Shutterstat Questions

chessie4905 · November 29, 2020, 06:26:35 AM

The engine computer relies on input from a coolant sensor. The dash gauge relies on info from a coolant sensor...

Scott & Heather · November 29, 2020, 01:03:59 PM

I wish I had my shutters still. In the 50'sF my new engine isn't getting even close to operating temp even after 25 minutes of driving.

dtcerrato · November 29, 2020, 02:04:29 PM

Close off the intake air to the radiator! Cardboard or a bra like the truckers do especially to see the differences in your temp readings. We ran shutters for decades that were never needed so off they came but when we see your issue we'd be impeding incoming air in a jiffy...
Just our 2 cents...

chessie4905 · November 29, 2020, 04:46:58 PM

Do you have a clutch fan?

Scott & Heather · November 30, 2020, 07:21:09 PM

No. I have the old style long belt and squirrels

Jim Blackwood · December 01, 2020, 09:15:32 AM

Squirrels in your bus? Hard to see that as a good thing. 'Course I've heard that a good cat can get rid of them.

Jim

chessie4905 · December 01, 2020, 10:08:41 AM

Get with Luke or Cliff and see if you can get a set of takeoffs.

richard5933 · March 03, 2021, 02:52:29 PM

Quick followup on this project as it finally nears completion.

I filled the NOS airline oiler/filter I found last year with the Shutterstat fluid today and got it installed, and then was able to confirm that the shutters themselves now open and close smoothly on their own with air. Guess oiling those shutters over the past few years even though I couldn't use them paid off, as they worked great.

Only one piece left to test, the Shutterstat itself. I'll need to get the engine to full temp, and then I'll be able to check to make sure that it closes the air supply to the shutters as it should, and I hope to do that this weekend when I get the coach out for its first run for the season.

richard5933 · March 07, 2021, 01:42:49 PM

Took the bus out today for it's first drive of the year, hoping to see the shutters do their thing. They closed right away, but in the cold weather the engine temp never got warm enough for me to see them open. Not sure if the Shutterstat is working, but I think that I might have had them open for a few minutes along the drive - the temp gauge got to around 195 for a few minutes, and then quickly dropped back to about 180 and stayed there for the rest of the trip.

Here's a video of the first cold start of the year and the shutters closing once the air reached 60 psi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG8Bgs3NL8o

buswarrior · March 07, 2021, 02:43:55 PM

You need a chase car, the shutters will close as the coach comes off the highway ramp, and you'll not see them open by the time you park.

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

richard5933 · March 07, 2021, 03:39:58 PM

Quote from: buswarrior on March 07, 2021, 02:43:55 PM
You need a chase car, the shutters will close as the coach comes off the highway ramp, and you'll not see them open by the time you park.

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

If that's the case, then I'll assume they are working for now. Perhaps I'll use this as an excuse to buy a GoPro camera and strap it to the side of the bus.

Or maybe install a contact switch on the shutters and wire a small indicator light off the the side to let me know if the shutters are open or closed.

Or, since the engine temps are doing like they should just leave things alone till they don't.

richard5933 · April 24, 2021, 06:03:24 AM

Yesterday I had the bus on the road with warmer (mid 60s) ambient temps for the first time since getting the Shutterstat system up and running. Brand new 190F Shutterstat installed and all.

On the way home, the engine temp rose up higher than I've seen in the past. Typically the needle would be just right of the 180 mark, to what would be about 185F. Yesterday it looked more like it was holding steady at about 200F. I pulled off at the next exit and manually opened the shutters, and it dropped immediately to the point it used to be.

When I got home, I thought about this. In the past I've tried every way I could to verify the accuracy of the dash gauge. No matter how I checked, it always seemed that the engine was about 160-170F when the gauge indicated 185F. I've checked with an infrared temp gun as well as temp-sensing stickers applied to the water pump housing. They all showed the lower temps. Left me thinking my gauge was reading higher than actual.

So, perhaps what I saw yesterday was actually my engine being at the proper operating temp for the first time ever?

Anyone have a good way to verify the accuracy of the dash gauge?

I've got a mechanical temp gauge I was hoping to install in the engine bay, but apparently there are no additional ports available for it.

lostagain · April 24, 2021, 07:05:19 AM

I had a mechanical gauge in the engine compartment, (of my now sold 5C), as well as an electric one on the dash, and the IR gun's reading are really close to them. I shoot at the thermostat housings with it, and the water pump and related piping. So it sounds to me like you are doing good to go.

buswarrior · April 24, 2021, 11:27:41 AM

The trouble is verifying the temp in the heat of battle. Everything has cooled by the time you stop and run back there to the engine room, so you don't learn much useful, except what "idle" might be...

My daughter and I used an IR gun, she shot down thru the hole in the floor down the back, on the pipes leading up to the hvac, while I drove it into Hades. She called out the numbers and I got an idea of what consistant lies the dash gauge was telling.

Hvac must be engaged to ensure good coolant flow, it will be noisy, windy and dusty, eye protection for the gun holder is a good idea.

Discovered on mine the dash gauge was ok at 180 and raised much more quickly than the temps found down the back, so the dash was suggesting hotter than it was, but not at idle...

Arranging a fresh mechanical gauge visible thru the floor would be good too...

Oh, how is it that we decide the engine room mechanical gauge is any freakin' better than the trash dash gauge...

False prophets, idols, sinners and busnuts...

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

lostagain · April 24, 2021, 11:55:16 AM

From my empirical observations, the water temperature stays stable (hot) long enough, so by the time you are looking at it in the engine bay, it is still close to what it was a couple of minutes before going up a hill with your foot on the floor. The cooling system contains many, many gallons of liquid. It takes hours for it to cool off completely. Not like the exhaust manifold temperature which reacts pretty well instantly to how much fuel you give the engine.