The Bus Won't Start !!

[win42]

This happened last month the night before were scheduled to meet others for an outing. Engine would not start. Battery is up, cranks over strong, engine lights come on with ignition and go out momentarily like they should. No warning lights ie low water, low oil. Must be electrical, spend the next day checking every circuit and solenoid ( big job ) All are normal to the DDEC. I happened to email a friend that owns a large boat SF Bay and told him what I was up against. He had his Diesel mech. call me. Not being a DD guy he led me first to look for a flapper valve closed between the turbo and the blower. After removing all the inlet duct and moving the filter housing out of the way. Then I was able to determin there was no such valve. I placed a paper towel over the inlet to the blower and cranked the engine. There was plenty of suction, no air blockage, Next he instructed me to remove one end of a fuel line that connects from the filter to the injecter. Cranked again, plenty of fuel pressure. We have air and fuel but still no start no amounts of ether will even make it try. Next remove the DDEC and take it to the DD shop in Sac. They read a code that said the magnetic, electric device that reads the flywheel timing for the injectors to fire was faulty. Good , order one. I asked them to show me where it was located. They had a just removed 8v92 setting on the shop floor. With flash lights and a lot of squinting your could barly see it down under the DDEC just behind and ajacent to the flywheel housing. With the part ordered I went back home and it was getting pretty dark. I took my camera out and snapped some pictures down toward the faulty device. I went back in and looked at the pictures on the computer screen. Printed them and stared at them. One of the wires was chewed in two. pieces and parts laying below. RAFTER RATS we have creatures around here called by that name. If they don't continually chew there teeth grow long enough to do them in.

Back to DD shop to cancel the part order and get a replacemenr shielded wire made up. I retreived the DDEC, Removed the pins in each connector put new pins on each end of the wire and connected it up. Re-installed the DDEC, inlet duct and filter housing and the engine fired first turn.

Thinking back I left the block heater turned on during some cold nights. This probably attracked the little buggers to their new found home. Now that I made you suffer reading this almost as bad as I did finding the problem we can all laugh. The place looks like a Rafter Rat war zone. poison boxes, sound emitting electrical devices, crevice under DDEC stuffed with steel wool.

Lesson learned ;If the engine lights go on and off with the ignition as they should and there are no warning lights lit. Go directly to the DDEC and have it read for the culprit code. Would have saved hours.
I learned a lot while tracing wire circuits.
My local Diesel Mech was up to his ears in Log Truck work and couldn't examin the coach as parked in my yard between rock walls & big trees.