Resolved Broken down in Breckenridge....

[Neal]

Left Tiger Run this morning and immediately got a yellow regen light, no big deal, proceeding. Then it turned into a red stop engine light and derate so made it into a nice clear parking lot. Called FL 24/7 and they said high soot level, needs forced regen, problem is stop engine code is blocking forced regen. It's Labor Day so no tow services per coach-net, which is fine, in a great spot to stay the night and not worry, notified police, they came by and said all is fine. Ouray was wonderful and allowed me to cancel the entire week minus 5% once I provide them evidence of the breakdown. Even if I was fixed tomorrow there's no way I can trust the engine right away to be in the rockies in the vicinity of Ouray and then via Telluride enroute to Pagosa Springs. Attempting to cancel high dollar Amazon items enroute to Pagosa Springs as that location is unknown right now, some of you know I had TV's etc. on the way there.

1 Engine Fault:
SPN 3251 FMI 0 OC 1

Glad I did my 3 year renewal with Coach-net after my last great experience with them. I also learned a valuable lesson from @NWIP's Alaska saga, while he never mentioned this I learned that never travel with your TOAD tank below a level that it can't get you to someplace you need to get to.

Will let all know how this saga proceeds. I'm not upset as this is the first time I had an issue since owning this coach in June of 2017. It's going to happen, so it's my turn to pay my dues.

 

[Rich W.]

So you must have other codes. Can you list them?

Also, it will not do a forced regen because of one of the codes?

What are you using for code reading/clearing and forced regens?

PM if you want. I’m curious about this and the possibility of you avoiding a tow.

 

[J&JD]

Boy, @Neal, if a forced regen would get you going again I certainly would do everything I could to find a mobile mechanic to clear the codes and do the regen. Having been towed a long distance through the mountains, I can assure you it is a difficult task to say the least with a reasonable probability of damage to the coach. And don’t forget to check out the HWH Active Air towing procedures if a tow is necessary.
Best of luck sir!

 

[Neal]

So you must have other codes. Can you list them?

Also, it will not do a forced regen because of one of the codes?

What are you using for code reading/clearing and forced regens?

PM if you want. I’m curious about this and the possibility of you avoiding a tow.

I checked again, only one code, but I have a feeling there's more to it. Sounds like a clogged DPF filter in the after treatment and spoke with a Cummins tech and he said it may need to be replaced, don't know.

Boy, @Neal, if a forced regen would get you going again I certainly would do everything I could to find a mobile mechanic to clear the codes and do the regen. Having been towed a long distance through the mountains, I can assure you it is a difficult task to say the least with a reasonable probability of damage to the coach. And don’t forget to check out the HWH Active Air towing procedures if a tow is necessary.
Best of luck sir!

I tried finding one and the guy I spoke with said it would be $2500 to come up here and clear codes and check what he could but even at that he's not sure he could do anything if it needed to be done. Just going to have to deal with it.

Thanks for the heads up on HWH Active Air. If you have the info handy, please provide, otherwise I'll see what I can find in the manual, etc. I was wondering about that!

 

[Neal]

This is all I found on HWH Active Air towing:

 

[Rich W.]

Have you tried the “shorting plug” method for forced regens?

Its important to consider that it could just be a sensor issue. There are two sensors, one before and one after the DPF and they provide the differential to make the determination. So a bad sensor will cause the same issue as a bad DPF, and bad differential pressure sensors are fairly common.

Unless you have been getting multiple warnings about active regens, your DPF is probably not plugged. Has your DPF light been coming on when you decelerate such as exiting the freeway?

You get a lot of warnings before your DPF is so plugged that it has to be replaced. So my guess is thats not it and more likely just another example of a fragile, flukely system giving false readings causing the issue. Clearing codes and running a forced regen will probably clear things up.

 

[Neal]

Have you tried the “shorting plug” method for forced regens?

Yes, that's how it's done on mine and with FL 24/7 on the phone we tried multiple times. I think the problem is the code (stop engine) is registered and until cleared it's done.

 

[Rich W.]

Instructions for using the shorting plug:

https://www.ourmotorhome.net/2017/docs/DPF_Regen_instructions.pdf

and a pic of mine:

Also I havent read thos thoroughly but it looks like a good discussion:

Regen Failure: Why It Happens and How to Avoid It

Why are DPF regens important & what to do about regen failure in a commercial truck? Find answers & technical tips right here in our new blog!

www.roadwarrior-inc.com

 

[Neal]

Tried that, won't go into regen

 

[Rich W.]

This is the other code reader/code clearing/forced regen tool I mentioned. Its gone up in price a lot in a couple months. Was on sale for $349 in July, reg $449, now 600 bucks!.

 

[J&JD]

This is all I found on HWH Active Air towing:

That’s what I have. On mine the Shrader valves are located in the compartment below the driver and the chassis battery compartment. If being towed, the driver can use these to get the coach to the best travel height for his setup.

 

[redbaron]

Do you have the Bluefire app and dongle? It can clear some codes.

 

[Neal]

Do you have the Bluefire app and dongle? It can clear some codes.

No. I did find a truck shop not far from me. Hopefully they can clear codes and we can do a regen. Then have to figure out where I would trust to travel.

 

[redbaron]

No. I did find a truck shop not far from me. Hopefully they can clear codes and we can do a regen. Then have to figure out where I would trust to travel.

I would head back to I 25 south to walsenburg, co. If you get that far without issue then head west to Pagosa Springs as planned.

 

[Neal]

Stardate: 1030 PM

The knock

Daytime police didn't pass memo to nighttime police. Property manager complained.

Knew this would happen so it was impossible to fall asleep. Even put sign on front window.

Explained story again. Now to try and sleep.

 

[FloridaSon]

Too late to help you Neal but this might help others.

Sounds like something else is happening due to the quick change from yellow check engine to the red stop engine derate.

Rich W posted the Freightliner class slides that covers the issue. As I understand it, when the red stop engine and derate lamp comes on, it is too late for a parked regen.

This was a good reminder for me ( not good for Neal and I am truly sorry about that). I printed these out to take with me.

From RichW:
Instructions for using the shorting plug:

https://www.ourmotorhome.net/2017/docs/DPF_Regen_instructions.pdf

 

[FloridaSon]

Anyone that has performed the parked regen:

Does the TOAD need to be disconnected due to the high exhaust gases?

 

[Tnedator]

Good luck. I can relate to the holiday weekend issue. I left my coach at the RV park I was at this weekend, because I have a brake dragging and Coachnet couldn't locate a diesel tech that would come out on the holiday weekend.

Fortunately, it's only about 1:15 from home, and it's on a site that I lease, so I can leave it there as long as I want. Would have really sucked if it happened when I was on a trip and needed to leave Monday morning.

 

[Rich W.]

Too late to help you Neal but this might help others.

Sounds like something else is happening due to the quick change from yellow check engine to the red stop engine derate.

Rich W posted the Freightliner class slides that covers the issue. As I understand it, when the red stop engine and derate lamp comes on, it is too late for a parked regen.

This was a good reminder for me ( not good for Neal and I am truly sorry about that). I printed these out to take with me.

This is one of the reasons I think it could be a sensor. They don’t go from virtually no warning to stop engine - soot accumulation in the DPF is a gradual process measured by two differential pressure sensors and there are built in warnings and time to find a place for a parked regen if necessary.

So clearing codes and running the regen is the first step. I’ve found it essential to always have this capability with me when driving my coach. I was stranded by my emissions system three times before I took charge of it, learned it, now I stay on top of it. My goal is to never need a tow. Sometimes I think my approach is obsessive, and I’d rather spend my time and money on other things, but being stranded by the thing forced the issue. I call it my new unwanted hobby.

So Neal my advice is to get someeone out there with code clearing and forced/parked regen capability before resorting to a tow. And since your case isnt consistent with normal operations it should be a tech with Insite so they have full diagnostic capabilities.

 

[FLSteve]

Rich W posted the Freightliner class slides that covers the issue. As I understand it, when the red stop engine and derate lamp comes on, it is too late for a parked regen.

This was a good reminder for me ( not good for Neal and I am truly sorry about that). I printed these out to take with me.

Is this just a Freightliner procedure ... or does/will it work on Spartan as well?

FLSteve