2012 Thor ACE power loss in traffic (Limp Mode?) HELP!

[Racing#3275]

I recently purchased a 2012 Thor ACE 29.1 Ford V10 with only 22K miles. I've put on about 2K miles since purchase back in April. No issues at all thus far...

Yesterday, driving home from a trip, we came up to a traffic jam and so I threw on my hazards to tell travelers behind me of the traffic jam, and came to a stop. When stopped, I put the MH in Neutral and it dropped the RPMs down to about 400 and struggled to idle. I put it into Park, shut it off, and restarted it. It idled normally for a few seconds and dropped back down again to about 400rpms. The throttle wouldn't do anything, wouldn't rev at all. I could move VERY SLOWLY in drive, so luckily, I was on a downhill slope, and I rode the berm until the next exit. Pulled off, disconnected the batteries, sat for a few minutes and reconnected. That didn't change anything. MH didn't want to idle or move at all. It starts and cranks, so I know it's nothing with the starter/alternator or batteries. It's getting enough fuel to start initially but won't stay running. Almost seems like it's in some Limp Mode setting. I ran a systems check, and all temps (oil, trans, water) came back OK. I tried cycling the ignition multiple times to possibly reset the system, and nothing helped. It was finally showing a check engine light after a few failed restart attempts as well.

I got it towed to the nearest truck repair shop, and hopefully they're looking at it today. I just wanted to see if anyone here had this problem before, so I'm prepared for the phone call from the shop. Anyone have any suggestions? PLEASE HELP! This is my first MH purchase and it's been running flawlessly for a few months and was running great up until I came to a stop in traffic.

Thank you in advance!

 

[ghnl]

Hello & welcome. Do let us know what the shop discovers.

What was the Check Engine Code? Had you recently filled up the gas tank (bad batch of gas?, inadvertently put in diesel? or E85?)

 

[Racing#3275]

I did fill up about 2 hours prior to the issues, but I filled up at the same station as the people I was traveling with. I thought about this too, and checked the receipt to make sure it was gas and not diesel, and I put in gas. The MH was running great right up until I stopped for the traffic jam. We had just climbed a small hill and was cresting the top and coming down when we came upon the traffic.

I'm not sure what the code is that it was throwing, since I left my OBD2 scanner at home. (Never leaving home without it again.)

I will keep the threat posted when I hear something, but I was hoping that maybe someone had run into this issue before with a V10.

Thanks for the welcome to the thread, and any information anyone might have!

 

[ghnl]

I had an issue like yours with our former MH - 2004 Thor Chateau with the V10 on an E450 chassis. It started as you describe - slowing to a stop for traffic and the engine began to run rough, idle slow, etc. Shutting off, waiting and restarting didn't make any improvement. After a long wait (45 minutes or so) I tried again and it ran normally. It never illuminated the Check Engine Light and by the time I got home ~ 2 hours later there were no stored codes.

I took it to a shop I trust and left it with them for a week. They drove it from time to time but of course it never happened while they had it. They didn't charge me anything since they couldn't find a fault! We did decide to change the fuel filter 'just because' and it never happened again. So I really do not know what or why it happened.

 

[PS89]

Without the actual fault code(s), all you will get from the peanut gallery will be guesses. Some will be good, others not so much.

Certainly possible:

Electronic throttle body (ET issue.
Restricted airflow (intake or exhaust).
Poor fuel delivery.

Looking forward to updates.

 

[Racing#3275]

I was able to get into my MH tonight and ran my scanner tool on it. (The shop is pulling it in first thing tomorrow, but I had to get stuff out, so I needed to know what it was showing before the shop told me something different.)

It showed two codes:
P2195
P2197

Any thoughts on what might be causing these to happen? I've read anything from vacuum leaks to faulty O2 censors, to bad MAF censors...

Anything will help!

 

[16ACE27]

I was able to get into my MH tonight and ran my scanner tool on it. (The shop is pulling it in first thing tomorrow, but I had to get stuff out, so I needed to know what it was showing before the shop told me something different.)

It showed two codes:
P2195
P2197

Any thoughts on what might be causing these to happen? I've read anything from vacuum leaks to faulty O2 censors, to bad MAF censors...

Anything will help!

Troubleshooting "modern" engines is more than just reading codes. Many things can cause the same codes.

In your case the codes say the left and right oxygen sensors are reading a very lean exhaust. This is where live data helps determine WHY you are getting those codes. Lean on a fuel injected engine means lack of fuel. The ECM is commanding more fuel from the injectors but still sees a lean condition. So maybe low fuel pressure from bad fuel pump or clogged fuel filter? Fuel manifold pressure check should be the first thing they do unless they see something else or have experience with this issue on these engines that cause them to go elsewhere.

Let us know what they find.

 

[PS89]

There is a whole crapload of possible causes for that code pair. Here's what the PCED shows.

 

[Racing#3275]

So... The shop didn't find anything wrong with any of the internals. Fuel system checked out, vacuum checked out, exhaust and o2 sensors checked out, and MAF checked out. The only thing they were thinking was it somehow became vapor locked, or I got some bad gas, or moisture got into the intake and caused the leaning out of the cylinders. I went and picked it up this morning, drove it 2 hours home and no issues. So, I'm at a loss. But either way, it's running good right now.

Wanted to keep you all informed of what they said and what's going on... Thank you for all the suggestions and information. Fingers crossed whatever it was stays away!

 

[Jimbo56]

Wonder if there’s sediment in the fuel tank that’s moving around. My initial thought was fuel filter. Yours is 12 years old. Did you buy it used? Did it sit for an extended period with a low tank of fuel. Thinking maybe rust in the tank.