Limp Mode

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oldcrow

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Feb 7, 2018
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Hello everyone, I have a 2003 Winnebago Adventurer 35U on a a workhorse chassis 8.1 motor with 18545 miles. When I first drive the motor home it has good power and runs like a top. When I stop for gas and let it set for 1/2 hr or so it starts up very rough and won't take the gas. You can't travel more than 10 or 15 miles an hour. I will stop and wait only 5 or so minutes and it will start up and run fine. One thing I did notice was the emergency flashers didn't work at the same time , but worked after the restart not sure if that makes a difference. I can get where I am going and restart and turn off and restart again while sitting still and works fine. I pull a couple of codes P1516 and a P0151 when this happens. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
I had the same P0151 codes on my 2004 W22 8.1.  It says O2 sensor fault.  Changed the O2 sensor, no help.

Cleaned the MAF and replaced the air filter. Problem solved.


The MAF determines the air to fuel mixture and was causing a poor fuel mixture, thus the O2 sensor did it's job and reported a problem with the exhaust as it was out of range. 

If you use a K&N air filter and don't oil it correctly it will get oil on the MAF and goof you up.

So clean the MAF located right after the air filter on the passenger side front wheel well and let us know how it turns out.
 
Hello Arch, That was the first thing I tried  new filter and cleaned map  and made no change . I don't know if the P1516 code could cause the P0151 code.
What happened to the Good Old Days when didn't have all of these codes and crap?
Thanks for your reply
 
I agree, I'd start with cleaning the mass air flow sensor.  Make SURE you get spray cleaner specific for that (Walmart, Autozone, etc)  Check all connections, it could be throttle body, and after it's hot could be it's faulty.  Google vidoes on have to clean, not hard job, and a good cheap maintenance item any way.  The P0151 is probably a o2 sensor, but really shouldn't make it run that terrible, more worse gas mileage. The 1516 code is more likely your bad performance. 
 
What happened to the Good Old Days when didn't have all of these codes and crap?
Click to expand...

I remember "the good old days"!  The engine ran crappy ALL the time and sucked fuel like crazy.  We changed points & plugs frequently and rebuilt carburetors from time to time.  And prayed it would get us home at night. 

Now engines never need points, plugs last 80k-100k miles, there is no carburetor and mpg is up 50%-100%.  Vehicles run 10-15 years with essentially no routine maintenance, but nobody has a clue when it finally gets sick.
 
Ok, this is probably a long shot but since you are checking things, you might examine your spark plug wires and make sure they are ok.

I had an '05 on a Workhorse with the 8.1 (not a Winnebago) and there was a problem during that timeframe with the engine heat frying the spark plug wires.  Didn't happen in all makes, as I recall had to do with poor air flow design from the front grill around the engine compartment.  Some manufacturers made mods to increase the air intake around the grill over the engine to keep things cooler, some were ok.

As they say, don't ask me how I know (but it involved 2 new sets of wires over my first 3 years...).  One of those cases had us limping home from a trip.  In any case, something else you can check easily and rule out.
 
Emiddled  I will check out the plug wires . I see in the past inspection 2014 the wires and plugs were replaced because of a dead miss in the motor . I am the second owner and the original owner had all the inspection and repair work papers. We live in Virginia and inspection is done every year.
Thanks again
 
I'm intrigued by the issue with the Emergency flashers...I wonder if you have a bad battery or some other low voltage electrical issue playing games with your computer.
 
Tony  I am stumped as well. I don't know if that is normal when it goes into a limp mode or not. It did turn right over and started when I stopped and let it set for a 5 minutes. All power came back and went on down the road. I am going through and cleaning all grounds I find from the batteries to the motor. I am  saying limp mode only because of when gas is depressed there is no power and rough running. Thanks for the reply
 
Thanks for the info Arch  I am still working on it. I talked to a mechanic today and the first he thought was oxygen sensor . The reason he gave was it sounds like it is heat related ( because it will restart after 5 minutes and then run fine ). He thought it may be something high resistant that goes open and then cools and reconnects . I wounder why it doesn't stay open while driving when it is hot . The P0151 code does point to a oxygen sensor. 
 
There was some early on problems with the Throttle Actuator Control (TAC) module on the Workhorse chassis. Might be worth checking.

Richard

 
My P0151 caused me to change the O2 sensor, about $60 plus a special socket to remove it. Didn't help, but I wasn't getting the P1516 code so the cheapest route to go is the O2 sensor. 

You should know fairly quickly if it fixes the problem. Keep the original O2 sensor....After I discovered the O2 sensor didn't fix the problem I put it back in.  I've had new parts go bad later and I knew the one I pulled out was good so it is back in there. Still working fine. 

 
Saw your limp home and p1516 code on Grandson?s GM pickup. It was the connection ( plug) on the throttle position sensor. You could re-create or solve problem by simply wiggling connection. I found it by accident, but Grandson thought I was a genius. Parts store had plug/harness about $9.
 
Thanks Richard for the reply . I decided to replace the TAC , Throttle body ,plug wires with ceramic and o2 sensors. I hate to just throw parts but it is a strange problem and I know it will be a fortune at a dealer. I noticed the plug wires were replaced twice in 18545 miles that tells me something. I am adding the cooling kit to the 5th and 6th plugs also. I made the kit after seeing it on the internet forum . Hope this does the trick
 
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