Intermittent issue(s) 08, RTV1100.

AILapua

New member
Greetings,

I am having intermittent issue(s) with the following:

2008 (Bought in 2010), RTV1100, 330 hrs.

A few weeks ago, the machine lost power, blue / white smoke was visible, it would not restart, outside temp. was around the 50° F. Changed the fuel filter, drained the tank, refueled, I also removed the spark arrestor.

Upon restart, I noticed the Easy Checker battery light remaining on, only prior to starting, NOT after running.

Battery has been replaced, belts are new, Easy Checker battery light still remains on after initial check. Battery is reading in the 12.59 vdc range. But, if I put a charger on the system, the Easy checker light shuts after the initial check.

I still, on occasion am getting a sudden loss of power, blue / white smoke, but the engine will continue to run / idle. Upon returning to idle, the vehicle will then throttle up and run as normal.

I have been using Howes conditioner.

I would appreciate any thoughts on these gremlins, since I will need to haul the machine nearly 5 hours to the closest dealer.

Thank you,
Ai
 
Sounds like you are getting antifreeze in the engine.....either a bad head gasket or cracked head or block.
Has it been using antifreeze?
Only way is to pressure the water system and take out the 3 injectors and turn it over and see what cylinder is leaking.
Check the oil as it could leak in the crankcase to.

Art
 
Sounds to me you suspect fuel to be the problem as you have been putting in a fuel conditioner, have you dumped in some contaminated fuel latley? With the few hours you have and the comming and going of this problem i suspect fuel delivery possible injector. Is the new fuel that you put in from a known good supply?
 
Art454:

The machine has not needed any extra antifreeze, the level in the reserve / expansion bottle remains consistent. I have been keeping an eye on the oil, but it too, appears fine. The last oil change showed only black gold.

I very much appreciate your thoughts!

whatscookin:

Fuel quality was a concern, thus my draining of the tank and re filtering. I use conditioner with two other diesels I run, along with the fall in full swing, our temperatures fluctuate quickly.
I am inclined to think it may be electrical in nature, perhaps the shut-off solenoid chattering. After further study, that is not likely the case.
I tend to believe the smoke is un burnt fuel in the exhaust, which did lead me to consider a decompress issue, but if there is a decompression mechanism on this machine, I am unable to locate the beast.

Thank you very much for your time in considering this / these issues!
 
This is just a suggestion.....

Remove all the fuel, make sure tank is very clean.
Try to clean fuel lines the best you can, throw away old fuel filter.
Blow out fuel lines. Replace with new fuel filter.
Fuel up with a known quality fuel, and DON'T put any fuel conditioner in it .
You want to zero it down to what it may be.

That would be the first thing I would do.

Then, check your oil. See if it is still "OILEY". Make sure there is NO MILKY
substance in your oil.
 
You said refiltering, untill you get this figured out get fresh fuel in a clean container without the Howes. As a retired fleet mechanic for UPS i learned the weakest link in the operation of machinery is the operator, i used a transfer pump to clean a fuel tank out and the next time i used the pump to fill a tractor i put a mess of mud\water into the tank without knowing what i had done untill it started plugging up filters. At UPS they no longer let us use fuel conditioner, the way they looked at it it caused more problems than it fixed. If there is fuel in the muffler you would need to get the engine way hot enough to burn it out and i don't think that would be easy to get that much heat in the muffler and it would slobber fuel out the tail pipe,and that would be one messed up injector missing out very bad all the time and putting fuel past the rings into the pan, and the low voltage you see is probably from you cranking and wearing down the battery, the shut off solenoid is spring loaded out or running nothing in between. I think you got tooooo much Howes.
 
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TWO GUNS:

When I drained the fuel, I removed the tank, replaced the filter. I did not blow-out the fuel lines, but clean fuel flowed through them prior to reconnection.
Since new, I have run Howes conditoner, more due to security, as one never truly knows the fuel quality.

The engine oil has no foam or milky film (water or coolant).

Thank you for your input!
 
whatscookin:

I buy my fuel in 5 gallon containers, of which, I have more than a dozen. All are regularly checked. I also have a 60XT skidsteer (538 hrs.), a Hatz genset (275 hrs.), all fuel containers are interchanged for refueling, no issues with the other two diesels.

As an adder, I just arrived home from a four mile trek, no issues thus far today. I am still inclined to believe it may be electrical. The Easy Checker battery lamp was still on this morning (before the run mode).

Thank you!
 
Hi. I would also check the fuel line and connections. It's long shot but sometimes those clamps lose their grip and let air seep in.- listen for an air seep around the fuel area like a mosquito noise immediately after turning the engine off. Good Luck .bordercollie
 
Fuel containers more than a dozen would get me in trouble, this Easy Checker battery lamp you speak of what does it check volts or amps, i have a 900 and don't have one. No more fuel than these things use just a little off will cause a hiccup. If your 1100 engine is built like my 900 and i think it is it doesn't need any electircal to keep running, the smoke is a misfire.
 
bordercollie:

Good point on the clamps. I need to fuel up again today, I may as well swap out another filter and I will replace the clamps with real s/s screw clamps.

Thank you!
 
whatscookin:

The Easy Checker is a factory tester built into dashboard lamp(s) gauge(s). With the key turned to the first position, all lamps in the cluster are to illuminate, then go out, other than the hyd. pressure. My battery lamp is remaining on up to and including the glow plug position. Once the machine has started, the battery lamp is off.
Having typed the last tidbit, with a battery charger connected and the Easy Checker turned on, the battery light shows no error.
 
does it do this at startup and then clear up?one way to check for a leak is to run the engine and look for bubbles in the radiator resevior tank. it could also be bad glowplugs .white smoke is a sign of water in fuel do like the others have said and drian the tank completly .try to drain it into a clear container so that way you can see just whats in the fuel. you can also pull the dipstick after running it for a second ot two and if you have tiny bubbles on the dipstick thats also a sing of water in the oil.being it's an 08 it could have acumulated moisture in the tank after the years .it's best to always top off the tank no matter what that way there is no chance of it building up water in there.i installed a air and water seperator filter system on my truck and you would not believe how much water i drain out of it every month.also it's not a good thing to start and stop the engine in short intervals if your gonna run it atleast run it til it reaches the normal operating temp and then leave it run for a few more minutes this will burn off any water that has aculumated in the crankcase.metal sweats when it's heated up and if it doesn't get hot enough to dry out all the water it just mixs with the oil in the crankcase.blue smoke is a good sign of bad fuel filter or clogged injector.
 
I checked in my manual and it also suggested to check the tightness of the alternator belt. and add checking the IC regulator and wiring harness connections if anyone has a machine that the light stays on.
When I had an air seep on the diesel skid steers and tractor, They would loose prime and be hard to start, would run rough and smoke until the air was mostly out and, then when cranking from a cold start, the same thing again. I have an old post on here somewhere saying what all transpired, but the tractor place charged $$$$ for coming out in the dead of winter on a cold ,cold day and installed a new fuel pump. Next day, same problem- but I quickly jumped off the machine and heard the "mosquito"noise after a long priming,cranking attempt. I put on new lines and hoses and now no more bills for unnecessary parts.
Like Peanut,Whatscooking and Two Guns said, I would suspect contaminants in the tank also.It it is in there, it will keep the filter fowled and the unit smoking/power loss. Someone recently posted here about taking off the fuel tank and it being cruded up. Good Luck, bordercollie
 
If it were me,I'd also check the air filter and intake to make sure the engine is getting plenty of air- just to eliminate that. The standard air intake location is perfect for a "mouse" nest. bordercollie
 
i don't know how the fuel filter is setup on the bota but if it's one of them kind that has a canister and you drop in a new filter i would check inside the canister. .a few days ago a friend of my son brought a f250 with a powerstroke he bought a new filter and was about to drop it in and i took a look inside the canister there was probably about a 1/2" of crude or whatever you wanna call it down at the bottom.he ended up havin to change a few injectors because they was clogged toobecaue of the trash in the canister. and like bordercollie said check them air lines spiders and wasp and all kindsa critters like to make homes in them thats why i use a sock over my snorkels on my rhino it keeps them out of there .and never think that just because you just changed the fuel filter last week or yesterday that it won't get clogged if trash in the line or tank break loose that filter can go out in a few minutes to hours so it's always good to double check them too. another way that we check for blown gaskets on our trucks is to remove the oil filler cap and run the engine put a piece of plastic or something light over it there shouldn't be any back pressure on it to blow it off if it does then you have a gasket leak somewhere in the engine.i'm not a pro when it comes to diesels but sisn i bought my cummins i have been doing alot or reading and learning.
 
one other thing does the bota have glowplugs?if so one could be out or it could be sticking in the on position just a thought.
 
Love it bordercollie,
That is a great one !!!!

........... mouse test


For real, as you know, that is a must on equipment !!!
 

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I have a high snorkel air intake on the machine. I changed the engine oil again (with less than 5 hrs. since the last), nothing foreign found in the black gold.
Since changing the fuel line fittings to s/s screw fittings, no issues.... thus far. <fingers crossed>

Gentlemen, (whooops, perhaps ladies too!!), I wish to thank you all for your time and consideration with this matter!
 
never liked them spring clamps on fuel lines, all the filters im doing now servicing the fleet is getting worm clamps,for silicone hose. they are better,they do not cut into the fuel lines when you tighten them down,due to the smooth band on the inside.got one now with a hard starting issue.the motor/trans has come out of it so before i pout it back in will be changing the clamps over since now there is a ton of room to do it!
 
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