sullair 185 overheating

[kevin.montalbano]

I need some help. I have a sullair 185 compressor with a cat c2.2 diesel. It'll run about 6 minutes after cold start then shut down with flash codes for engine temp. So far the water pump, thermostat, and belt have been changed. I vould use any information you guys have.

 

[930dreamer]

Sounds like there's a sensor in the system that's faulty and sending a shutdown code. Do you have a manual for it?

 

[Sportsman762]

I have difficulty believing at 6 minutes it is overheating. I would check the wiring and the connections for the wiring harness for the temperature sensor. Does it have a electronic control for the engine or are these old style murphy switches that were mechanical? I am guessing new style electronic control. All the compressors I have worked with are old and do not have engine protection systems on them. My suspicion is the sensor is bad if the wiring looks good.

 

[kevin.montalbano]

I don't have one. I was thinking a sensor issue, I found there's a one pin senor on the thermostat housing with one wire to it but unsure how to test that sensor

 

[uscarry45]

Do you have an ir temp gun so you can verify actual temperature? Mine was packed full between radiator and the oil cooler. If it’s not actually over heating then you have to find temp sensor and related wiring

 

[kevin.montalbano]

I have a temp gun, do you know roughly what it should be running at? I would imagine around 200 degrees but I'm unsure

 

[greg13]

Start with the simple stuff first. Make SURE you have air through the radiator, Like uscarry said they do plug up. Check the sensors cold for normally open / normally closed, run it till it shuts down and see if a sensor has changed. keep taking it's temperature as it runs and see just how hot it is getting.

 

[Retroman]

Are you running it with the doors open or closed? Most people assume doors open is better but most are designed to be run with doors closed. But in 6 minutes I don't think either way would matter much!!

 

[American Locomotive]

Normal operating temperature of the engine should be around 180-200°F. It'd probably be best to check this temperature around the cylinder head or thermostat housing.

Also keep in mind that IR temp guns really only accurately work on flat-black surfaces. So assuming the engine is glossy CAT Yellow, you should take a piece of electrical tape and stick it to wherever you're measuring your temperature, and point the gun at that.

Another thing to keep in mind is that IR temperature guns don't measure a point. It's more like a "cone". The further away the gun is from an object, the bigger the area it's sampling for temperature. So to get a really accurate temperature reading, you basically need to put a piece of electrical on the engine somewhere, and then put the IR gun right up against that piece of tape.

Here's a test demonstrating the issue: https://www.w0qe.com/IR_temperature_msmts.html

 

[RedF]

Air flow is the first thing to check. We have a small fleet of diesel compressors and the radiators get clogged up with debris regularly.

 

[bsaint]

Must be fairly new they used to have Deere engines. It could be overheating. If you have zero air pressure they thing is running full tilt. I would pull the rad and power wash it and flush it with a cleaner.


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[930dreamer]

Lets see some compressor pics.

 

[MacMcMacmac]

[QUOTE=kevin.montalbano;8568518]I don't have one. I was thinking a sensor issue, I found there's a one pin senor on the thermostat housing with one wire to it but unsure how to test that sensor[/QUOTE]

According to the manual it is a simple switch.

Check continuity to ground (the block) of the temperature switch input lead when the compressor is cool and not running, all power off. The is the normal operating state of the switch.

Continuity and the compressor starts? The switch opens when hot.

No continuity and the compressor starts? The switch closes when hot.

If there is continuity when cool, you can go two ways, either ground the temperature lead to the block and run it to see if it keeps operating (keeping an eye on engine temperature of course), or run it until it trips and check to see if the continuity state of the switch has changed.

If it has no continuity to ground when cool, you can pull the wire and see if it keeps running while disconnected.

Either way, if the switch actuates and you are SURE the motor has not overheated, I would swap out the sensor.

No chance your headgasket might be leaking to the coolant?

 

[Dandy Dave]

Take off the radiator cap. Start the engine when it is cold. If you see bubbles coming up it means it has a bad head gasket, or crack in the head or cylinder liner.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

Is the code for engine high temp, or a general code for high temp? Asking because recently had an Atlas Copco 185 come through with a high temp alarm. It was from the compressor temp sender because is was low on compressor oil.