1
Turbo”s still need to breathe! I don’t know really know if I got any more mileage, or power. I don’t ever do the mileage. I know on my Duramax pickups, when the filter is plugged it shows on the restriction gauge, usually halfway. Once changed I usually get more feel in the pedal and better mileage.
It does not come up the restriction gauge like it was with the cellulose filter.
I think that if it’s not creating a suction hard enough to bring the restriction gauge up, the engine has enough air? And that is good.. As soon as that gauge is coming up with a new filter....it is being starved to a vacuum and restriction is never good. I wonder if it would help the C-13?.... mine is only a C-12, and you are right about 90 degree curves, and piping increase would be good.
2
And since the C-13 is turbocharged, doesn't this negate any air starving issues (within reason)? The turbo also eliminates loss of power at altitude, as I understand it.
3
Had the same symptom this summer in Canada - was the alternator.
4
Jeff, with coach running, check the voltage on the two big terminals of the Big Boy, if working properly, they should be the same or close to it. Looking at the Big Boy, the big terminal on the left comes from the alternator, the one on right from the house batteries. If voltage is not the same, start the coach, check the left big terminal. It should be in the 14 volt range. If it is, the chassis batteries should be charging, the alternator is working properly. Then, turn ignition off and start generator. Now check the big terminal on the right, it should be in the 13.8 volt range. If it is the house batteries should be charging. By doing this it will isolate the alternator vs. the generator charging systems. If you are not getting the proper readings on each side of the Big Boy, the Big Boy or the circuit board that the Big Boy is connected to are the problem. Here is a link that will help you. http://beaveramb.org/forum/index.php/topic,7961.msg55211.html#msg55211 Just went thru this with my coach, by cleaning the terminals inside the Big Boy, system started working properly. Hope this helps.
5
If the inverter/charger using either shore power or generator power is charging both the house and chassis batteries okay, then my guess is the Big Boy/BIRD is working okay (at least in one direction).
Thus, my guess is the engine's alternator is not getting power to the chassis batteries. We had to replace our alternator several years ago after starting the engine with the six house batteries low. Between charging the chassis batteries and the house batteries, it's too much demand for the alternator. The alternator overheats and blows a diode.
6
Also...
Bends in the piping will significantly reduce airflow... especially 90 degree bends. If space is available for two back-to-back 45 degree turns which results in a long sweeping turn as opposed to a shorter and sharper turn, then the airflow will not be as badly restricted.
7
« Last post by Jeff Watt on April 20, 2019, 11:40:31 PM »
On my way home from Texas, I noticed my house batteries were not being charged while driving, i.e. being drawn down. As I have a residential fridge the inverter is on while driving. In the past, the alternator would keep the batteries charged even with the draw of the fridge and some other things including charging the battery on my TOAD (Explorer) - I ran 12v power to it from house rather than chassis.
No problem charging batteries when parked on shore power (batteries fully charged when leaving in morning) or when using the genset. Was seeing (on the Alladin) a fairly consistent draw between 14-26amp discharge while driving - which seems higher than it should be. Consequently, to avoid drawing them down too much and to ensure the TOAD battery was being charged, I used the genset.
Is this a problem with the BigBoy or the BIRD units? Or something else. I tried using the battery combiner switch a couple of mornings but nothing changed. On an aside, doing so didn't seem to help starting. Maybe its bad as well.
Thanks
Jeff
8
Bill,
Air flow is a relatively straight forward calculation. Calculate the cross-sectional area of the input to the air filter. As long as all other tubing and intake vents have that or greater cross sectional area, you don't have any restrictions. Increasing the pipe size beyond this won't help much, IMHO.
Steve
9
« Last post by Bill Lampkin on April 20, 2019, 10:53:42 PM »
On my '05 Patriot (C-13), my filter minder never gets lower than midway in its range, even w/a new filter. Filter minder will reset to zero when pressed, so I know its working. I would love to see less restriction on the intake to my Big Cat.
A while back, a fellow member of this group from Manitoba (I believe) swapped his intake piping from 5" dia to 7" as used on the C-15. Big improvement, he said. Now my question; On the electronically controlled Cats, like my C-13, aren't all the fuel parameters set by the computer? If so, won't the various sensor readings 'compensate' for any non-significant intake restriction and will still set the fuel flow to the correct (stoichiometric) ratio? So what is to gain by reducing inlet restriction? Less restriction is better, understood, but will this result in a measurable mileage gain, cooler temps or??
Just pondering, and Happy Easter!
10
« Last post by Mike Shumack on April 20, 2019, 06:00:53 PM »
Thanks for the update.
On my next filter change, I'll do the "Blue" filter and switch from my current 11" filter to the larger (13" diameter used on the Marquis) filter. Looks like I only need to get the larger mounting brackets to make the swap.
| |
Recent Posts