Community Forums

ItsWhatWeDo · 05-26-2015, 02:55 PM

We were heading from Orlando to Boone NC this past weekend and on HWY 26 in SC my check engine light came on. We ran on in and I pulled the codes SPN 3363 FMI 16. We called Spartin and he said that it is a code for the DEF Mixture. We discussed the impossibility of getting it into a dealer on a holiday weekend and he said that his computer did not say not to drive it so we decided to make the run home. I topped the DEF tank off, it was at 3/4 defore I filled it.
We got within about 50 miles of when the light came on and it went back off. We had burned 1/4 of a tank of DEF and 1/4 tank of fuel since we left Boone. The rest of the way home everything went normal.

We are going to get it in to get it checked out, but just wanted to see if anyone else had experienced this. It seemed that when we hit the foothills it started and when we hit flat ground on the way back it cleared up. Might just be coincidence.

brobox · 05-26-2015, 03:07 PM

Terry, the DEF system has 16 sensors that all need to talk to each other plus a DEF heater system. It has been a problem with the newer engines to have DEF sensors and heaters go bad. One of the forum members that comes down here every winter has had a DEF sensor problems on his way home the last two years and a DEF heater go out in Montana where he had to wait 3 days for a new one.

One thing nice about the Cummins, they hook a laptop up to it and in 30 seconds the problem is diagnosed. If you need to go to Cummins have them run the updates on your engine computer while you are there, it should be covered under warranty. Let us know what you find out.

ItsWhatWeDo · 06-15-2015, 08:47 AM

After 2 weeks at Cummings South In Orlando they have come up with the DEF heater is bad and they have ordered one. So much for the 30 seconds to diagnose it. The heater is on back order. I guess it is a good thing we are in Florida and it is summer. We don't need heat for anything for a few months.

Gary.Jones · 06-15-2015, 11:09 AM

Well, Chuck's statement is true regardless about the diagnosis part..... They read the codes by computer and the computer says exactly what to do.. Now, if they don't have the part at the Cummins or RV shop that you are at, then that has to be ordered and that is a different issue.

(I also learned from the Cummins tech that they can read how much time elapsed from the illumination of the check engine light to the time that you made an effort to resolve the problem (read codes at a shop) and if the amount of elapsed time is too great (e.g. they feel that you contributed to the problem by doing nothing), they can invalidate your warranty on that issue....

)

I just experienced my second check engine code for "after processing", a Cummins 4363 FMI3 code. It is also part of the catalytic converter system concerned with emissions. Had one go out exactly 30 days before it happened again. Cummins replaced the sensor the first time. The second time in 30 days, they have tried a different strategy.... this time, they decided that there were three complete updates of the Cummins ECM program that monitors everything since my engine was manufactured. By the time the third complete update was downloaded into the engine, the check engine light went out and I have not had further problems. What that means, I think, is that Cummins has set a different criterion threshold for triggering the fault code and the new level (a high voltage on some sensor) is higher or different than the old code. Whether this is a real fix, or what psychologists call " Superstitious Behavior " (the behavior that occurred at the point that a problem was resolved, but completely unrelated to an actual fix, will tend to be repeated when the problem reoccurs) waits for the future to be determined.

Gary

ItsWhatWeDo · 06-15-2015, 12:18 PM

I told them that the light went back off in South Carolina and he said that it threw the code 51 times so you are correct. They can get a lot more info than we can out of it.

Big Brother is watching.

brobox · 06-15-2015, 05:17 PM

Gary and Terry, both good points going back to the 1081 code and people ignoring the check engine light. Gary, you mde a good point about the engine (ECM) updates. I think I am going to use the 1081 check engine light to stop at Cummins and have my ECM updates. Good tip, thanks.

rogelling · 06-16-2015, 12:09 PM

We drove 1900 from home to our place in Idaho without problems except for the 1081 code which I cleared until we were ten miles out of our destination when I got a Smp 102 Fmi 18. So called Spartan and it has to do with intake manifold. So now trip to NW Cummins in Spokane.

ItsWhatWeDo · 06-16-2015, 12:59 PM

Just got a text from Cummings. They have a 10 day lead time on the parts with the back order.

brobox · 06-16-2015, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogelling

We drove 1900 from home to our place in Idaho without problems except for the 1081 code which I cleared until we were ten miles out of our destination when I got a Smp 102 Fmi 18. So called Spartan and it has to do with intake manifold. So now trip to NW Cummins in Spokane.

Thanks for that report Roger. Just confirms why I don't believe in letting a check engine light go...unless this did come up at the last moment and you just happen to check.