vanwill52

Thanks, JD!

My experience may be anecdotal, but I expected my tach signal to come from the ECM ouput labeled "Tach Ouput". On my coach IT DOES NOT. IT COMES FROM THE ALTERNATOR, CRAZY AS THAT SOUNDS. Disconnect the alternator "tach" ouput and your tach goes dead.

Nope, not you. Always try to be compassionate and helpful, not condescending and sarcastic. That is what this forum is for. if you can help, do so. If your primary contribution is to tell the person asking for help that they are an idiot, keep your opinions to yourself. My knowledge has grown over the years. I try to help those who haven't encountered what I have. I don't tell them they are idiots.

NO, it was not directed at you...not at all. I don't even know you. It is just that compassion trumps condescencion every time. Too often lately our forum has taken to criticizing folks instead of trying to help them, or at least be compassionate in their loss. When someone loses their motorhome, even if the result of poor judgement, that is not the time to "pile on" and make them feel worse.

Myron, YOU are our 12VDC guru. You need to give a seminar at the Gathering. You have been a great help to me over the years and I thought I was "pretty smart" about 12VDC, but you are a near-genius!

There will always be snarky comments from a short list of members. On our forum they come primarily from two members, one of whom does not even own a motor home, although he is an INVALUABLE source of information. If you have Faith, and are capable of compassion, then condescension and sarcasm should never show in your posts. Whoever suffered this huge loss deserves our sympathy and our prayers, NOT our judgement. No matter how intelligent you might think yourself to be, and no matter how much motor home experience you have, someday a calamity may befall you. In YOUR mind, it might have been a momentary lapse of judgement. How would you like dozens of self-proclaimed "experts" jump in to tell you that you are an idiot, an imbecile, and that the entire calamity is because you have no business owning a motor home? Suppose this had happened to you. Would you prefer Christian compassion, or some crusty curmudgeon telling you that "If you had followed my advice, you would never have made this dumbass mistake?" Lighten up, folks. We are a FAMILY of motor home owners. If your primary contribution is to tell us we are all a collection of morons "unless we do what I told you to do", I suggest you find some other way to spend your time. Going to church might not be a bad idea. Bottom line--this forum was once the premier source of help with your problems, whether or not those problems were self-induced. Would it not be in our best interest to return to that ethic? Although it is not my place to do so, might I invite all you self-righteous, condescending, sarcastic curmudgeons to seek another forum, and help return this forum to Bill D's original intentions--TO HELP PEOPLE.

Bob, the FASS pump has a HUGE capacity, compared to what your engine is capable of burning. As long as you provide a large enough return line capacity, it will definitely "polish" your fuel over a period of time. I think mine returns about 85 GPH to the tank. Early on after the installation, I replaced two primary filters (on the FASS unit). The first one was nearly immediately. The second was months later, and I've not replaced one since. I just watch for the CAPS pump inlet pressure to decline under WOT. At light load, the pressure is about 15 PSI. At WOT, it now drops to about 13 PSI. When it gets below 10 PSI at WOT, I'll replace a filter. Even though I now have a 2 Micron final filter (why not?), I expect it will be a very long time before I replace it.

I'm sorry, but I cannot tell from your pix. But as I remember, you can look at the underside of the filter mounting bracket and tell which port is connected to the CENTER of the fuel filter. I do remember that it was easy to mistakenly put the tapping in the wrong side of the filter mounting plate. To be sure, remove the filter and verify that your hole goes to the CENTER of the filter.

Although supplying the outlet pressure of the FASS pump to the INLET of the final filter is the correct way to plumb the system, you only know the pressure at the INLET to CAPS pump if you are measuring the pressure AFTER the final filter and at the INLET of the CAPS pump. I agree it's unlikely that the final filter will become clogged before the two "primary" filters of the FASS system, but you DO NOT know the inlet pressure to the CAPS pump unless you are measuring the pressure AFTER the final filter and at the INLET to the CAPS pump. Imagine a final filter becoming clogged, but you are measuring the fuel pressure at the INLET to that filter...You are not measuring the pressure at the INLET to the CAPS pump, which is the most important reading. My remote pressure gage is reading the OUTPUT of the final filter, i.e. the inlet pressure to the CAPS pump. It has been well over 10K miles now since I replaced an inlet filter on the FASS pump, but when it began to clog, I could see the decrease in the WOT pressure AT THE CAPS PUMP, and that was my "early warning" system that a fuel filter change was in the immediate future. If I have misunderstood your post, please correct me, and do not take offense.

I'm not attempting to be sarcastic, so please accept what I say in that way. The FASS pump bypasses WAY more fuel than your engine can EVER use, even at WOT. So, it needs an unrestricted return flow line to operate in the way it was designed (not overloading the pump, even though it is internally bypassed). You simply eliminate the OEM lift pump from the supply circuit, and supply a dedicated return line from the FASS unit to your main fuel tank. FASS advises against "sharing" the return line with the one originally installed on the OEM lift pump. When you install a FASS system, it simply supplies MODERATE (+15 PSI POSITIVE) pressure to the inlet of the CAPS pump, instead of the factory-approved NEGATIVE 5 PSI it says the CAPS pump can "tolerate", as the result of the CAPS pump's internal "supply pump" The CAPS pump ALWAYS had to return excess fuel to the tank. By OEM design, it did this through a manifold on the lift pump. You can remove the lift pump from the process COMPLETELY when installing a FASS system. There are several ways to do this, and no particular one is more "right" than another. The simple requirement is that you must A) supply positive pressure at the INLET to the CAPS pump (NOT the INLET to the final filter) and B) supply a low-resistance return line for the FASS pump to discharge its excess fuel. Meet that requirement, however you do it, and you have satisfied the requirements of both the CAPS pump and the FASS system. Bottom line--However you do it, you are attempting to supply POSITIVE pressure at the INLET of the CAPS pump (NOT the INLET to the final filter), and an adequate return line for the EXCESS fuel not used by the CAPS pump.

Ivan, I've never had to touch my coach's AC. It has always worked--ten years and about 90k miles. Just turned over 200K on last trip. So, I have NO coach AC experience, but on the six cars I've worked on, I've replaced compressors, condensers, driers, high and low pressure switches...everything but an evaporator (UGH!) On all that I've worked on, anything less than about 5 PSI would disengage the compressor. Isn't that normal?

No matter which FASS system you install, you will be adding a "bit" of insurance for your CAPS system. The CAPS system is designed to "tolerate" NEGATIVE 5 PSI. That means its internal gear pump, which is its "primary" pump, can still supply adequate fuel to the CAPS pump even if there is a significant suction on the inlet side of the CAPS pump. I do not endorse any of the claims that have been made about the CAPS pump using bypassed fuel for cooling and lubrication, but it does make sense to me. What does NOT make sense to me on any diesel engine, is to be running the injector pump on the verge of fuel starvation. No matter what causes that fuel starvation, it does not seem to me fuel starvation is EVER a good mechanical situation for the longevity of the main injection pump. Yes, of course, it happens regularly when someone's fuel filter(s) become clogged, they lose power, and have to pull off the road and change filters. In those cases, the main injection pump has become starved for fuel. Does fuel starvation from a clogged filter do any damage to the CAPS pump? There are a multitude of opinions out there, but scant scientific evidence. I'm not sure, but I tend to choose to err on the side of safety. If I'd had a fuel pressure gage (WITHOUT FASS pump system) at the inlet of my CAPS pump, as I do NOW (since installing the FASS system), there is no telling what I might have learned. I'm sure I would have seen that inlet pressure at the CAPS pump was much lower than the allowable NEGATIVE 5 PSI allowed by Cummins specs as my fuel filters clogged. With the FASS system installed, and a remote-reading fuel pressure gage, I can see that at no load my fuel pressure (measured at INLET to the CAPS pump) is about +16PSI. At WOT, that pressure drops to +14 PSI (with new filters in all three locations). The difference between fuel pressure at no load, and at WOT is a good indicator of the restriction in the fuel filters due to contamination. Should that WOT pressure fall to +5 PSI or so, I would assume it's time for new filters. My FINAL filter (as it enters the CAPS pump) is now a 2-micron filter. As an anecdotal note, AFTER I installed the FASS system, I had two cases of primary filters becoming clogged within a few thousand miles (WOT CAPS inlet pressure less than 10 PSI, but NO change in engine performance), and in both cases, the FASS primary filter showed significant tar-like residue. It's now been over a year since I changed a fuel filter, and inlet pressure at the CAPS inlet is still not less than +13PSI at WOT. In summary, I ABSOLUTELY do not suggest the FASS system will add one iota of HP to your engine. IT WILL NOT!! But my experience dictates that it does a GREAT job of "polishing" your fuel and allowing you to greatly increase the length of time between fuel filter changes. PLUS having an indicator (if you have remote fuel pressure sensing) of when such a change may be imminent. YMMV

I could not find an inner "bubble" for my 2000 Dynasty. Replaced it with a flat sheet of polycarbonate. That was probably eight years ago and no problems since. I do think that screwing the polycarbonate directly to the roof structure, without any reinforcement was a poor design. I welded together an aluminum reinforcement frame the size of the outer dimensions of the "bubble", and screwed to the roof using that. I also did the same procedure on the 1993 Dynasty. I can't find pix of the 2000 "neo-angle" installation, but attached is a pix of the installation on the 1993. As others have said, be SURE to use a sealant approved for polycarbonate. I found that out the hard way, and had to replace the first one after about a year when tiny cracks began to spread from the area of the sealant.

JD, for someone who claims not to be a mechanic, you have tackled a very difficult job and are doing very well at it. Kudos. Lots of times, folks shy away from a job, thinking "I can't do that" when all they need to do is read up on the subject carefully and proceed.

Yes, it replaces the green Lambert charger, the Big Boy boost solenoid and the Solid State Isolator. You may have to make a 4/0 cable or two.

Before and after pix for coach with Solid State Isolator

I took the picture you requested but it looks like you have it figured out. Just be sure that tapping is on the OUTPUT of your filter housing.

Look for a cord with an "E" in the description stamped on the cord, i.e. "SEOW". "E" stands for elastomer. If it has a "T" in the description, it is thermoplastic. No matter the claims, any cord with "T" in the description will get much stiffer in the cold than one with an "E". These cords are even more flexible than SOOW.

I agree with Tim. I found an ignition source in the Rear Run Bay and used it to power the coil of a heavy contactor. The main power came from an existing Engine Battery lug in the RRB. I used it to power a 10-Space Blue Sea sub-panel of fuses mounted in the engine compartment. I had repeatedly found a need for ignition-on battery power for a number of additions, including EGT monitor, FASS motor connection, electrically powered fan for rear-mounted trans cooler (replaced cooling in the engine radiator), and remote fuel pressure monitoring. Wish I had done this years ago. One caveat about doing this concerns the coil of the contactor producing spikes. If you do not purchase an internally diode-protected contactor coil, you will need to add a simple diode across the coil terminals to absorb the spikes and not transfer them back to the source. In my case, my source for the contactor coil was an ignition-switched terminal, but it was a shared input to the ECU. The diode may not be truly NECESSARY, but I replaced an ECU a couple of years ago at a cost of nearly $8K, and don't care to do that again. Yes, there are lots of contactors that are ignition-switched with no diode protection. Just my two cents on the subject. YMMV Also, after numerous times of running a single wire (or trying to locate one) from the engine compartment to driver console, I ran TWO 7-conductor 14 AWG trailer cables from the engine compartment to the front dash and terminated both ends in barrier terminal strips. I doubt I'll ever need that many connections, but have already used five of them. As a side note, for any of you interested in installing an EGT gage, there are Auto Meter gages that DO NOT require K-type thermocouple wire being run all the way from the thermocouple installed in the exhaust manifold to the dash area. That is a major PITA. The engineering reason that was previously required is that the thermocouple outputs tiny millivolt signals that are subject to being easily interfered with. The newer EGT gages use a short, permanently-attached K-type wire, which connects to an AMPLIFIER that outputs a much stronger signal which can be carried forward on ordinary copper wire. It makes the installation infinitely less difficult.

Jim, soon after the FASS installation, I went through at least a couple of sets of filters before my tank had been "cleaned out". On the FASS site, although they recommend using their own filters, they list alternates. I'm presently using other brands. My primary filter is now the first filter on the FASS pump. It is 30-micron with the water detection plug in. The secondary FASS filter is 10-micron. I retained the original secondary filter (now a 2-micron) and the outlet of that filter is where I tapped a 1/8 NPT for the liquid-filled gage and the sensor for the cockpit-mounted gage. Tim, I'm almost sure the new turbo is a Holset, but I don't know which one. That is what I want to know. I am not interested in the complete Banks setup, only the ID of the turbo. Thanks.

It is always best to install the sensor for your remote pressure gage on the OUTLET side of the final filter, in between it and the CAPS pump. That way, the pressure you are reading is the ACTUAL pressure at the CAPS pump inlet. My original secondary filter had no tapping for a gage. I drilled and tapped one myself. I have a mechanical gage mounted on the outlet side of the secondary filter, along with the sensor for the remote gage. The remote gage is a GREAT reliable indicator of filter condition. My FASS is located in the engine compartment. I would like to have had it forward near the tank, but in my case that was not I eliminated my stock primary filter. I now have the two filters on the FASS unit, plus my original secondary filter. I am now down to a 2-micron final filter, and pressure is still 14 PSI at the CAPS inlet at WOT. When I first installed the system, I had to replace two FASS primary filters in just a couple of months--a good indication that the "constant filtering" is worthwhile. I used to replace filters based on time or mileage. Now, I just look at the drop in pressure at the CAPS inlet. With all new filters, pressure is about 17 PSI at idle, and drops to 14 PSI at WOT. From now on, I will only replace filters when the pressure at the CAPS inlet falls significantly at WOT. I am very happy with the system. I expected NO power increase, nor did I get any. The FASS was simply "insurance" for my CAPS pump. I got a modest increase in power from the AG Solutions chip, which required an increase in boost pressure to keep EGT down. Previously, my boost was about 22-23 PSI at WOT. Now it is 30-31 PSI at WOT. That significantly reduced EGT. It surprises most folks to learn that EGT on a bone-stock ISC-350 can reach 1450*F at high throttle settings and/or low RPM. Installing an EGT gage is an eye-opener, and you soon realize how much you can reduce EGT with higher RPM. For those of you with the Banks kit, do you know the ID of the turbo they supplied with the kit? I always assumed they supplied a larger capacity turbo simply to have more boost at a lower RPM to control EGT. There is NO power increase from simply increasing boost.

Harry, You are a gem in this community. No BS. Just facts; Van

Welleking, You are backing off the throttle into turns because the side loading is changing the position of the H-frame, and your wheels are changing direction, even if your steering wheel is dead-steady in a constant radius turn. To the driver, it seems like "oversteer" in a turn. It is akin to the feeling of trying to drive a forklift (rear wheel steering) at speed on a roadway. Ever tried that? Scary! No matter how many changes you make, until you stop the H-frame from "squirming" under you, and changing the direction your wheels are pointed, the problem will persist. Tag axle coaches suffer much less from this simply because they have TWO fixed axles, which naturally resist having their direction changed.

A few years ago, I decided I must be the last mechanically inclined fellow on the planet that knew nothing about servicing A/C. So, I started reading, then had a lengthy discussion with my Christian heavy-vehicle mechanic and he gave me some good info. One of the things he told me was that the "average" consumer could frequently get good results simply by using the "Refrigerant in a can" devices available at auto parts stores. They frequently have a gage that reads the low pressure side. If your compressor won't engage because the low-pressure switch is preventing it...and if as you add refrigerant, it engages, chances are you are low on refrigerant. But reading the low side doesn't tell you all that you need to know. My heavy-truck guy convinced me to buy a good quality set of gages (although he admitted that amateurs could get the same result from $50 gages as from $250 gages, a good quality vacuum pump, R134 in bulk containers, and a digital scale. He advised that if you don't know what is wrong, check the static low pressure (compressor not running). If it's below 80 PSI (min), you likely are low on refrigerant. I took his advice, bought the gages, the bulk refrigerant, a high-capacity (Yellow Jacket?) vacuum pump, and the digital scale. A bit "over the top" for an A/C amateur, but I'm a "tool guy" I've spent the last few years repairing my own, and friends, A/C problems. I've replaced three compressors, two condensers, a half-dozen low-pressure switches, plus "topped off" refrigerant in a dozen vehicles. I tend to follow my mechanic's advice and simply evacuate every system to start with. Once evacuated, let it sit for a few hours. If the vacuum diminishes, you've got a leak you've got to find. Luckily, I have never had to replace an evaporator. It seems that no matter the vehicle, replacing an evaporator is an ordeal, if it is an in-dash one. Just as a FYI, I had an Internet friend in AZ who seemed exceptionally knowledgeable about A/C. He said he had determined from the Sanyo (Sanden?) specs for his compressor, that it was being run at too low an RPM with his pulley setup. He changed pulleys (engine pulley, I think) to give him the proper speed. He said his other option would have been to choose a higher capacity compressor that would provide adequate flow for the coach. He did so, and said his A/C improved immensely. One thing I would suggest EVERY RV owner have is an A/C duct thermometer. About $10 on Amazon. If you KNOW what the air temperature is coming out of your vents, it removes a lot of guesswork. As Dave Pratt said, a good functioning dash A/C will bring vent temps to the 40*F - 50*F range under most conditions. In keeping with my "A/C education" I have a dash vent thermometer on every vehicle I own. I'm sure Dave Pratt's (and many other's) experience far exceeds my own, but it has been satisfying to take care of my own A/C problems. It is no longer the mystery it once was. YMMV

Perhaps I'm misreading something, but if the low-side pressure is over 40 PSI and the compressor will not engage, it would seem the low-pressure switch is not closing. When evacuating and recharging, I usually remove the connector from the low-pressure switch and put a jumper wire in the plug. This forces the compressor clutch to stay engaged as the system first starts filling. Otherwise, the compressor short-cycles and it takes much longer to take the charge. Although those with more experience might be able to tell when the system is properly charged just from the gages, I use a weightscale to measure the Freon tank weight and add what the system spec says. If the low-pressure switch is faulty (stuck open) put a jumper in the low-pressure switch plug. If the compressor engages, the low pressure switch is faulty. Not all systems have a high-pressure cutout switch.