General Boards > Technical Support
Motor shuts off while driving
Carl Boger:
Fred,
I have had a similar issue where the coach power would occasionally disappear. Play with the key and everything would eventually power back on. I ended up unplugging the main harness behind the electrical bay and cleaning the pins on both sides with spray electrical contact cleaner, soft brushes and mig tip cleaning rods. I used dielectric grease to help seal up both both haves and plugged the harness back together. That has fixed my electrical gremlins for several years now.
I also bought a spare ignition cylinder to carry as a spare. I have several keys to the old ignition switch so I won't swap it out until it starts failing if it ever does. The ignitions are known to fail, or be temperamental all the way back to their use in Chevy's. Wiggling them to the exact spot it fails would be hard to do. Changing them out is easy just carry a paperclip. I also have a spare door entry lock/latch since it is also known to fail. If I every can't get in I will be grabbing a drill and drilling it out.
Hopefully this will help you some.
Fred Cook:
--- Quote from: Carl Boger on January 27, 2026, 12:06:33 AM ---Fred,
I have had a similar issue where the coach power would occasionally disappear. Play with the key and everything would eventually power back on. I ended up unplugging the main harness behind the electrical bay and cleaning the pins on both sides with spray electrical contact cleaner, soft brushes and mig tip cleaning rods. I used dielectric grease to help seal up both both haves and plugged the harness back together. That has fixed my electrical gremlins for several years now.
I also bought a spare ignition cylinder to carry as a spare. I have several keys to the old ignition switch so I won't swap it out until it starts failing if it ever does. The ignitions are known to fail, or be temperamental all the way back to their use in Chevy's. Wiggling them to the exact spot it fails would be hard to do. Changing them out is easy just carry a paperclip. I also have a spare door entry lock/latch since it is also known to fail. If I every can't get in I will be grabbing a drill and drilling it out.
Hopefully this will help you some.
--- End quote ---
Thank you for providing your experience. I switched out the ignition switch this morning and the old one looked pretty much worn out. Won’t know if this is my problem until I get on the road in a couple of weeks to Dallas. I have a few people on other forms telling me they had the same problem with their motor shutting down and it turned out being a fuel pump relay in one case and an ignition relay in another situation. Others suggested tightening battery terminals, and check for loose ground wires. Very difficult to determine what’s going on here. I am trying to cover all bases before going on our trip. Very frustrating.
Frank Bergamo:
I believe your fuel pump is mechanical. You can cross that one off your list.
Fred Cook:
--- Quote from: Frank Bergamo on January 27, 2026, 09:44:26 PM ---I believe your fuel pump is mechanical. You can cross that one off your list.
--- End quote ---
The 2008 Caterpillar C13 engine does not use a traditional mechanical fuel pump. Instead, it is equipped with an electronic fuel system that utilizes a unit injection system.
Frank Bergamo:
Here is your fuel pump. https://atldiesel.com/products/3848611-caterpillar-c13-fuel-supply-pump-new?srsltid=AfmBOooa4R0psbYA3IoHRvApOTc_ZiwDow3iTbf99cD-O-NTpT3-gWa3
On my C-15, it is located inside the engine compartment down and to the right on the engine block. Yours should be similar.
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