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Old 11-06-2015, 05:55 AM   #1
Junior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Hurricane 27k
State: Arkansas
Posts: 19
THOR #1759
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Smile Loping Engine - Thor Hurricane

Our last trip took us from Las Vegas to Denver via HWY 70 which is a meandering 2-lane freeway through the mountains of Colorado. As we passed through the mountains we ran into a snow storm that powered the freeway with a couple of inches of snow. It was a white-knuckled trip following a semi-truck most of the way into Denver.
Prior to this we had left Arkansas to see the Grand Canyon and then onto Las Vegas where we would have the opportunity to visit with friends. Our RV, a Thor Hurricane, worked flawlessly and the trip to Las Vegas was a joy. We were doing fine until we were at the highest pass on Hwy 70 which was recorded to be at an elevation of 10,600 ft. when suddenly, the engine started to lope. The engine would act as if the accelerator was momentarily released every ½ second or so. When I tried to accelerate the problem became much worse, but when I eased the throttle down and limited my acceleration, then the problem abated somewhat, but was still noticeable.
After reaching the RV Park, I spent a day reading the lousy manual that Thor gave me in an attempt to discover what might be happening. I knew that it was not an electrical problem and I knew that it was not a fuel problem because the loping characteristic was even and didn’t change with RPM’s. While studying the Ford engine manual, I discovered on page 82-83 that if one changed a chassis battery that the transmission and the engine would have to relearn how to operate, which convinced me that there is a computer that controls both the engine and the transmission. The engine manual has a set of instructions on what to do to assist in the relearning event.
With the thought that nothing ventured is nothing gained, I disconnected the chassis battery. I then disconnected all power to the coach and put the coach into its “store” mode. To assure that there was no power active power I turned the headlight switch to full on and assured myself that there was no power going to the chassis or the coach. After ten (10) minutes, I reconnected the coach power and turned the coach into its “use” mode.
At this time it was interesting to note that the headlights started to operate. Also, a driving test revealed that the loping problem was gone. Wed drove from Denver back to Arkansas without further problems. Hope this information might help onother .... Paul Hetzer

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Old 11-06-2015, 01:07 PM   #2
Axis/Vegas Enthusiast
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Axis 24.4
State: Michigan
Posts: 9,837
THOR #1150
Yes the engine and trans are controlled by computer. Even more interesting: The throttle is controlled by the computer as well (throttle "by wire").

When reading your story I was suspecting either the foot pedal position sensor or the throttle position sensor but since you were able to clear things up by rebooting the system (so to speak) perhaps you found an odd corner case in the ECU code. (Although I find that somewhat surprising given that the engine controllers are usually rock solid--especially when you consider the lead time of the software and how long it took to get that technology in to RVs.)

Glad to hear you got it sorted out...
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Old 11-06-2015, 01:17 PM   #3
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: Florida
Posts: 1,241
THOR #1249
Glad you found the reason for your engine loping. Interesting that it occurred at the higher elev.
Thanks for the info and I will add it to my trouble shooting file.
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Old 11-06-2015, 02:23 PM   #4
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Hurricane 34E
State: California
Posts: 524
THOR #937
It is refreshing to read about an actual solution to a problem! By an owner!
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Old 11-07-2015, 06:58 AM   #5
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Hurricane 27K
State: California
Posts: 121
THOR #1226
Thanks for your solution to the problem. This is a little scary having a computer controlling all the functions of your driving.
Thanks again,
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