Crystalized DEF after setting 5 Months

[FL-JOE]

Believe it or not, but many Cummins/Freightliner Service centers will reset these engine codes when they have to do with the DP's DEF tank or DEF system and put you back on the road. Two of them did that to me, telling me that it was probably just a "ghost" engine light and would probably never come on again. The whole time it was a failed DEF tower/head. The third time it came on I was in Florida. North Trails in Ft. Myers checked it and knew immediately what it was. Two hours later it was replaced and fixed for good.

Very common that these DEF tower/heads are still going out. Back when North Trail replaced mine they said they were doing at least one or two a week.

As far as DEF aging out, just apply common sense. Just think about the hundreds of thousands of DP's that are sitting for 3 to 6 months in Florida. Are there now a bunch of them sitting on the shoulder of I-75 and I-95 with failed DEF systems? Of course not. You can leave your DP sit with DEF in the tank for several months as long as the DEF wasn't 10 or 12 months old when you initially put it in there.

 

[bowpulpit]

Rich W.....you have been stellar with your responces and info. It is appreciated. I've passed all your posts along as well as your phone number. My freinds name is Bill Hunt in case he calls you.
Steve

 

[Rich W.]

Sounds good. I was looking around the West Texas neighborhood and the next decent choice for service would be Odessa, but that‘s 40 miles more driving than El Paso.

I just traveled through there, and Van Horn (before and after my winter Gulf Coast tour) and Odessa immediately came to mind as there is so much going on there, I figured there had to be good services. So I checked and there is a Freightliner dealer.

Still curious about the Coach model, year, and his current codes. Hope he makes it where he’s going - its pretty stressful driving long distances (or anywhere really) with codes that could lead to derate, and one of my primary goals is to avoid being towed.

 

[DHudson]

With all the issues I hear about DEF, I only stock a little more than we usually sell in a month. The city approached me about selling them in bulk. After figuring out how much they used a month, we all decided that they would be better off buying by the box. One failure from bad DEF would wipe out many times over the savings they would get buying in bulk.

 

[Old-RV'er]

All- This subject is batted around here numerous times. As stated above, DEF has a shelf life. To prevent this, move coach about once month, taking a 25-mile one way trip and back, this will help keep everything free of moisture, get all the lubricants moving where they should be, etc. It will use some DEF, that means check its level, but don't let the thing sit for a long time and not use it, machinery is designed to be used, not to sit. Keeping the tank full will help to avoid this, but again, it's not a guarantee. Driving it for several hundred miles "out with the old and you will put in the new"