Author Topic: C9 engine light came on with lose of power  (Read 2520 times)

Tim Manninen

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C9 engine light came on with lose of power
« on: February 22, 2021, 02:55:30 AM »
Hi all,
Traveling from Santa Fe to Florida the engine light came on and we lost power. We had enough power to get over a steep bridge at the Louisiana state line. We had a rest on the other side for 30 minutes and drove about 20 mile before the light came on again. Does anyone have any ideas.
Thanks in advance,
Tim

Joel Ashley

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Re: C9 engine light came on with lose of power
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2021, 06:53:58 AM »
A number of things can send the engine into derate mode, and I’ll leave that to those here more knowledgeable. 

But one easy thing to check first is the fluid level in your radiator expansion tank.  The tank should be right of center in front of you as you open the engine hatch.  A hose leak somewhere or in the tank itself can take fluid below the tank’s sensor, seen I believe on its right side, triggering a low coolant reaction.  The plastic (Ford?) expansion tank has a history of failure. 

When our coach was months old, the tank’s hose to the radiator cracked just below the tank, and derated us on I-5.  We were ironically on our way to Monaco Harrisburg for another repair under warranty, and only needed towing maybe 20 miles.  The faulty hose turned out to not be as new as the coach... go figure.

Joel
« Last Edit: February 22, 2021, 07:00:02 AM by Joel Ashley »
Joel and Lee Rae Ashley
Clackamas, Oregon
36.9 ft. 2006 Monterey Ventura IV, aka"Monty Rae"
C9 400HP Cat

Gene Obie

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Re: C9 engine light came on with lose of power
« Reply #2 on: February 22, 2021, 10:34:50 AM »
You might check this posting for procedure to pull fault codes. Not sure whether you'll get anything if light is currently off.
https://beaveramb.org/forum/index.php/topic,10101.msg68805.html#msg68805
-Gene

2005 Beaver Marquis, Ruby 40, C-13 Cat 525HP, Allison 4k
Towing 2018 F-150
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Steve Huber Co-Admin

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Re: C9 engine light came on with lose of power
« Reply #3 on: February 22, 2021, 04:02:51 PM »
Tim,
Joel may be on the right track re engine overheating since it took about 20 mile to re-occur after a stop. Check your coolant level and Watch your engine temperature on the Aladdin or Silverleaf.
Steve
Steve
2015-          07 Contessa Bayshore C9,  400 hp
2013-2015: 00 Marquis Tourmaline, C12, 425 hp
2005-2013: 01 Contessa Naples, 3126B, 330 hp

Eric Maclean

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Re: C9 engine light came on with lose of power
« Reply #4 on: February 22, 2021, 04:22:04 PM »
Tim
As Gene said if you can get it to set the light before shutting it down use the cruise switches to pull a fault code .
The fault code should give you direction or insight into where the problem is.
Eric
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Dave Atherton

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Re: C9 engine light came on with lose of power
« Reply #5 on: February 22, 2021, 05:41:51 PM »
Gentlemen, this is a very common problem and if A person would connect to caterpillar ET data
port you would have the following event codes. First event code 173-00 high exhaust gas temperature
derate. Than the second event code 173-11 very high exhaust gas temperature derate. This may
surprise several. The engine will only be debated to a level that will allow the exhaust temperature
to be lowered to an acceptable level. Talk with operator note: no repair to the engine is necessary.
A. Determine the conditions which cause the diagnostic code. Expected results: the engine was run under heavy loads and/or climbing steep hills. The following engine control module ECM calculate
the exhaust temperature from inputs from the following sensors. Atmosphere Pressure Sensor,
Inlet air temperature Sensor, Engine speed/timing sensor.  Last the same conditions relate to event
Code 173-11 also. Talk to operator no repair to engine is necessary.
Dave Atherton Retired Cat Mechanic
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Tim Manninen

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Re: C9 engine light came on with lose of power
« Reply #6 on: February 23, 2021, 02:22:11 PM »
Hi All and thanks for all the imput. We drove to Louisiana Cat in Lafayette with no engine light on. ET port was hooked up and showed a bad engine oil pressure sensor. He replaced that and good to go.
I had checked the oil and coolant which was OK. Speaking of the coolant I find it very difficult to see into the expansion tank and have to use a dipstick. Does anyone have a good replacement for the expansion tank?
Thanks again for all the replies,
Tim

David T. Richelderfer

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Re: C9 engine light came on with lose of power
« Reply #7 on: February 23, 2021, 07:02:43 PM »
Tim - plastic expansion tank?  This might work for you.  I did this to ours.

http://beaveramb.org/forum/index.php/topic,4768.msg35696.html#msg35696
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I had a dream... then I lived it!

Joel Ashley

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Re: C9 engine light came on with lose of power
« Reply #8 on: February 23, 2021, 07:22:25 PM »
Beaver Coach makes a metal tank to replace it, but it’s no small amount of change.  If the tank itself isn’t leaking, Tim Marcocchio’s adaptation that David refers to would be your best choice.

Joel
Joel and Lee Rae Ashley
Clackamas, Oregon
36.9 ft. 2006 Monterey Ventura IV, aka"Monty Rae"
C9 400HP Cat

Steve Huber Co-Admin

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Re: C9 engine light came on with lose of power
« Reply #9 on: February 23, 2021, 08:55:10 PM »
Tim,
The C9 plastic expansion tanks will start to leak at some point. Weak spots include the weld at the filler neck to tank body and the 2 small hose ports on the back of the tank. IMHO, go with a metal one as soon as practical. David's suggested modification to allow viewing of the coolant level is novel, but his C12 runs considerably cooler that your C9 so the thermal stress on the plastic is less. See issue I had w/ my C9 tank.  https://beaveramb.org/forum/index.php/topic,5963.msg44413.html#msg44413
Steve
Steve
2015-          07 Contessa Bayshore C9,  400 hp
2013-2015: 00 Marquis Tourmaline, C12, 425 hp
2005-2013: 01 Contessa Naples, 3126B, 330 hp