have a 2013 Prostar with the Maxforce13 (heard all the horror stories, but so far its been a fine engine for me), anyway my problem is when I shut the truck off my airbags lose pressure and very quickly too. It actually seems worse when I turn the key to the on position without starting the engine. So I know my leveling valve was leaking, and I replaced it so now I do not hear any air escaping. However, when I shut the truck off inside of 5 minutes I'm down to 60 lbs of pressure on my gauges, but I cannot hear any air leaks anywhere.
On my dump switch I'm thinking the solenoid is bad, if I dump the air the bags go down and the light goes solid, but when I try to air them back up it just flashes. I have to flip the switch back and forth a number of times until I hear a click which I believe is the solenoid finally engaging then the bags air back up. however, the light on the switch continues to flash and I feel like my airbags are a bit under pressure. I have the replacement solenoid for this but I have no clue where to find the old solenoid pack.
Also, one other question that I'm not sure applies to this. So when I turn the key to the on position without starting the engine my waste gate dump valve starts dumping air. Is this tied into my air pressure, I thought it was over pressure being dumped from the turbo? Could this be the cause of my bleeding air pressure?
When the truck is running I maintain pressure just fine, and as long as the key is off I do not hear anything. Turn the key on and I hear the dump valve bleeding, but again not sure if its connected to my squishy airbags or not or if its a result of a failing solenoid. hope someone can help me, if not thanks for reading my long winded problem anyway.
2013 Prostar blinking dump switch
Discussion in 'Heavy Duty Diesel Truck Mechanics Forum' started by Wdelsey72, Oct 11, 2019.
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No Pros here but some Workstars and such. Get a one gallon hand pump up sprayer and put some dish soap in it. A couple spray bottles of Windex may get the job done. Spray everything down. I have had problems with push in fittings in the air tanks. I could not hear them but when 6 of them are leaking it adds up.
That should not have anything to do with your air bags.
A larger leak can trip you up. To large to catch soap and blow bubbles. Not bad enough to hear it blowing air.
Those electric switches on some of ours control solenoids on a block around the transmission. It is on the drivers side frame rail. -
thanks for the tip, I've used soapy water in a spray bottle before and it does work,but not having any luck this time. I'll look for the solenoid pack tomorrow.
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Did you spray on the airbags?
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The wastegate has a hole in it, or the line is split. It should not leak air like that. The dump switch blinking is a sign the body controller is detecting a circuit problem. Solenoids do go bad and the boards corrode for common problems.
spsauerland Thanks this. -
ok, so the waste gate is a separate issue. That's good to know. I know where it is leaking from, going to just have it replaced. Hopefully then replacing the solenoid will fix the air problem. -
Yes I did, they are all good. Well they are now, I have to replace one a few weeks ago but I could hear that one. Now there are no leaks on my airbags and I can't hear one anywhere else. getting to the point i'm going to have to take it to a shop to track down the problem. Hate to do that but I can't find the cause. If replacing the solenoid doesn't resolve it I'll take it to a shop then. -
Also having the blinking light on the dump valve switch. Not getting air to the cab air bag, the interaxle differential, or the suspension airbags. I'm sure it's probably something simple since it 3 things together. Any help is appreciated
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Where is the solenoid located?
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Usually inside the left frame rail near the transmission. The air suspension uses two solenoids. There should another solenoid for the interaxle.
The cab suspension is not related to the solenoid strip.
There should be a pressure protection valve that opens at 90 PSI to supply the cab and rear suspension. See if you have air to the cab and suspension levelling valves
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