Well that’s not good…

When we settled in at Canyon Lake I began to search in earnest for soultions to our check engine light and error code. The conclusion was to replace the (very expensive) fuel pressure sensor. I ordered the part and hoped for the best.

Before the part arrived we had to move to a different site and when I tried to start the RV it took several tries before it would start. Blowing smoke the whole way from our old site to our new one was a bit unnerving.We were looking forward to getting the part and hoping it would solve our issues.

When the part arrived I installed it and made sure to torque it down to the required 52ftlbs. Then I tried to start the RV and it started right away.Hoping this solved everything I started it and let it run a while and didn’t see any black smoke but also knew it wasn’t under load  I started it another time and it started right away. Success? Maybe, maybe not…

The next day I tried to start it again and after several tries it wouldn’t start. Why it started the day before was puzzling. So I called up Good Sam's Roadside Service(reluctantly) to see where they would tow it to get serviced. I told them we were scheduled to leave the a park on a Friday so they could come on Thursday leaving a just in case day since we were dealing with Good Sam's.

They scheduled a wrecker to come get me by 10 am Thursday and about an hour after they verified the service that morning they called to say that they had to change wrecker companies.Hours later they called to say a wreaker would be at our site within 300 minutes.I guess they say minutes because it sounds better than hours.

A wrecker finally showed up and after having difficult disconnecting our drive train our RV was on its way to San Antonio .An hour later we pulled into Cummins Sales and Service and checked in for our Friday morning appointment. This was June 31st. Knowing full well we were headed into a long holiday weekend we went to our son’s house to stay while waiting fort the repair.

We find out later that nothing got done Friday since they spent several hours trying to reassemble the drive shaft that the tow truck driver messed up. With no work done on the RV until several days later it took a nearly a week to determine the problem…bad fuel injectors.

They performed the very expensive work and the RV was ready for us to leave on July 11th. We were very fortunate to have a place to stay with family while waiting for our RV. Hopefully this troublesome time is now behind us… 

Uh, Oh Something’s not right! Error Code ID 94 FM 2

We left Brady Texas and moved on down the road with our next destination to a place we have visited many times before, Canyon Lake Texas.When we were about 15 miles away I noticed our check engine light came on and was amber.

I looked for a spot to pull over and when I maneuvered safely off the road I checked my add-on scanner which revealed an error code ID 94 FM 2. I searched on-line and found a website that explained it was “Injector Metering Rail – Data Erratic, Intermittent or Incorrect'”. The ECM “detected that the fuel pressure signal is not changing”.

Reading that it was not a serious problem (requiring towing) I drove on.The check engine light went off and I drove another 10 miles before the light came back on. I pulled over once more and saw the same error code so I waited until the light went off again.

As I pulled back on the road  this time I notice excessive black smoke from the tailpipe when starting off or under load but we were able to drive another 10 miles to campground. I did notice some "stuttering" when I got close to campground when under load.

At the campground I called Cummins and they suggested it could be the Fuel Pressure Sensor which I ordered since we were here for 6 days. A $400 part, circled in yellow above) but it was worth a try if it meant not having to go to a service center.

In the meantime we will simply enjoy Canyon Lake. For us that means daily walks around the campground and occasional day trips. Our favorite day trip is down the old river road to New Braunfels. I’ve blogged about it before so will just include a few pictures in this blog as a reminder.

As soon as the part arrives we can figure out what we are doing next. But such is life on the Road of Retirement…

A Short Stop in Brady Texas

After leaving San Angelo Texas our next stop was at the small Texas town of Brady Texas, We stayed at another nice Passport America (50% off) park called the Rockin R RV Park. The park is located just outside of Brady.

Less than 5,000 people call Brady home. Brady is known as the "Heart of Texas" because it is the closest city to the geographical center of the state. The actual geographical center of Texas is located about 15 miles northeast of Brady. Brady was home to my favorite Aunt Mildred who passed away some years ago.

The community was named Brady City after Brady Creek, which runs through town. Later the name was shortened to Brady when the town was incorporated in 1906. The quiet and quaint downtown area is nice for a stroll to admire the historic buildings

One of the iconic landmarks in downtown is the McCulloch County Courthouse. Built in 1899, this gothic looking building reflects the town's rich history. Its design features a combination of Romanesque Revival and Italianate architectural elements. One thing we love about Texas are the interesting historical court houses.

We also drove out to nearby Brady Lake. There are RV campsites there as well. We will have to remember that in the future. There was a little BBQ event going on at the lake but the big event that Brady is best known for is hosting the World Championship Barbecue Goat Cook-Off every Labor Day weekend. I sure that would be a fun event!

San Angelo State Park in San Angelo TX

After spending some time in the panhandle of Texas we moved on down to a spot we've spent time at before. San Angelo State Park is a favorite stop of ours because we like the solitude of the campground and we also enjoy the town of San Angelo.

We love that the park has lots of trails to hike on and there is also a wildlife/bird blind near the campground loop we stay at .We have seen a lot of different birds there and have seen javalina on several occasions as well. While we did see a lot of birds we didn't see any javalina this time around,

Temperatures are unseasonably hot this year with highs in the mid-100’s so we hike much shorter distances than normal.One trail we took this year was new to us.We learned that the gate code given to us at check-in opens all the gates in the park, including those in parts of the park labeled closed.

There is a 2.7 mile hike where visitors can see dinosaur footprints in a creek bed. Wanting to do this hike we drove up to the north part of the lake using the gate code to get to the trailhead.It was over a hundred degrees but we did the hike anyway.

Yes it was hot and there wasn’t a lot of shade but it was a nice hike. There were still plenty of wildflowers in bloom making it as enjoyable despite sweltering temperatures.

We did a few short hikes in the park to see the lake and the buffalo herd in the park. The lake is the fullest we have ever seen it and it still is only 2.9% full.

There were grand plans when the COE built this lake including a privately developed airstrip and community. But alas, the lake was last full in 1959 and since the lake is fed by the North Concho River which has been dry for several months and even stopped running over a year ago there is little chance the lake will ever be full again.

We also hiked around the downtown area and re-visited the Lilly Gardens in town.  It’s always great to see the varieties of lilies in bloom and always fun to re-visit San Angelo Texas.