m915a1 fuel shutoff solenoid

Hello all,


So I had the m915a1 on a road trip last week and experienced my first fuel shutoff solenoid problem. Pulled into a hotel and let the truck idle down while I got the room keys-- came out to find the cab filled with smoke and the stench of burnt wiring-- turns out the wire from the ignition switch cooked itself about an inch past the switch as well as at the connection to the fuel shutoff solenoid. At first we thought it was a bad connection and tried to hotwire the solenoid but came to find the solenoid has a dead short-- so we bypassed the solenoid with the thumb screw and continued the trip without incident. So I have a four part question:

1) Why do you think the solenoid failed with a dead short-- in my experiences on smaller trucks, when the solenoid fails, the truck simply stalls and wont restart-- never experienced a dead short in the solenoid until now......

2) When this happens, what are your thoughts on simply leaving the thumb screw turned in and shuttong the engine down by stalling it with the jake brake (sure beats popping the hood and climbing over the engine to turn the screw out every time the engine needs to be shut down)..... Would stalling the engine with the jake brake do any damage in this instance?

3) Does anyone have a part number and/or source for a replacement fuel shutoff solenoid for a m915a1?

4) Can the solenoid be replaced with the injection pump still on the engine?


Thanks in advance for the input........


Ziggy

I have had two of these short out like that in my 818.
First one burnt so bad that the stud into the solenoid almost fell out by itself. It still ran, but was shorting out and causing all kinds of PITA symtoms.
Second time the engine just shut off, then I smelled the smoke and heard the sizzle.
Third one is still running ok, for now.

You can always use a manual valve like the 809 series use. Put a spring on it, and it is a simple push/pull setup.

I bought a replacement for mine for $ 40. on the net. you don't need to pull the pump to replace it.

Stalling the engine using the Jake is asking for damage that you prob don't want to have to pay to fix.....either replace the original or put a manual shut off (not a bad idea to have anyway).

The solenoid is available at most heavy truck part stores. I bought one last week foe $36.00