Check engine lights

[resullivan]

About an hour into a two hour drive and in the mountains I get two check engine lights, one on left which looks to have a vertical bar in the center of it and the word CHECK right below it , and one to the right that is blank with no word below it....I pulled up the code and it is SPN 5397 FMI SA 0, called FL assistance and the tech told me the code ment it was trying to start a "regen" but the speeds were to low, he3 said I needed to get it to hwy speeds, (60 mph +) to allow the auto regen to occur, if that is the case here is the problem, I will not be up to hwy speeds for about another 350+ miles.....will the engine stay in the "check" mode till then or will it eventually go to derate before I can get to hwy speeds??? thanks

[GaryKD]

Excellent question. Another call to FL or Cummins needed. The code means the REGEN is happening too often.
5397
31
DPF Regen Too Often
May be because the engine is being cut off in the middle of a REGEN. I do not know what the engine computer thinks about this.

[Algoma]

You may have to pull off the road and do a manual regen.

[Smosher]

Would it be possible to use a lower gear to keep the rpm up in the high range while you are in the mountains you are not corrupting the engine on the down hill side only going up.

[Kend51]

You need to do a parked regen
Pull off, away from any combustibles, grass, etc. Follow instructions in freightliner manual or call Freightliner they will walk you thru it
Happened to us in the mountains several weeks ago

[resullivan]

I am presently at CG in Ouray CO, after talking t the FL tech I did run the engine in a lower gear to keep rpm at 1500 or more, for the last 30 miles but that was only about 20 minutes...lights still on....however upon leaving a CG about 150 miles from the time the lights came on I got a "regen required" light come on and after about 20 minutes the engine derated, pulled over called FL, they walked me thru a "parked manual regen" took about 40 minutes, all lites went off, engine ran as normal for the next 100 miles, then 4 days later and about 50 miles into this leg of trip, check engine lights come on with the 5397 code....most all of this in mountain driving with a lot of downshifting....as I understand the FL manual one cannot do a forced regen unless the regen light is lit ??? FWIW I put over 70K on my last 400 ISL non DEF coach and never saw a check engine light or derating....this one did not make 6,500 before derating.

[Kend51]

Originally Posted by resullivan

I am presently at CG in Ouray CO, after talking t the FL tech I did run the engine in a lower gear to keep rpm at 1500 or more, for the last 30 miles but that was only about 20 minutes...lights still on....however upon leaving a CG about 150 miles from the time the lights came on I got a "regen required" light come on and after about 20 minutes the engine derated, pulled over called FL, they walked me thru a "parked manual regen" took about 40 minutes, all lites went off, engine ran as normal for the next 100 miles, then 4 days later and about 50 miles into this leg of trip, check engine lights come on with the 5397 code....most all of this in mountain driving with a lot of downshifting....as I understand the FL manual one cannot do a forced regen unless the regen light is lit ??? FWIW I put over 70K on my last 400 ISL non DEF coach and never saw a check engine light or derating....this one did not make 6,500 before derating.

Do you have any follow up info?????
Thanks

[resullivan]

Working all my resources, so far no answers, waiting for another call back from FL....there standard answer is take it to a dealer, CYA, I suppose, not the simplest thing from where I am located, but may be the only option left in the end :( ....I will post when and if I make any progress.

[resullivan]

Update.....GaryKD, was correct in his assessment of the code.....according to 3 different Cummins techs this is one of their most difficult codes, as it is appears to be a "catch all" code for the DEF/DPF system, with no real sub codes for further diagnostics.....after checking the sensor pac with no faults it was determined to remove the whole DEF/DPF system to do a "cleanout" (standard procedure) excessive soot was found in the filter, unit cleaned and replaced (about a 6 hour job) everything now working as should....now for the hard part, Cummins has experienced a spike in this problem as of late, and can not seem to find an answer ( this shop had done 6 of these in the last month) the only thing Cummins has found consistent in this problem, was that all of the coaches involved were running the same software versions and had not had two updates that are now out, also they suspect a minor auxilary part to the DEF/DPF system..... as I am in a CG that is a scheduled stop on my trip, Cummins is sending a engr/tech team from Denver on Tuesday to review this issue on my coach.....I will report on the results of that visit....OBTW, the attendees at the Hoots III rally in September will get a full review of this process at one of the "Live Forum" sessions....I think there are a few spots left for the Rally.

[PDR John]

Glad to read it didn't do to much damage to your trip.

[YC1]

I just had to be towed to a Cummins dealer for this issue. Two days down. The tried the cleaning which would have been around $1200 including labor. That did not fix it and they had to order a new DPF. I am grateful for their great service and consideration since we are full timers.

With a couple of new probes of some kind, ECM flash upgrades, and $3200 we are back on the road. I was running a lot of slow roads when it kept trying to regen. It finally did one but went back to the regen light and then it began flashing. It went into a limp mode on a long hill. Not good. We were 12 miles from the shop and could not make it.

Coach Net covered the tow and took great care of us. My extended warranty company will not pay the bill. They say it is part of the exhaust system and is not covered.

The Cummins dealership removed the cleaning portion of the bill saving me around $800.

I have since seen the regen light and high exhaust temp light flash on and off a couple of times. It happened so fast I could have missed it. No error codes or any more issues.

I'm not so sure I didn't get a load of some fuel it didn't like at a little podunk station.

My advice to anyone getting any regen lights that are not normal to get to a dealer immediately.

[Kend51]

Originally Posted by resullivan

Update.....GaryKD, was correct in his assessment of the code.....according to 3 different Cummins techs this is one of their most difficult codes, as it is appears to be a "catch all" code for the DEF/DPF system, with no real sub codes for further diagnostics.....after checking the sensor pac with no faults it was determined to remove the whole DEF/DPF system to do a "cleanout" (standard procedure) excessive soot was found in the filter, unit cleaned and replaced (about a 6 hour job) everything now working as should....now for the hard part, Cummins has experienced a spike in this problem as of late, and can not seem to find an answer ( this shop had done 6 of these in the last month) the only thing Cummins has found consistent in this problem, was that all of the coaches involved were running the same software versions and had not had two updates that are now out, also they suspect a minor auxilary part to the DEF/DPF system..... as I am in a CG that is a scheduled stop on my trip, Cummins is sending a engr/tech team from Denver on Tuesday to review this issue on my coach.....I will report on the results of that visit....OBTW, the attendees at the Hoots III rally in September will get a full review of this process at one of the "Live Forum" sessions....I think there are a few spots left for the Rally.

Thanks for the update

[resullivan]

Update....this has turned into a real mess....after the DPF was cleaned reinstalled, a forced regen done and the log sent to Cummins, it showed that the engine was running too cool, never getting over 180 degrees, this was causing the excessive regen and derate problems, the t-stat was removed and found to be faulty and replaced, it was also determined that the radiator fan was only running in the "high" position also causing the engine not to run over 180 degrees also, after testing it was determined that the fan clutch was faulty as the ECM was giving the correct signals but that the fan clutch was not responding correctly...tested fan clutch as per FL, resistance not to be over 6 ohms, tested 6.8 ohms, they sent a new fan clutch, installed and problem still persisted, checked resistance on new fan clutch, 7.0, FL said new one was bad, shipped another one, it bench tested 6.8 ohms, FL said that one is bad also do not install....called Horton (mfg. of fan clutch) said operating range resistance for fan clutch should be between 6-12 ohms...now who is correct...all I know is the ECM is sending the proper voltage at the proper time and the fan still runs on high....now late Friday afternoon engineers at both FL and Horton say they will work on this first thing Monday am to figure it out, this has been going now for 10 days and I need to leave the CG Sunday as my reservation is up and it is 100 mile tow to FL shop in Grand Junction....Transwest out of GJ has been providing mobile service thus far and have been excellent, and in pulling in all their resources with still no answer.....patience is wearing thin, just sayin.

[PDR John]

Wow, sorry to hear it Richard. Hope they get you back on the road soon.