Max Force 7 Regen

[Penguy]

Is anyone having problems with the Regen function on the Max Force 7 engine? My regen light came on today while traveling at expressway speeds. Ten minutes later I got the flashing light and beeper and a message indicating the regen was necessary soon. No one told me anything about this regen thing at purchase. After consulting with an International service manager I ran the engine and pressed the regen switch (now that I know I have one). Several minutes later I was presented with a check engine light and another warning buzzer.

The motorhome is now on the way to the shop behind a rather large tow truck. As an aside, there is not a single International or workhorse service shop in Orlando, Fl that will work on this "new Max Force engine". It is being towed to Daytona Beach for this service.

I suggest that if you have one of these units, check and see if there is a local shop that is up to speed on servicing this engine.

I would like to hear if anyone else is having similar service issues.

Having said all the above, I still like my Serrano very much.

[DriVer]

According to the Workhorse Website this service center will work on your engine. Please let me know if this isn't the case.

MAUDLIN INTERNATIONAL TRUCKS, INC.
2300 S. DIVISION AVE.
ORLANDO, FL 32805
Phone: (407) 849-6440
Fax: (407) 423-0235
Toll Free: IN-STATE: (800) 226-6440
URL: http://www.maudlin.internationaltrucks.com/



Click on the MaxxForce graphic above.

Did you call 877-946-7731. This is WCC Roadside Assistance number.

[Penguy]

DriVer, thanks for the reply.

This is the same company that I am sending the unit to in Daytona Beach. After speaking to representatives in Orlando, one of the locations works mainly on heavy trucks and the other does some service on motorhomes such as the brake recall. They referred me to the Daytona Beach location who, they said, does most of the motor home work.

I did not use the phone number you indicated nor did i use the website link. ABC Bus in Orlando did a great job on the brake recall for me but they are not up to speed yet on the Workhorse with the Max Force 7 engine (i.e. they could not do an oil change for me on this engine due to lack of parts and service manuals etc.). It is my understanding that they will be upgrading their service manuals etc. to cover this service soon.

[bodycoach2]

I had the same reply from Maudlin. Sun State International off I-4 Haines City exit says they can work on MaxForce7.

I had frequent regen (sometimes every 10 minutes) when towing a car on the way to Atlanta from Orlando. I had the econ mode turned off, and overdrive turned off. If I kept around 60 mph, the regens were less frequent. I never had the check engine light come on though. Also, right before and during a regen, the floor area next to the accelerator pedal gets uncomfortably hot.

So far, regens are rare when not towing.

[COTuscany]

Had one regen when it was hot and I was down to about 2 gals of fuel (scary times). Not sure if there was anything related. Looked it up in the manual and it said that regen would happen time to time, but that's the last time I've seen it.

[waustx]

So Penguy, can you give an update?

I just bought a 2011 Serrano with a Maxxforce 7. I drove it about 1100 miles from where I bought it to get it home and was feeling very good about the RV. As I pulled up to my house, I got the idiot light and the "Regen Required" note on the dash. As I didn't know anything about this either, I simply parked the RV and came in to research. I hope your story has a happy ending. Do you suggest that I try the manual regen as you did? If so, how is it done?

Thanks in advance.

[Penguy]

Waustex:

Glad to hear that you have a new Serrano. Sorry you are in the same boat i was in when this re-gen issue came up. The workhorse chassis manual has a section that talks about the re-gen issue, and I am no expert. I encourage you to call the roadside assistance number mentioned in an earlier post on this thread or your local International Service Center. These folks can give you better advice than I. There are manual re-gen instructions in the chassis manual but I have not actually done one. I let the condition go to long and I eventually got a check engine light. At that point I had to get it towed in and the service center had to remove the particulate filter and clean it, cost was about $600.00 not including the tow which was covered by my emergency road service. I did try the manual re-gen but I failed to set the parking brake. That mistake did not allow the manual re-gen to happen.

Apparently the manual re-gen or automatic re-gen will take care of this problem. Just get the best advice from the people who know, set the parking brake, have the engine warmed up, park the unit over pavement (very important) as the exhaust system gets really hot during the process, set the transmission in park, and hit the switch. Good luck, I know I will have to be trying this at some point in the future.

Let me know how it goes.

By the way I really like my Serrano

Penguy

[waustx]

Thanks Penguy.

After the initial panic and after my previous post, I did a little more research which lead me to review the plackard next to the driver's seat. It said that when the light initially comes on (not flashing yet), the instructions were to drive the vehicle at 35 mph or higher until the light went out. So, we jumped in and went for a little road trip. We live pretty far in a maze of roads on North Padre Island with a lot of speed humps, so I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get it up to 35 for at least a few miles, but I put it in 3rd gear and apparently that created enough heat and RPM to get it to a point where it could start the regen because the light went out before we got to the main road. I still drove about 10 miles down the road and back to make sure the process completed. It was the first time we drove it at night and another little issue came up. The right headlight is basically pointing down on the road even on high beams. That I can handle. I guess it's always something!

Thanks for the response.

I'm liking the Serrano a lot again too.

waustx

[DriVer]

Hey guys!

Here's a discussion about regeneration.

Navistar - Regeneration

For all matters about your MaxxForce engine please join the discussion in the
Navistar MaxxForce Engine Forum.

[Penguy]

Thanks to everyone for your feedback. Hopefully my next experience with a re-gen will go as the International folks intended.

Penguy

[DriVer]

I'm the kind of guy that just can't get enough information about my powertrain. If you guys want to get a little more insight about how your engines were made and the people that made them please come and read My Blog.

Our Blogs are proving themselves to be a great resource and perhaps one of our best kept secrets but they are there.

MaxxForce® Engine Plant Tour - Huntsville, AL

The article will have a (continued) link at the bottom of the story that will take you to Chapter 2 & 3.

I hope you like it.