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Instrument warnings

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Jim

RVF Supporter
Joined
Dec 18, 2019
Messages
4,088
Location
North Carolina
RV Year
2016
RV Make
Newmar
RV Model
London Aire 4551
RV Length
45
Chassis
Freightliner
Engine
Cummins / I6 Diesel Pusher 600HP / 1,950 ft-lbs
TOW/TOAD
2016 Jeep Rubicon
Fulltimer
No
These diesel engines have a lot of moving parts and are a small universe unto itself. And Cummins gives us a whole array of lights, bells and whistles to warn us when that universe becomes unaligned. Yesterday I pulled into a rest area and just after parking, I saw a strange emblem on the dash that I was unfamiliar with. It stayed lit for a minute or two and then went out. Of course, no internet to diagnose the display and as such, I misinterpreted its meaning.

It was a strange symbol with a temp symbol in it, and I assumed it to be the transmission temp. And for the next 100 miles I drove at a snails pace to keep the tranny cool. We parked at the scheduled RV park for the night and I did some research.

Turns out the light, a high exhaust temp light, was telling me that the DPF (diesel particulate filter) had recycled and the heat at the tailpipe was extremely hot and to be sure and NOT park on anything that could catch fire. Like tall grass or the like. A far cry from an overheated transmission!

So on my list of thing to learn, I'm going to study all of the warnings and displays so that I don't get caught in a position of ignorance again.

Question to all my RV friends, how may of you know and understand all of the warnings that the Freightliner (or other make) instrument display can present?
 
I swear I just want to put black electrical tape over those lights! Ignorance IS bliss :)

The regen light is one I saw for a while in the first 10k miles or so then I really don't see it anymore. It gets your attention and we all learn that this is one that just means caution where you park such as on grass or over leaves but 99% of the time you really don't need to worry about it. I wish they would just not show this warning, it causes more fear than needed.

If a light comes on other than this then I just call Freightliner who has been amazing and responsive. I check the lightpanel and cringe hoping for no lights. I had my first light on the trip west last September, the first time in nearly 3 years. It generated a code which FL just said should clear after 4 cycles of engine runs, and it did. Something threw a low voltage in the DEF system I think it was. Unnerving. We all just want these RV's to work reliably like our cars.

What would be helpful is if they gave us a quick reference card instead of having to dig through the manuals. Imagine a laminated one page thick card thing with the symbols and what they mean. That sure would help.
 
The Freightliner app gives you the definition of the lights.

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I swear I just want to put black electrical tape over those lights! Ignorance IS bliss :)

The regen light is one I saw for a while in the first 10k miles or so then I really don't see it anymore. It gets your attention and we all learn that this is one that just means caution where you park such as on grass or over leaves but 99% of the time you really don't need to worry about it. I wish they would just not show this warning, it causes more fear than needed.

If a light comes on other than this then I just call Freightliner who has been amazing and responsive. I check the lightpanel and cringe hoping for no lights. I had my first light on the trip west last September, the first time in nearly 3 years. It generated a code which FL just said should clear after 4 cycles of engine runs, and it did. Something threw a low voltage in the DEF system I think it was. Unnerving. We all just want these RV's to work reliably like our cars.

What would be helpful is if they gave us a quick reference card instead of having to dig through the manuals. Imagine a laminated one page thick card thing with the symbols and what they mean. That sure would help.
It would be good if they even told you what any ment. I have an 05 and nothing in the manual.
 
I had a warning light pop on back in Ohio. I stopped and bought one of those plug in diagnostic tools to see if I should worry and it went out. Warning lights are like those people who keep calling and offering an extended warranty. They just want you to spend money.
 

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