How do I cut off the engine

[Tarheel]

1994 Airstream motorhome with a cummins pusher. Turned the engine on check it and make certain all is ok. We have had a long period of rain and there was some leaks around the windshield area. When I went to cut off the engine it would not secure. It has been running for 24 hours and I really don't want it to cut off because of lack of fuel. Any suggestions?

Tarheel

[thecatsandi]

Turn off the fuel or the air that is the only way to shutdown a diesel. Usually they turn off the fuel. Has it overheated yet?

[Tarheel]

it is running cool, no problems with overheating, the unit is at a friends house he has just had knee replacement and has difficulty getting in the engine compartment. Has already tried cutting off air supply but has been unable to completely starve it.

[thecatsandi]

If it has a electric driven pump, disconnect the wires. Engine driven? Disconnect the incoming fuel line. Not outgoing. drain the fuel tank? trying to cutt of the air could risk having something sucked into the engine.
Find the shutoff valve and manually close it. I am out of suggestion at this time...

[Tarheel]

Its a mechanical fuel pump and he is not physically able to disconnect the fuel line. Its a bear when your physical ability limits what you can do. If it were straight shift he could stall the engine, not easy to do with an automatic which is mired in mud.

[cooperhawk]

Okay, been a while since I drove diesel simis, however, if it is the usual cummins PT Pump there may be a lever on the pump that switches from electric to manual. If so, try switching that. If not, the on off switch to the pump used to require voltage to hold a ball suspended that allowed fuel to flow. Try disconnecting the batteries. It could be that the ball is gummed up and won't drop into place to block the fuel flow, try tapping on the pump with a hammar. TAP, don't strike. If none of that works, disconnecting the fuel line coming into the pump will stop the engine for sure, however you will want a container to catch the fuel until the fuel pump stops.

[Tarheel]

Thanks I have passed this information to my friend with the problem. It may have run out of fuel by now.

[ticki2]

It is probably the fuel shut down solinoid stuck in the on position , it is just foward of the fuel filter , pull down on the rod that comes out the bottom . If he has a manual it will show a picture of it's location , drivers side of the engine .

P.S. It looks like a small canister , about 1-1/2" dia.,with a bellows below and a rod coming out the bottom. Good luck

[ticki2]

Here's a picture

[ticki2]

Try again

[ticki2]

Sorry , can't get it to work

[Chaplain Kent]

On my dashboard I have a handle which I pull to stop the engine. This handle cuts the fuel supply. Is it possible such a handle is also on your dashboard?

[Tarheel]

He couldn't find a kill swithch on the dash, it has run out of fuel and is secured at the present time. Thanks for all the help. I guess I need to look at my new cummins and see how I would shut it down if it happened to me. I am pretty sure it was a problem with the fuel shut down valve.

[GlenCoombe]

Kent, are you sure the handle is a fuel shutoff? I thought that was a compression release... If it's a fuel shutoff I've given someone some bad info regarding cold weather starting.
I have had some older semi tractors that had a compression release to aid in cold starts as you could get the engine turning before adding fuel and ignition.
Please correct me if I've been wrong.

[Chaplain Kent]

Glen,
My manual calls it a fuel valve shut off, thus I assumed it shut off the fuel.

[GlenCoombe]

Thank you Kent! I stand corrected embarassed, but corrected.

[Warbs]

I' m no mechanic, but all the firetrucks I've driven in the last 25+ years have a fuel shutoff that you pull out of the dashboard like the old manual chokes. We also have a secondary shutoff that is basically a metal flap that falls down over the air intake to starve the engine. The secondary has to be manually reset and we are always told not to touch it unless the primary doesn't work. Hope this helps.

[ralley]

One of the things that can be done to stop a diesel which is running on after the key is turned off is to loosen and remove the primary fuel filter. It is usually a spin-on filter on the engine--somewhere near the injectors. Removing the filter allows air into the fuel line and will stop the engine before it consumes all of the fuel in the tank.

Starting an engine which has been fuel starved requires bleeding the air out of the fuel lines at the injectors. Turn the key on to cause the fuel pump to run, and use a line wrench at each injector to bleed the air.

Best,

Rob