It’s time to move on, and we are leaving the Verde Valley Thousand Trails preserve today. Except for the often flakey Verizon internet service, this is one of our favorite campgrounds, and we love the Verde Valley region. But we’re ready for some new scenery. However, we’ll be making a trip to the shop on our way out.
A couple of weeks ago, on our way here from Boulder City, I noticed a problem in our motorhome. As we were heading down the steep hill toward the bridge over the Hoover Dam with the exhaust brake on, the check engine light blinked for a second on the Winnebago’s dashboard. It was so quick that I almost didn’t catch it, and I wasn’t sure if I actually did. The rig was running fine and it didn’t happen again so I thought it was just my imagination.
We stopped for fuel in Kingman, about 85 miles away and I walked to the back of the motorhome to check, and sure enough, the Cummins diesel engine was still there and looked to be all in one piece. Okay, I guess I did imagine it. Making the long climb from Kingman to Flagstaff, the motorhome didn’t give any indication of problems and had plenty of power, even bucking a nasty side wind.
When we turned south on Interstate 17 and made the long downhill run to Camp Verde, we had a strong headwind, and again there was no problem. But about two miles from our exit, the light flashed on and off three times. The last time it was on was the longest, maybe 5 or 10 seconds. Again, no problems, it was running fine, all gauges were in their normal zone and my Silverleaf engine monitor didn’t show a problem.
As soon we were off the road at the campground I checked the Silverleaf for fault codes and it showed Abnormal Fuel Delivery Pressure. I suspect the problem is the fuel filter, since we had the same codes a couple of years ago and that was the problem. Although, in that case, the light came on just cruising along on flat land, and the engine began to miss. This time it only happened on steep downhill grades with my foot off the accelerator and the exhaust brake on.
A few years ago when we had a problem with our MCI bus conversion, we took it to Hansen Enterprises Fleet Repair (HEFR), a good repair shop located between the campground and Interstate 17. A few days ago I stopped in to make an appointment for when we leave the Verde Valley Thousand Trails today, and Dave agreed that the filter was probably the culprit and will replace it, and also check the engine to see if there might be some other problem, just in case. We trust them and know they will treat us right, which is why they are listed in our RV Good Guys guide.
Our appointment is at 8 a.m. (an ungodly hour if ever there was one), and hopefully we’ll be in and out and back on the road before too long. We’re headed for Taylor, Arizona, a few miles north of Show Low, where we’ll spend a few days with my daughter and her family and be there for granddaughter Hailey’s birthday party on Friday. Then we’re headed south toward Mesa and Tucson for (hopefully) warmer weather.
Thought For The Day – The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool. – William Shakespeare
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Nick Russell
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Love Verde Valley and will stay there next spring on our way back to Washington. Haven’t heard about your iMacs or at least I think that is what you have. Are you still having trouble or have they been turned into anchors for the kayaks? Hope you don’t have anything wrong with the rig.
Marilu,
My iMac has the same problems it has had all along after too many trips to the Apple store to count. I’ve given up on them.
Nick, I’ve had the same problem with my Ford F350 with the Check Engine light while coasting downhill with my exhaust brake engaged. It’s happened twice and the dealer can never find a problem. Next time it happens, I’ll have the fuel filter replaced and see what happens.
hope it is a quick fix if it is something wrong, I would also say inexpensive but there is no such thing when it comes to MH. Stay safe
Nick, I hope you report on your check engine light diagnosis and fix on this blog. Many of us follow blogs not only for the entertainment but in many case’s the shared information and knowledge.
Nick if they can’t find anything more than 2 times. The way to fix the light problem is put a piece of black electrical tape over it. It worked for me, light never bothered me again!…;>) LOL