Check Engine Light

[rorr1821]

I know Spartan has taken a lot hits from owners, some justified and others not so much. My motorhome chassis warranty went out in Feb, 2020 and in March I had a check engine light come on. I called Spartan gave them the fault codes. The tech told me it was a defective DEF tank unit and they would pay to have it repaired. I was surprised Spartan would pay for the repair, but apparently it comes under the environment part of their warranty. I am waiting for this pandemic to get somewhat better here in MS, and then I will look for a repair shop. HAS ANYONE HAD THIS ISSUE?

[450Donn]

DEF is part of the emission systems, so that usually has a 5/50 warranty.

[Gary.Jones]

I think it actually part of Cummins 5 year warranty.

Also, what was the actual Spartan fault code that you got? SPN XXXX

Gary

[rorr1821]

SPN3364 FMI9
SPN3031 FMI9
SPN1761 FMI9

Go to Cummins Quick Serve and it will translate the codes to Cummins 3868, 4572, and 6585. Def tank head.

[jqueener]

Yes, I had the same fault codes last summer when Spartan could not get the repair parts fast enough to supply the demand. Waited almost a month for the part and had it installed at a Cummins shop all under warranty.

[rorr1821]

Originally Posted by jqueener

Yes, I had the same fault codes last summer when Spartan could not get the repair parts fast enough to supply the demand. Waited almost a month for the part and had it installed at a Cummins shop all under warranty.

Did you have any problems driving to the Repair facility? Spartan said I might experience engine degrading until I get it fixed. I would need to drive about 70 miles to get to Cummins. Once they got the part about how many hours did it take to do the repair?

Thanks.

[Gary.Jones]

The maddening thing about Cummins fault codes is that even Cummins cant tell you how much of a problem it is and at what point, you run the risk of the de-rating process. This has happened to me three times with two different problems. The important issue is that the FMI is 19 and in all of my cases, I was far away from a Cummins shop and had an FMI 19 fault code. That code is of the middle level of concern. I dont remember what the terms for each level are, but there are at least three the correspond essentially to mild problem, intermediate problem, and serious problem, and the de-rate possibilities move up with each level, and the maddening thing is that neither Spartan nor Cummins are able to give you clear advice on how far you can go before you get the de-rate. There is a higher level, and that is a shut down level, which takes everything out of your hands and simply shuts down the engine. In my three cases, the FMI-19 let me drive 50 miles in one case to get to a Cummins shop, and I found an alternative closer shop in the other case that was only about 10 miles. In my third situation, a fuel rail supply problem, I was about 80 miles from a Cummins shop. In all three situations, I wanted to avoid a tow (one of my situations were problems with DEF pump, one was a problem with insufficient fuel delivery, and the final one was an engine cooling problem.

I certainly can't give you advise since Cummins and Spartan dont feel that they can give you advice, but my DEF pump problem required me to drive 50-100 miles to a shop and I just chose to give it a try as I would personally do just about anything to avoid a tow.

There really should be some means to define the problem and how long the ECM is going to tolerate continuation of each state before reaching that point. It can't be random..... its just that the engineers and CS people dont want to give us that information.

Gary\

[jqueener]

Originally Posted by rorr1821

Did you have any problems driving to the Repair facility? Spartan said I might experience engine degrading until I get it fixed. I would need to drive about 70 miles to get to Cummins. Once they got the part about how many hours did it take to do the repair?



Thanks.

No, my repair facility was only 20 miles away. The install was completed in less than a day. Spartan had shipped the part to me, not the repair shop.

[rrtribble]

When mine came on it went immediately into Degrade. My dealer sent out his tech with their computer and deleted the code and drove it over 100 miles to fix it.

Cummins told me that I could drive it in the Degrade but would probably be limited to about 5 mph. Ugh. That's why I called dealer and they reacted quickly.

Wish you luck - Richard

[Mwoodofd]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

The maddening thing about Cummins fault codes is

Gary\

Last code I called in about, I was told it didn't apply to my engine.

[hdgoldie]

Our engine did not derate when our DEF Head failed. We drove about 60 miles to the closest Cummins shop.

[royals1212]

Last summer we had a nox 2 exhaust sensor give off a yellow mil light. What I want to convey is I was able to contact a Cummings Service Tech in the middle of the night via their website chat. You will need your engine serial number located on the plcard behind the drivers chair.

Herb

[rorr1821]

Thanks to all for the feedback. Now I need to see if Spartan will sent me the part so I can take it to a shop and get it repaired.

[brobox]

Originally Posted by rorr1821

Thanks to all for the feedback. Now I need to see if Spartan will sent me the part so I can take it to a shop and get it repaired.

It will probably have to be a Cummins shop to clear the code.