Snapping/ Arcing Sound From V10 Engine Area

[bostonbernie]

I HAVE A 2013 FLEETWOOD BOUNDER 33C EQUIPPED WITH A V-10 GASSER. WHEN READY TO HEAD OUT LEAVING A CAMPSITE IN GA.

MY WIFE HAD STARTED UP THE RV TO BRING IN THE SLIDES AND WHILE LETTING IT WARM UP A BIT WE HEARD A SNAPPING /ARCING SOUND FROM THE ENGINE AREA. LISTENING CLOSELY I WAS TRYING TO PINPOINT WHERE IT WAS COMING FROM AND WITHOUT WAITING LONG I WAS JUST ABOUT TO TELL HER TO SHUT IT DOWN!......AND IT STOPPED.

WELL I MUST HAVE STARTED IT UP A HALF DOZEN TIMES AFTER AND NOTHING. WELL UP JUMPED THE DEVIL I WAS ALONE BACK IN OHIO AT THE STORAGE YARD I STARTED IT UP JUST TO DO SO, LET IT RUN A BIT AND AGAIN THE SAME SOUND.

KEEP IN MIND I DID RESEARCH TO SEE IF ANY FUSES WERE BLOWN OR ANY THING ALONG THOSE LINES AND NOTHING.AGAIN IT STOPPED AFTER SAY 2-3 MINUTES.

I THOUGHT ABOUT GOING DOWN AT NIGHT WITH SOMEONE INSIDE TO START IT AND SEE IF I COULD SEE AN ARK. HAS NOT HAPPENED AGAIN SINCE. I AM QUITE SURE IT DID NOT CURE ITSELF......CAN I GET SOME HELP ON SOME INPUT.

I AM NOT NEW AT RVING {8YRS} BUT I AM BY NO MEANS A NO IT ALL! HELP ME MR. WIZARD

[dickandlois]

bostonbernie,

Welcome to the FMCA Forum!

Questions-How long did the coach set before you started it? and was it damp and or raining?

First thought is a spark plug wire, that might be real close to making contact to a ground point. Think you might want to look at the spark plug wires and there location, if a wire is resting on a hot surface-this can melt or damage the insulation. when the wire got damp / an ark can jump from the damaged area to ground.

If you have a real dark area where you can park the coach ,open the hood and look for an ark - or you might see a blueish glow - it will be very faint, so the darker the better. If there is a glow (Corona) there is a bad spot in the wire(s).

That is my first thought.

Rich.

Note- if there is a bad spot in one of the plug wires and you get to close or touch it you will be picking your self up off the ground in most cases !!!!!

[jleamont]

bostonbernie,

Who performs your maintenance? Do you know what weight oil was put into the engine at the last oil change?

From my experience the Triton engine will have a tick on cold start ups, they all seem to have some cold start noise...worse when the incorrect oil viscosity is used. From memory I believe it was hydraulic chain tensioner noise until adequate oil flow is present to pump them up and apply the correct pressure on the chain set and start to lube the cams and lifters.

I had a customer with a motorhome (when I was a dealer tech) do his own oil change and he put 15w40 in his V10... the first cold morning....you guessed it cams were dry (oil couldn't reach them) they started to seize and the tensioners were not pumped up and they started to skip teeth and bang. I will never forget when he told me "when it was warmer I would hear a loud ticking sound on start up that would go away after a few minutes".

This is from the Ford 2012 F53 chassis service manual;

Motorcraft® SAE 5W-20 Premium Synthetic Blend Motor Oil (US); Motorcraft® SAE 5W-20 Super Premium Motor Oil (Canada)
XO-5W20-QSP (US); CXO-5W20-LSP12 (Canada) WSS-M2C945-A 6.6L (7.0 qt) with filter

[wildebill308]

jleamont is right The Ford V10 is made with very tight tolerances and is made to run on the lower viscosity oil.

I would add to the list Mobil 1 0-20 oil.

Bill

[bostonbernie]

I CANT THANK YOU FELLOW MEMBERS FOR RESPONDING ENOUGH.

I WILL TRY ALL OF THE ABOVE TO GET STARTED [YOU ALL ARE SOME JUST SOME GOOD PEOPLE].

THANKS AGAIN AND WILL KEEP YOU ALL UPDATED.

BOSTON BERNIE

[campcop]

If I recall, this engine has coils over the cylinders, may be wrong......one spark plug wire should not stall out the engine but it sure will skip...a dead short of the primary wire will kill the engine though...Have you plugged in a scanner to see if any codes show up?

A short in the charging system may be a possibilty as well.....do you have a problem with mice and rats where you store the MH?