DEF

[glsponchos]

Once again I’m having DEF woes. The 1/4 DEF in my tank over the summer was new in April. I mixed in 2.5 gallons earlier this month of new DEF. I always buy new 2.5 gallon blue peak DEF. sealed and from reputable place. I had the mechanic replace the DEF filter two weeks ago. All that and yet I sit here in limp mode trying to find a mobile mechanic :(. I took apart the doser and the nozzle and intake hole were covered in Chrystalized DEF. I cleaned both, but the codes won’t reset. My assumption is that there’s no way for the end user to reset the codes by forcing a Regen True ? I have a 2010 Tiffin Bus with Cummins on Freightliner This is getting old. Ready to sell and be done

[glsponchos]

Has anyone tried the Insight Lite software with their Cummins diesel ?

[Zigzag03]

Any chance you could just pull a battery cable for a minute or two and have it clear?

[Mr.Mark]

Just an observation, why would you not fill the DEF tank before storage?

I've always heard that it's best to keep the 'air' out as condensation is reduced with a full tank.

I always fill both DIESEL and DEF if I'm not going to drive the coach for a while. In 46,000 miles, no trouble with either.

Safe travels,
Mark

[Crasher]

I'm puzzled with the crystalized DEF. Was it stored in above 75* for an extended time? We drive 10,000 miles each year with it being spread out over the 12 months. so the DEF is always less than 4-5 months old. However, I have refilled a couple of Jugs that were stored in an unheated dark garage for well over a year that was still good with no crystals. Cummins recommends changing the filter @ 200,000 miles. Sorry that I can't help, but would like to learn what has led to your recurring DEF problems.

[glsponchos]

Originally Posted by Mr.Mark

Just an observation, why would you not fill the DEF tank before storage?

I've always heard that it's best to keep the 'air' out as condensation is reduced with a full tank.

I always fill both DIESEL and DEF if I'm not going to drive the coach for a while. In 46,000 miles, no trouble with either.

Safe travels,
Mark

It goes bad in the heat

[Caliber]

What code are you working with?

[glsponchos]

Originally Posted by caliber

what code are you working with?

4364.18, 4094.31, 1569.31, 5246.0

[glsponchos]

So ... finally took my coach to a Cummins dealer. I thought I was doing that, but my service center wasn’t actually a dealer. Different story Turns out my SCR has been obsoleted and was bad. Also replacing my NOX sensors and updating software on the ECM. Hopefully this will fix the issues that have plagued me for last year. Cummins did work with me on the fix. That said still an expensive fix

[EZRider800]

Anyone with a DEF system REALLY needs to read up on the subject. It has a very short shelf life and the warmer it is the faster it goes bad.

I sell Ram commercial trucks with Cummins engines. Back when the first 3500/4500/5500's hit the ground with the DEF system nobody really knew much about the stuff. THE VERY FIRST truck I sold with that system my Service Department forgot to fill the DEF tank as part of the Pre-Delivery Inspection. So the customer had a job out of town about 125 miles away. As he was driving to the job the DEF light came on. He stopped at a parts store to buy a couple jugs. It was a new product so they had a real nice display of jugs stacked up right in the FRONT WINDOW of the store, with the SUN beating down on those jugs.

My customer filled his DEF tank and didn't get 10 miles down the road when the engine went into "limp home" mode. He had to have it towed 125 miles back to our dealership where we figured out what happened.

The moral to the story? Be careful where you buy your DEF. My advice is to buy it at a truck stop where you can pump it from a cool underground tank. Plus, it will be fresh since the 18 wheelers have to use it too so it's not sitting on a shelf in a parts store for months at a time going bad inside the jug before you even open it.

[jelag]

Cummins has had it share of woes with the DEF system.. in my case, under warranty they replaced most of the functioning parts only to find that the recall wasn't done correctly...



My work, during a recall was not done correctly... thus I had an over dosing problem and related check engine light for several months.. in each case the dealer (several) wanted to replace parts to fix the problem...



My comment to them... was sure go ahead but if the light returns in 100 miles I expect a refund on all the related parts and labor as your throwing parts at the vehicle instead of actually diagnosing the problem....


Honestly after 10 repair orders, and cat fights with service managers who don't have a brain in their head... I finally found a shop with a tech would connect with the FACTORY GUYS and traced down the problem... which was the error of the guy who did the recall.... once that was straightened out and repaired... my CEL and over dosing issues cleared up and the chassis has been trouble free now for 30K miles....



BTW - I finally took back the evidence to the dealer who started it all... sat down with both the sales manager and the service manager and showed them their errors with facts and factory paper work to back up my claims and they refunded me a little over $1,000 in work that wasn't needed from their screw ups...

[Cat320]

All the DEF sold in retail stores has a date stamped on it just like food. I look for the newest dates.

[alank]

Originally Posted by EZRider800

Anyone with a DEF system REALLY needs to read up on the subject. It has a very short shelf life and the warmer it is the faster it goes bad. .

I've read this comment before, so tell us what "a very short shelf life" is.
There's no indication on any containers I've seen that indicates any shelf life. Where are you getting any credible information to make this statement and what is the shelf life?

Cat320 All the DEF sold in retail stores has a date stamped on it just like food. I look for the newest dates


What are the dates? Use by dates? Good until dates? Date of mfg. dates?

Food usually has a "best if used by" date.
What is the date you see on the containers?

[lwmcguire]

https://cumminsfiltration.com/sites/...es/MB10033.pdf

Some say max three years and others one year, main thing is heat and certainly no sunlight on the container