things would be ok, another problem come along uninvited. On the way to the shipper today, the weather was getting more wet. Around Cedar Rapids the sky opened up a deluge of rain. It was hard to see anything in front of the truck and lasted several minutes. Then the truck's turbo just stopped making boost pressure and my speed simply dropped to about 50 on the flat.
Without any boost the engine is functioning in "normal aspiration" mode and doesn't make much horsepower. I had to pull into a closed weigh station to get off the highway with all the rain and waited for it to let up. I then topped off the coolant level and checked the fuel filter through the sight-glass and found no problems there. I then sent a break-down message to the carrier telling them of the problem. After speaking with one of the guys in Road Assist I limped into Waterloo, IA about 25 miles away and dropped the trailer off at the shipper.
An interesting thing happened when I turned left at an intersection on the way to the shipper. The turbo spooled up and provided boost pressure and the truck accelerated through the turn as if nothing was wrong. When the truck and trailer straightened out, the turbo spun down again and during an up-shift, the Eaton VORAD failed and the speedometer reading dropped rapidly. I am convinced the problem is electrical.
So now I sit, again. The dealer isn't open so I have to wait to get checked into the service department in the morning. This truck seems to becoming a very expensive liability. With just enough miles to pay the bills at home, there isn't enough to keep the truck and APU running. It's quite frustrating and maddening.
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