Cummins 1998/Frightliner engine problems - HELP!

It just gets better...
"Cummins rung me (Brian) this morning to say that it might be a movement sensor in the transmission. Cummins Melbourne are researching if they have ever had a sensor failure, and if so we might try that".

Jeezuz, they're on it aren't they

More as news breaks - this is better than the politics of the nation I reckon = how a big company can break a small bloke by inept ability!
Bretto

Absolute nonsense, replacing expensive parts one at a time till they find the problem ( probably a bad sensor) Could not the computer be "bench tested" rather than just replacing it?

What he needs is not a mechanic (or in this case box opener) but a lawyer. Seems it will come down to a sensor, in which case he can tell them to put back all the original gear. Being charged for incompetent diagnosis should be a chargeable offence.

If someone brought a vehicle to us to diagnose a problem, and all we did was just start replacing things until it was fixed I'd be out of business. Bear in mind this chap has taken the truck back to the OEM supplier of the engine. I know electronics are more efficient, but if they can't quickly and reasonably diagnose a problem it is pretty poor. It gives me the shites when someone has a crack at something and can't nail it, then wants to charge out the hours that where wasted, and I've had to pay a few bills like this. Truck dealers and the likes of OEM suppliers are nototious for it. Brett, next time your mate's truck plays up. send him over to Mike at Columbus. Or if they havn't nailed it, put the acid on them to get the truck out of there, I don't like your chances though.

What the phuck they calling a movement sensor be interested to here this .As far as im aware you have 2 sensors on tail shaft 1 for speedo reading other 1 goes to e.c.m now days there is only 1 sensor that does the same job. Only other wiring on a gear box would be the reverse switch on top of gear box and on the right hand side the temp sender.May be wrong but very curious.
Cheeers.

Hi guys and sorry I am late with the update, but it not getting any better I'm afraid...

Today they have had the "sensor" checked out (god knows how they checked it out) and it is declared serviceable ( ). They started the vehicle, put it in gear, and low and behold it will move and rev

They actually took it out and the road, and guess what it stopped :

Now the good part, the bill is summised as $1800 labour from wednesday afternoon until Friday close of business AND another $2700+ for Saturday, Monday and Today. Can you believe that! >

Brian is absolutely livid, to say the least.

He is a week with no truck, a week down on income, and so far Cummins are saying that he owes over $6000 (?) plus parts and it is not only is still broken but they are no closer to finding the problem. The last phone call from them at 5.30pm was they are bringing in a specialist electrician to sort the problem out. :

Like the rest of you guys, I cannot believe what is going on here. Brian is about to commit hari kari, and Cummins are no closer to fixing the truck. The service manager told Brian that he "might get a bit of a discount as it is quite a large job"

The unfortunate thing is that Brian is a great guy but he is not a mechanic - like so many others in the world. He places belief and trust in people, and becuase his truck means everything to him he felt that the best and quickest diagnosis would be from the people who made it.

I have suggested that he is beyond the point of no return and he probably has to ride it out now - meaning that the best he can do is to get it fixed and then work on sorting out the bill. However, I fear that they will "snow" him with all kinds of crap to get their money off him. If it goes on much longer it may well be a legal battle I feel.

I have also suggested that he might want to get the truck out of there and get it to the place that Cam has suggested; Brian is giving them one more day before he explodes - and then we'll see where it goes.

Personally, I am disgusted in the way my mate has been treated - even if he wasn't a mate it is still wrong.

As before fella's, we all thank you for your thoughts and input on this one, and I'll update you when another version of "As The Stomach Turns" is available.
cheers,
Bretto

I would be sending them a fax directing them to do no further work, Get down there with a tow truck and take the vehicle to someone who can fix it.

Righto Bretto, here's another problem that happened to me, that might be worth checking out. As a matter of fact it happened at Cummins too, won't say which one....
I had just bought a T601 KW, with N14 500 Cummins in it. Picked it up at 8am in the morning. Drove it about 5k's, noticed a rattle in the roof spoiler. This annoyed me so i stopped to have a look. Whilst I was poking around up there, near the exhaust, it seemed to "skip" a beat, barely noticeable. Anyway I jumped in to drive off, the truck would rev to about 1100 RPM, that was it. I pulled up again, rang a mate, he told me "motion sensor", but I I had no tools, and was in a bugger of a spot.
I idled the truck down to Cummins, which was only a couple of K's away.
A few hours later they started looking at it- Began with the engine sensor on the timing case. This didn't help. I can't remember what else we went through, but it was that, the motion sensor, new filters, the gauze fuel filter behind the computer, then they decided the fuel line must be rooted, so pirtek was called. New (expensive!) hose fitted, they put on the dyno, batteries went flat from all the winding, starter stuck in, 4 new batteries(!) -all good they tell me. I went for test drive, truck stopped again, would only run to 1100 RPM. By this time "day shift" had finished, arvo shift started. Pulled off the off /on fuel solenoid, the mechanic had a secondhand one, fitted, no difference. Did a fuel pressure test again, still no fuel pressure. Decided the lift pump was crook, they had a secondhand one, had a major dilemma as to whether to give it to me as it had a different number on it. By this stage I was pretty much saying "just put the bloody thing on!!" They did, problem solved. Drove away at 9.30 pm. Bill was $1800, plus the batteries.... For in effect, a secondhand fuel pump. the rest was labour, basically the same as you, "try it see what happens..."
The mechanics were great blokes, no issues there. But mentally I was thinking just what the blokes here are saying- "why am I paying for this lack of diagnosis, anyone could fit stuff till it goes good!"
That was a fairly long day anyway.....
Don't know if this helps or not, but it sounds suspiciously like your mates story.....
Good luck with it,
Cheers
Richard

Bretto I forgot to say, the truck would rev in neutral, no worries at all. Every time they did something, the mechanics would get in and rev it up saying "sounds fine now!" I could still hear it running ever so slightly fluffy though. It wasn't until you actually drove it that it wouldn't rev. It was like someone had flicked a swith, stopping it at 1100RPM(Gives you some idea of how much fuel they need driving compared to free revving I guess)
Once again, good luck with it....

Prodrive!! Good observation mate, because the fuel pressure going to the injectors was s**t only enough fuel volume could be injected to run the engine but not produce HP .

If the engine had an irregular miss that would be due to the pressure dropping way below what the injector could handle for it's cracking pressure.

Give me a mechanical injected diesel anyday, I've certainly heard some nightmare stories about these electronic ones. When running fine all is well, but when they don't it seems to be like looking for a bloody needle in a haystack to find the problem.

It's criminal what's happening to Brian, what's the go with the computer junk, all this should have been in a textbook diagnosis by either Cummins or who Cummins purchases the crap from for there engines.

Not good enough!! >


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