Help! Powerpac APU problem

**kittydrvr** · 01-26-2010, 07:09 PM

We have a Powertech Powerpac APU with only 1300 hrs on it......it won't start and shows "communication failure" on the control panel in the truck. We can't seem to get any answers from the company without providing them with the serial number to the unit first, which for some reason seems to be missing. Has anyone else experienced this same problem where you could maybe shed a little light on this for us?

**bubblehead** · 01-26-2010, 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by kittydrvr

We have a Powertech Powerpac APU with only 1300 hrs on it......it won't start and shows "communication failure" on the control panel in the truck. We can't seem to get any answers from the company without providing them with the serial number to the unit first, which for some reason seems to be missing. Has anyone else experienced this same problem where you could maybe shed a little light on this for us?

They have had some changes on the controller card and some assembly/vendor changes that might be important for assisting you. Call Jeff if you haven't spoke with him yet and perhaps with the serial # of the engine they could cross reference it to your unit. We have two on our truck totaling over 6,000 hours without any problems but I have heard of the ECU going out and having to be re-set.

**kittydrvr** · 01-27-2010, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by bubblehead

They have had some changes on the controller card and some assembly/vendor changes that might be important for assisting you. Call Jeff if you haven't spoke with him yet and perhaps with the serial # of the engine they could cross reference it to your unit. We have two on our truck totaling over 6,000 hours without any problems but I have heard of the ECU going out and having to be re-set.

We've spoken with Jeff and have gotten nowhere as of yet, but maybe this info will help. We've tried disconnecting from the control panel inside & reconnecting it to see if it would reset but didn't work. Jeff wants us to take it in but without the serial # they won't bill the work to warranty. Thanks for your help though.

**greg334** · 01-27-2010, 03:36 PM

Don't mean to harsh but it is very hard to believe that there is no serial number or record of the purchase.

I have to ask;

Did you have the unit installed yourself?

If so then call the vendor who installed it and ask them.

If not, did you buy it pre-installed on the truck?

If so, go back to where you got the truck and ask them to see if they can help.

If not, did you buy it used?

**kittydrvr** · 01-27-2010, 03:45 PM

Originally Posted by greg334

Don't mean to harsh but it is very hard to believe that there is no serial number or record of the purchase.

I have to ask;

Did you have the unit installed yourself?

If so then call the vendor who installed it and ask them.

If not, did you buy it pre-installed on the truck?

If so, go back to where you got the truck and ask them to see if they can help.

If not, did you buy it used?

Not harsh, very understandable. It was on the truck when the truck was purchased. The techs and manager at a Powerpac service facility were unable to find the serial # either. We've spoken with ICT, who put it on, that they could cross reference the motor serial # to find the # for the unit but we have yet to get an answer on that. We've been trying to get answers from both Powertech and ICT but as of yet haven't gotten any answers. Getting frustrated and worried about getting a ticket for idling. Thanks.

**greg334** · 01-27-2010, 03:55 PM

Well I would call them every hour to get an answer, I would ask to talk to the guy/gal in charge of the company to see what they can do about it. It should be a 15 minute time between you asking the question and getting an answer unless their record keeping is really p*ss poor.

I would suggest that you ask in a firm way that they send you copies of all the invoices with the part numbers and serial numbers of everything they put on the truck to ensure you have the right numbers and then you record all the numbers in one location, with other important info like fan belts and filter part numbers.

**kittydrvr** · 01-27-2010, 04:46 PM

Originally Posted by greg334

Well I would call them every hour to get an answer, I would ask to talk to the guy/gal in charge of the company to see what they can do about it. It should be a 15 minute time between you asking the question and getting an answer unless their record keeping is really p*ss poor.

I would suggest that you ask in a firm way that they send you copies of all the invoices with the part numbers and serial numbers of everything they put on the truck to ensure you have the right numbers and then you record all the numbers in one location, with other important info like fan belts and filter part numbers.

We've become pretty persistent lately, going to have to get even more so though. Hard to believe they don't have a record of the apu serial # either but we'll get an answer out of them one way or the other. Thanks for your advice, much appreciated.

**greg334** · 01-27-2010, 05:32 PM

Well I thought about this and if they can't give you the number from ICT then here is another thought; have them look up when they purchased it and call Powerpac and tell them to look up their sales receipts to see what they shipped to them. Chances are they may have bought three units at a time and that narrows it down to three that are alike.

I would not like the idea that a manufacture who is selling a wide variety of custom sleepers and products can't simply look up a simple number but again my experience with Bentz it all may make sense after all.

**bubblehead** · 01-27-2010, 05:44 PM

Originally Posted by kittydrvr

We've spoken with Jeff and have gotten nowhere as of yet, but maybe this info will help. We've tried disconnecting from the control panel inside & reconnecting it to see if it would reset but didn't work. Jeff wants us to take it in but without the serial # they won't bill the work to warranty. Thanks for your help though.

If yours is the the 3k (yellow) untill 2007 i think, then there was a common problem with the field install inwhich you need to remove the top panel and clean the connectors on the right side (rr each wire one at a time) this was not a QC issue but an install issue. Our first Power Pac experience was a 3k installed by ict on a truck we drove for someone else and the only problem was from poor install fron ICT...they did fix it and I had an opportunity to see and appreciate how this little unit was built. My previous experience was Onans on boats and motor homes. If you have the 5k ish model, when you remove the stainless cover there is a gray box on the right hand side with a master switch. Box cover requires screw driver to remove screws to open and acces circuit board. You can 'ups' the board to them and they will reset or replace...if reset, make sure they set ambiet to max temp...default is about 100f and in the south that would cause a shutdown Good luck!