Engine stalling while driving

Pickerid · 06-07-2023, 05:21 PM

Hi - we are relatively new to the Class A Motorhome owners group and have a 2004 Adventurer 33V (which we love!). However, it has been misbehaving as it will stall on us as we are driving. We will coast to the side of the road, give it a couple of minutes and then go again.

Speaking with mechanic friends, we have changed the fuel pump and filter. Still acting up. We know that the spark plugs and wires were changed prior to us purchasing it. We think it may have been acting up for the previous owner and the last overhaul they had done on it was to see if the issue could be found.

My husband is very mechanically inclined and can fix everything. We are just running out of ideas as to what could be causing this.

If anyone has run into this or has any thoughts as to the cause, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much. Keep safe and happy camping!

Reta

**Eagle5** · 06-07-2023, 09:19 PM

Hi Reta,
So you say the last owner did do an overhaul on the engine? One of the problems with the 2004 V-10 was with too-few spark plug threads. The engines can literally blow-out a spark plug! Do you know if you have the upgraded heads?
When you crank the engine to start, does it crank smoothly, or with an irregularity? If it does crank with a "lump," then you have poor compression on a cylinder. Barring that issue, you must get the error codes from the computer. It may be something as simple as a throttle position sensor, and the codes should tell you that.
Thanks, Eagle5

Pickerid · 06-07-2023, 10:18 PM

Thank you Eagle5 for the suggestions. Our engine is the Workhorse 8.1 so not sure if the same thing applies to it or not, but we will see if there are any codes. Appreciate your time and response. Take care.

**Eagle5** · 06-07-2023, 10:21 PM

Glad to hear that you have the optional GM drivetrain. For those years, I think it was the more reliable of the two.
Thanks, Eagle5

kamphiker2 · 06-14-2023, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pickerid

Hi - we are relatively new to the Class A Motorhome owners group and have a 2004 Adventurer 33V (which we love!). However, it has been misbehaving as it will stall on us as we are driving. We will coast to the side of the road, give it a couple of minutes and then go again.

Speaking with mechanic friends, we have changed the fuel pump and filter. Still acting up. We know that the spark plugs and wires were changed prior to us purchasing it. We think it may have been acting up for the previous owner and the last overhaul they had done on it was to see if the issue could be found.

My husband is very mechanically inclined and can fix everything. We are just running out of ideas as to what could be causing this.

If anyone has run into this or has any thoughts as to the cause, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much. Keep safe and happy camping!

Reta

Have you connected a code scanner to the OBDII port and pulled codes ? Codes will give you the issues. Most Auto parts stores will can for free and give you the codes.

Are you getting any "Check engine lights" on the dash cluster ?

Not that my issue is the same as yours, I start4ed having issues with stalling and getting the "Yellow Wrench" on the dash. My Basic scanner DID NOT give me any codes but when I hooked up my Laptop with a better scanner (Forscan) it said I was having faults in the Throttle body / Throttle position sensor.

I replaced the complete throttle body (That included the position sensor) and it solved my issue PLUS smoother idle and slightly better fuel millage over the last 5K miles.

Don't throw parts at the issue you need to pull the codes to pinpoint the issue.

crm2525 · 06-15-2023, 09:02 AM

Camshaft sensor, top of engine at the rear.
This was a known issue. Good luck!

bigb · 06-15-2023, 09:59 AM

It's important to use a scanner that not only retrieves trouble codes but freeze frame data as well. If you rely on codes alone many times it will lead to replacing good parts that were condemned when they were just reporting what info the were receiving which was out of range due to an underlying issue.

Jim_HiTek · 06-15-2023, 11:39 AM

You should have husband check the p/n's and condition of the spark plug wires to be sure they are new and I understand that they need to be a special high temp wire otherwise the problem repeats soon after install. Seems there's one or more wires routed too near a hot engine item that's the cause of many issues. That should be an easy thing to check. Just to make sure some cheap after market spark plug wires weren't used.

**creativepart** · 06-15-2023, 02:08 PM

While it's never easy to figure these things out... it's just a standard internal combustion engine. So, there are a limited number of things that could cause this.

Check the workhorse forum at irv2.com for more help. https://www.irv2.com/forums/f22/

Good luck.

Bobn1957 · 06-15-2023, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pickerid

Hi - we are relatively new to the Class A Motorhome owners group and have a 2004 Adventurer 33V (which we love!). However, it has been misbehaving as it will stall on us as we are driving. We will coast to the side of the road, give it a couple of minutes and then go again.

Speaking with mechanic friends, we have changed the fuel pump and filter. Still acting up. We know that the spark plugs and wires were changed prior to us purchasing it. We think it may have been acting up for the previous owner and the last overhaul they had done on it was to see if the issue could be found.

My husband is very mechanically inclined and can fix everything. We are just running out of ideas as to what could be causing this.

If anyone has run into this or has any thoughts as to the cause, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much. Keep safe and happy camping!

Reta

If the coach restarts after a few minutes it is likely a sensor that is failing when it is hot and heals when cool, I'm not familiar with the 8.1 engine, but I would start with replacing the easiest accessible sensor and that likely is the camshaft sensor, I would replace the crankshaft sensor if there is one as well! These sensors don't always set a code because the engine needs the feedback to start.

Ted Fyden · 06-17-2023, 06:56 AM

I know it's nowhere near the same thing but i had a 1979 Ford F150 that would do that exact thing. old timer told me it was the brain. i said no way it has to be fuel. as one of the othe other posters mentioned when it got hot i would sit on the side of the road and i would go again when it cooled down. i started carrying an extra electronic ignition module with me. in that particular vehicle it worked

Ray,IN · 06-17-2023, 08:14 PM

Does the engine stall only when the fuel tank is low, and the engine is hot? I could be the electric fuel pump in the fuel tank; and that should throw a code about low fuel pressure.