Loss of power and Leak

kris-nilsson

New member
I am back again. I have 500 miles on new filter and power loss again and slight wheezing. Not as bad as before, but not performing like it should be. It starting happening 150 miles from destination. I was able to find a replacement filter to have on hand just in case on enroute replacement is necessary. I have to make the 500 mile trek back home tomorrow. I would like to drain the tank when I get back home, but I don't know how difficult that will be. As before, we stopped for about an hour and it went back to normal. Anyone with pictures of wiring harnesses to check could be helpful.
 

220629

Well-known member
I am back again.
...
Kris,
If you haven't found this LHM thread yet, there may be something to help you there.

https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7173

If that doesn't help then may I suggest "Call my Sprinter Hot Line 412-366-6165. Doktor A".

In this case I would like to point out that as you have been struggling with this for a while and tomorrow is Easter (which is a special day for many people) you might delay making the call by a bit. The time zone where Doktor A lives is presently observing Eastern Daylight Time.

Hope this does some good. vic
 

kris-nilsson

New member
After dealing with this problem for about a year now, a trip to a Freightliner shop and $418.00, I think the problem has been resolved. About 3 weeks ago, I decided to bite the bullet and take the Sprinter to the closest shop 100 miles down the road. After day one, I was told that all hoses and vacuum pressure checked fine, but that one of the mechanics, shop hands, or whatever you want to call him said that he smelled gas in the tank. I knew this was Bull$#!+, because I have had this vehicle for over a year, I was the only one that fueled it and this problem has been intermittent for a year. So, they gave me the great news that they were going to drain the tank, replace filter (which I just replaced), and flush the system (in essesence he was preparing me for a very large bill at a rate of $120/hr labor. At the end of the day, the head shop person said that all that didn't help and it would require further diagnostics. He then proceeded to tell me that it could be a bad injector or cylinder head. Oh, the last thing he said was "it doesn't look good" meaning $$$$.$$. Well, the next week I called the main shop manager that was on vacation when I brought it in and these winners were in charge. Thanks GOD, he actually had sense. It turned out that it was a vacuum box that required replacing. He forgave all the work that they spent draining my full tank of diesel. Another kicker is that I picked up vehicle on a Thursday and the following Monday I rec'd a recall notice regarding the intake manifold replacement. If that don't beat all. But on a happier note, I am very thankful that the vehicle was fixed and just got back from a 2100 mile trip back from Canada without any problems.
 

williamwyatt

New member
does the 'vacuum box' look more like a ball? ......or this 'vacuum transducer' is from my pdf. manual. I wish it would attach the picture as well.


TURBOCHARGER
DESCRIPTION
The boost pressure vacuum solenoid is located
under the air filter housing and is responsible for
turbo-charger boost pressure. It generates a control
vacuum in response to a PWM signal from the ECM.
Vacuum is achieved by mixing the system vacuum
(from the vacuum pump) with atmospheric pressure
to a certain degree. The resulting vacuum is sent to
the vacuum unit at the turbocharger (Fig. 4).
OPERATION
The vacuum solenoid receives 12V from the ECM.
The ECM controls the solenoid through a PWM sig-
nal. When the solenoid receives a signal it closes the
passage to atmospheric pressure. The subchamber is
no longer under atmospheric pressure, it’s spring can
push the diaphragm and valve downwards; this
releases the VAC duct. Vacuum can now go from here
through the throttle hole, filters and out the connec-
tion to the turbocharger vacuum unit (Fig. 5).

Fig. 4 CHARGEPRESSUREVACUUMTRANSDUCER
1 - CONNECTION TO TURBOCHARGER VACUUM UNIT
2 - VENT
3 - SUPPLY FROM VACUUM PUMP
 

shortshort

Dis member
Thankfully it is well hidden under the box. Otherwise I would have erroneously replaced it yesterday. As luck would have it, I was out in front of SD Europarts with Steve crawling around under my van looking for the thing when his son noticed the small slit in my upper intake hose. I owe that kid.
 

autostaretx

Erratic Member
does the 'vacuum box' look more like a ball?
Yes. It's on the left side of this picture:
vacuum.jpg
... I wish it would attach the picture as well.
How to do that: somewhere on your keyboard is a "Prt Sc" or "Print Screen" key.
With the desired image on your screen, tap that. That captures the screen into your "paste buffer".
(on a laptop, it may be in blue letters or surrounded by a box. If so, there will also be a blue or boxed "Fn" key you need to hold down (like a "shift" key) when tapping.)
((Pressing the "Alt" key with "Prt Sc" grabs just the active window))

Now open (for example) Paint (under All Programs/Accessories), and click Edit/Paste (or type cntrl-V).
You can now click-and-drag the image to trim off unwanted edges, and/or use the "Image/Attributes" tool to deal with the entire size (to get it to fit into the forum's "max width 900 pixels" mandate).

Then save it (i save them as JPEG) and read the forum's "advanced" editing window's help on "How to Upload Pictures"

have fun
--dick
 

williamwyatt

New member
UPDATE - Loss of power fixed..... I took to the dealer for brakes and he ran DRBIII for codes too. My van would typically lose power after sitting and idling for 15-20 +min. i.e. traffic stopped on e-way...etc. He found 7 or 8 codes but finally got the vacuum solenoid code as he was driving it around. I replaced #5 (above diagram) vacuum solenoid a few months ago and all seems to be going good. I haven't driven it that much but acceleration seems to be smoother with more power and no more limping mode. 2003 3500 long tall. I ordered parts from Europarts and I also replaced the air intake temp sensor at that time. The temp sensor was an additional $20 and seemed to be designed with a bit more structural integrity.
 

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