug the computer in and look at the fault codes, should be something there.

KE0M might have the answer, could happen.

Let us know if they find anything.

[vicsryd]

To build on Larry's comments...

Any turbocharged engine, diesel or gas should should left to idle for several minutes after having been run with boost for any length of time (always the case on a diesel). The heat soak/transfer from the turbo will raise the engine compartment temperature a lot in a couple of minutes with no air flowing from the cooling fan.

Additionally, the turbo is lubed with engine oil. If you shut the engine down before the turbo has a chance to cool down the high temps will coke the oil and can lead to premature bearing failure.

My rule of thumb is to idle for at least 5 minutes before shutting down, even for a fuel stop. If the stop is short (rest stop, view point, etc.) then I don't shut down.

Another good idea with diesels is when you are idling or warming up is to set fast idle (800-1000 rpm) if possible. On the Freightliner's chassis with SmartWheel option this is done by turning on the cruise control and then pressing Set and Resume simultaneously twice holding down the second time until the desired idle speed is set.

[Okie]

Ski,,,in the Horizon we had previously, with the cat engine,,,,I experienced the same thing,,,took it to cat and they reprogrammed the engine with a laptop,,,never had the problem again...